I agree. NOBODY should be asking members of the military who they voted for! That's just wrong!
I agree. NOBODY should be asking members of the military who they voted for! That's just wrong!
I have serious doubts about this story. It just doesn't pass the smell test. There are DOD regulations against polling members, in this case directly, about who they intend to or did vote for. I believe that there's also Federal statutes that prohibit the same, but I'm not attorney, so I could be mistaken about the US Code.
I served under four different presidents. And, I was fortunate enough to be in attendance when three of them visited my camp or base. Two of the times, attendance was mandatory - it was a formation. The third time, during the height of campaign season, it was completely voluntary. As an officer, I was given explicit instructions that I couldn't pressure my subordinates to attend.
I find it very difficult to believe this happened the way the story describes. I'm much more inclined to believe that this was a voluntary event. It would explain the disproportionate minority representation that indicated in the photos that I saw. JMHO.