"I, _____, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God."Those commanders who disagree with the orders of President Obama can hand in their stars and go home. Or they can shut up, salute, and carry out the orders of the President.
Those are the choices. They are the same that they have ever been. The bullshit of who works for whom was settled when Lincoln fired a whole host of generals and reaffirmed when Truman fired Mac Arthur.
here come the tests of obama
ReplyDeleteWonder why we have any officers left from the past eight years. The C in C sure didn't support the Constitution.
ReplyDeleteI will say , the Medical Corps is hemorrhaging doctors.
ReplyDeleteOr else you wouldn’t see this :
http://m.apnews.com/ap/db_7731/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=K4OhQAiM
About the only folks staying in are people still under their initial service commitment or people who already have over about 13 years towards retirement. I’ve seen many of the “career” medical folks trying to get into training programs to buy some time off of active duty. The military is desperate, I dropped my paperwork to get out later this year when my service commitment ends. Thus far the Air Force has done a better job staying away from Stop Loss, I’m just glad I didn’t sign up for the Army to pay for medical school. The promotion rate for doctors has sky rocketed. The fact that they put me in for BTZ is a sign of how hard up the military is, not how good I am (apparently I’m more cynical than narcissistic, go figure). But then again putting people in for BTZ just prior to getting out is a time honored military “rope-a-dope” technique.
JJ, I had to go to the Google to find out that "BTZ" meant "Below the Zone" promotion. In the Nav' for officers, that's "deep selection."
ReplyDeleteSorry for the jargon, I've been institutionalized. I have some fears that by the time I get to leave the military I will be fit for nothing else. I'm still giving serious consideration to doing a year as a contractor for the DoD. I've been offered at least two contract jobs, both essentially at twice what I'm making on active duty. And that's without the looming threat of being deployed for 6 months out of every 12. This is all despite the fact that I feel one of the major problems with military medicine has been the overwhelming press to replace most of the active duty providers with civilians.
ReplyDeleteMy reasons for getting out of the military:
1) Family
2) Selfishness - I really miss having a life outside of #1 above
3) Integrity - I can't stomach being in a military that operates outside the Geneva/Hague conventions
4) I'm tired of feeling mean and bitter all the time
5) My Air Force carrer is ultimately limited by inability to make a good Power Point presentation
I am so glad that I served before the Age of Powerpoint. But then again, I wasn't in the Air Farce.
ReplyDelete"Those commanders who disagree with the orders of President Obama can hand in their stars and go home. Or they can shut up, salute, and carry out the orders of the President.
ReplyDeleteThose are the choices. They are the same that they have ever been."
You speak to commanders who may disagree with POTUS, but you cite the wrong oath. The oath cited is for enlisted service members. The oath for officers reads: "I, [name], do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God."
This, by the way, is the same at the oath taken by US Congressmen and Senators, federal judges, and other federal officers. Note that there is nothing in it about obeying orders from the President or anyone else. While both officers and enlisted personnel are required by the Uniform Code of Military Justice to obey the lawful orders of their superiors, including the President, neither are required to obey unlawful orders. In fact, officers, all federal officers, along with Congressmen and federal judges, are duty bound to disobey orders that violate the Constitution.
So yes, the choices are the same as they have ever been: to evaluate each day whether one can, with good conscience, follow the orders of higher authority, or whether integrity demands resignation, and having taken that step, whether more active opposition is required.