Posted on 04/12/2010 4:50:37 PM PDT by jamese777
An Army flight surgeon apparently is sticking to his vow not to deploy until he is satisfied that President Barack Obama is a "natural born" citizen.
Lt. Col. Terrence Lakin did not report for duty at Fort Campbell, Ky. as ordered today, and a spokesman for the post said it's not likely he will.
Lakin's failure to report essentially dares the Army to bring charges against him for being an unauthorized absence.
Margaret Hemenway, a spokeswoman for a group called the Patriotic American Foundation, which is supporting the 18-year officer, said the Army should not expect Lakin to report unless he sees an original birth certificate showing that Obama was born in Hawaii.
The Army has not said yet what it intends to do about Lakin. Calls to his unit -- Headquarters Company, Medical Brigade, Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington -- were not returned by post time.
To this point the Army has ducked taking serious action against the decorated flight surgeon, claiming his public statements and threat to disobey orders did not constitute any punishable offense. On March 31 -- the day after the video was released -- he was given a letter of counseling. In the letter, his commander at Walter Reed warned him against not reporting for duty as ordered.
The orders, Lakin was told, "are presumed to be valid and lawful orders issued by competent military authority." The letter warned Lakin that not showing up at Campbell could result in his facing AWOL charges, as well as missing movement, willfully disobeying a lawful order and showing contempt toward officials. A conviction on any of the charges could mean a dishonorable discharge, imprisonment and loss of all pay and allowances.
(Excerpt) Read more at military.com ...
That's because she blinked. The Lt. Col. apparently is not going to.
Make you nervous?
I wonder if the other posters on this thread who insist on dismissing this fine officer as simply throwing away his career for nothing have even served in order to make such judgments on how the military works in this type of situation. I believe every avenue for counteracting this usurper and every idea for removing him from office should be explored.
Casey can’t order troops to deply. Casey would miss his face shaving without a direct order from the res in chief. he is a political appointee. he does NOT command the troops.
Look up Goldwater-Nunn. It does not. Adminstratively it may under some circumstances, but this was a operational order, and the operational chain does not go through the service chiefs.
OK NS, you are sucker. General Casey is not in Lakin's chain-of-command because he is not a combatant commander.
The following below is right out of a military publication. In quotes:
- - - - -
Verbatim:
"The operational chain of command runs from the President to the SECDEF to the combatant commanders chief (CINC). However, a provision of the Goldwater-Nichols DoD Reorganization Act of 1986 permits the President to authorize communications through the Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS).
Consequently, DoD Directive 5100.1, Functions of the Department of Defense and Its Major Components, place the CJCS in the communications chain of command. The JCS (the chairman, vice chairman, and the four service chiefs or their deputized alternates) are not in the chain of command.
Communications between the National Command Authorities (NCA) and the CINCs pass through the CJCS. (The NCA are the President and the SECDEF together or their duly deputized alternates or successors.) Further, the CJCS can be assigned oversight responsibilities for the Secretary's control and coordination of the CINCs. That is, the CJCS provides feedback to the Secretary about the Secretary's control of the CINCs. "
OK, so where exactly does Lakin's chain-of-command make the jump to Obama?
“But his orders to deploy don’t come from Obama, they come from his Commissioned Superior Officer.”
Because in this country the POTUS is considered Commander and Chief of the military forces and that SECDEF and all Service Secretaries serve at the pleasure of the POTUS as do the Chairman and Joint Chiefs of all services, then it is not unreasonable to assume that ALL orders ultimately have there authority derived from the POTUS. Oh, BTW all officer above the rank of Major General/Rear Admiral (two stars) serve in those positions by the approval of the POTUS. The upper echelons that make deployment decisions are clearly tied to the POTUS.
Whether one thinks this LTC/Dr. brave or foolish is beside the point. He basic premise, IMO, is correct. Now will his taking a stand make any difference???? I don’t know. I consider him principled and brave, but is he setting himself up for being stomped without accomplishing anything....I fear so...but I hope not.
Not in the slightest.
Not on his own. But he is the commanding general of the Army.
“I wonder if the other posters on this thread who insist on dismissing this fine officer as simply throwing away his career for nothing have even served in order to make such judgments on how the military works in this type of situation. I believe every avenue for counteracting this usurper and every idea for removing him from office should be explored.”
Well maybe after tea and brunch we can take another 2 years to come to the conclusion that we should have a meeting about whether the Constitution should actually be upheld. Then we can “go all bipartisan” about the issue.
Lt. Col. Lakin is taking this bull by the horns. Finally. God Bless him.
A clue. The answer is right there in post 85.
OK so you lay out the chain of command for us. Start with Lakin. End with Obama. Include everyone in between to the best that you can.
These men are true patriots:
Face of Defense: Soldier, 79, Continues to Serve
U.S. Marine Becomes First Blind Double Amputee to Re-Enlist
Slain U.S. soldier receives American citizenship
There are many more just like them. Lakin, however, is not one of them.
Just curious, has Lakin been refusing his pay?
HE can’t “command” a damn thing without obasa giving him the order. HE simply kisses ass and does what obasa says...much as you appear to be doing.
Early on, I thought you argued from a rational pov. I don’t think that anymore. With the absolute REEMS of information posted on these threads, you cannot possibly be arguing rationally...so it must be emotionally. I hereby rescind any consideration I once gave you. You have NO valid argument left. NADA!
Would you?
Golly. I guess I'm just going to have to live with your disapproval.
Funny how you are so dismissive of the oath you swore when you joined the Navy.
I stand by my statement. God Bless Lt. Col. Lakin. A true American Patriot.
Interesting question. I'm sure we both can guess what the answer to that is.
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