Question on military/politicians and criticizing elected officials

[Spaceballs]

Hey guys, 

Apolitical question about our rules - I noticed a part-time Guard officer running for office who consistently criticizes the president. She has said some pretty inflammatory stuff about President Trump. Regardless of which side of the political aisle you are on, isn’t this completely illegal? Do Guard members fall under different rules? 

[Kenny Powers]

Little known fact but, you also have to be in the Guard to say Fuck.

[CharlieHotel47]

Perhaps you can try to get her fired from the military like that one marine that said "screw obama" a few years ago... next thing the poor fella is apologizing and getting kicked out of out of the military. We have a few folks holding office in our state, but I never hear about them mixing the military with their political views or agendas. Or perhaps I haven't been involved enough to experience senior officers unable to draw a line between military duty and political preference. 

If Generals can do it... then why not lower rank individuals. At the democrats' convention, Marine Corps Gen. John Allen, loved by all devil dogs out there, offered a thinly veiled swipe at Donald Trump. "I know that with HC as commander in chief, our international relations and foreign policy will not be reduced to a business transaction or deal"

But my personal favorite was at the Republican convention. Army Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn joined the crowd's chants to arrest Hillary Clinton. "Lock her up, that's right," Flynn said. "Yeah, that's right, lock her up".

I believe that our nation's soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines should not have to wonder about the political leanings and motivations of their leaders. But I guess in a non-military status, everyone is entitle to their own opinion.

[DeskPop]

As long as she's not in uniform, not in any kind of active status or on orders, and doesn't imply her personal opinion is representative of the military, she's completely in the clear.

[Spaceballs]

I haven’t seen generals or other high up leadership get political before. I guess I just haven’t paid attention to it until now. I’ve always been told we are not allowed to say anything publicly that criticizes any elected official, whether in or out of uniform, so I’ve always stayed away from making any comments in those conversations. 

[rudderrightmore]

DoD Directive 1344.10

[MechGov]

Wasn’t Lindsey Graham an ARC JAG O-6 while in office?

[herkbum]

Wasn’t Lindsey Graham an ARC JAG O-6 while in office?

Yes


Sent from my iPhone using Baseops Network mobile app

[herkbum]

Yes


Sent from my iPhone using Baseops Network mobile app

[pawnman]

On 9/17/2019 at 7:38 AM, CharlieHotel47 said:

Perhaps you can try to get her fired from the military like that one marine that said "screw obama" a few years ago... next thing the poor fella is apologizing and getting kicked out of out of the military. We have a few folks holding office in our state, but I never hear about them mixing the military with their political views or agendas. Or perhaps I haven't been involved enough to experience senior officers unable to draw a line between military duty and political preference. 

If Generals can do it... then why not lower rank individuals. At the democrats' convention, Marine Corps Gen. John Allen, loved by all devil dogs out there, offered a thinly veiled swipe at Donald Trump. "I know that with HC as commander in chief, our international relations and foreign policy will not be reduced to a business transaction or deal"

But my personal favorite was at the Republican convention. Army Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn joined the crowd's chants to arrest Hillary Clinton. "Lock her up, that's right," Flynn said. "Yeah, that's right, lock her up".

I believe that our nation's soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines should not have to wonder about the political leanings and motivations of their leaders. But I guess in a non-military status, everyone is entitle to their own opinion.

Might be a thin justification, but at the time those statements were made, neither Hillary nor Trump were elected officials.
 

[MechGov]

Might be a thin justification, but at the time those statements were made, neither Hillary nor Trump were elected officials.
 

And both Allen and Flynn we’re retired GOs