Posted on 06/19/2002 4:21:54 PM PDT by FloridaGeezer
Americans cherish their right to criticize their leaders in public, but there limits to it when you happen to be in the military. Air Force Lt. Col. Steve Butler, a combat pilot during Desert Storm, recently learned that lesson the hard way after he brutally ridiculed President Bush in a letter to the Monterey County Herald in Monterey County, Calif.
The president, Butler charged, knew the Sept. 11 terror attacks were going to happen but kept it from the public because "his presidency was going nowhere."
"His daddy had Saddam and he needed Osama." Butler wrote.
Butler went on to praise Bill Clinton and call Bush's presidency "a joke." After his letter was published on May 26, the Air Force suspended Butler from his duries at Monterey's Defense Language Institute, where he was vice chancellor for student affairs.
His actions are under investigation, and Butler could be the first officer since the Vietnam War era to be prosecuted under Article 88 of the Uniform Code Military Justice, which forbids officers from uttering contemptuous words about their commander in chief and other top officials of the government.
That's raised a national stir over whether Butler's free-speech rights were violated. In fact, the same rules apply to Butler that apply to the officers and enlisted personnel who wrote letters and other scathing critiques of then-president Bill Clinton a few years ago: Save it until you're a civilian.
In the military, the president is your commander in chief. Whether you like him any better than any of your other commanders is interesting but irrelevent to your carrying out your duties.
Any other response might properly be viewed as insubordination. It is seldom prudent for any worker to attack his or her boss in public. In the military, it can also be illegal-for important reasons. Soldiers, sailors and airmen are burdened with the protection of this nation's security. The world has seen too many cases in which political discontent in the ranks of the military turned into attempts to overthrow civilian rule. That's why Americans have closely embraced the notion that the military should be accountable to civilians, not the other way around.
Military personnel have opportunities to exercise to exercise their political inclinations. They can and should keep up with issues, cast votes and feel free sto speak out on issues. But when their talk turns to rank insubordination, they are violating the rules of their military service.
This ain't going to happen.......
He is truly the exception to the rule as a military officer. How in the world did this moron ever make rank?
Simply write an inflamatory letter about the Commander in Chief and be allowed to retire for "the Good of The Service".
Bet he had his post retirement job lined up before he wrote it.
While he has a right to his opinion, he does NOT have the right to air it while serving on active duty. Like it or not, servicemen don't get the privileges of the I Amendment while serving.
Please, don't ask.
I'd literally met a couple thousand officers while at Bragg. And let me tell you that of that large number, I truly respected about 2% of them as soldiers.
If you could poll enlisted men on their view of officers in general, I'll bet you dollars to doughnuts that the result will be like how I characterized officers.
Get a grip please. They are not going to hang this guy because of stupid comments. I bet his personnel file is in pretty good shape. Early retirement is now in his cards. He will become no longer promotable.
Good point, I did not think about the stop loss. I'd make book you are on to something.
Your a former O, and you actually believe this? If the military brings charges against this guy it's purely P-O-L-I-T-I-C-A-L! As a former O you should know better than to say who should be kicked out of the Military without knowing all the facts. Punishment? Indeed ! Busted a Rank? Yeah. retired? Yeah. Thrown out after 20 years, more than likely with a good record? NA! Besides not all in the Military are all Bush fans... Hell even the E Ring has it's Bush problems and they need to be retired.
Probably because so many patriotic officers left during the Clinton "A-Scandle-A-Day" Administration. They had to fill the ranks with some-warm-bodies.
When my father passed away, I received a certificate from President William J. Clinton commemorating my father's service. I was ashamed to hang the certificate on the wall with my father's photograph, because of the way President Clinton stained and soiled the Presidency.I sent it back to the White House and asked for a similar certificate signed by an officer or a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. To this day, the spot on the wall is empty, as much as I desire an official recognition of my father's service to his country.
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