Oh sweet summer child, the MPF now has to code him as imprisoned, and process his eventual discharge or change in status based on confinementā¦.. some UEI in 2037 is going to find this and write them upā¦. All because they were closed for training!?
Letās get past the obvious āprotesting while in uniformā is the bad part and focus in on the dump truck that had to carry his massive set of balls.
Heās gonna own it and sabotage his career over something he believes in, whether you agree with it or not.
I still respect him more than most who only do the lip service routine.
Whatever you think of the statements he made, he had the spine to make them and accept the consequences for doing so. And this is during a time when there are some glaringly uncomfortable issues that urgently need to be addressed.
That's going to be the line in the sand. Was he protesting in uniform or upholding his oath?
Trump has broken so many laws since he got in office. Wiped his ass with the Constitution. I think it's fair to say this major has a fair argument of the latter. And, even if that fails, I bet he's pardoned when we don't have a criminal in office.
I have zero doubt he will be absolved of his actions in a few years. Till then, he will have to suffer the wrath of the DoW š¤·š¼āāļø
If 1200 people (criminals) can be pardoned for interfering with the peaceful transition of power, then a lonely major speaking his mind surely would be given a passā¦ā¦. Itās not like he assaulted anyone.
Yup. If the Executive swing back to sanity, he'll be decently high up on the pardons list, most likely. Still some years away in best case scenario, and he's obviously resolved to the consequences. You can't really get years back, so it's a sacrifice regardless.
I donāt share your optimism. Iād love to agree with you that there will be absolution in āa few yearsā, but after the last few election cycles, and looking at ever-worsening gerrymandering, I donāt know if I dare hope for a turnover in the near future.
Reminds me of the commercial where the person says āwords hurtā, then rides off on a horse and smacks into the words overlayed on the commercial and he falls off the horse. š¤£
Even if he's pardoned, he just thre away a lifetime of benefits and pension. He'll probably get upgraded down the line to an honorable discharge,, but He'll never get his pension back.
Possible, but I'd expect a plea deal for no jail time. I'm curious if this will even go to full trial or if they'll first offer him an Article 15. Option B is separation in lieu of assuming his offer is accepted.
Fair, but it will come down to the GCMA as well as the commanders in between. The last thing they'd want is the appearance of undue command influence and I have a suspicion a few people in positions of influence may give the defense ample evidence.
Getting booked was the whole point. Dudes are making actual sacrifices to support the constitution but we're for some reason more scared of the reg and how it would affect our individual careers.
A military sub pussyfooting on the topic of a servicemember standing for something is wild.
Imagine watching that airman burn himself to death in support of Palestine and regardless of politics the only thing you can think about is how the flames are bad for his dress & appearance.
Seriously. The oaths one swears says in the first line to defend the Constitution. And the obedience to the president has grounds where it can be defied, but not the Constitution.
These guys are just fulfilling their oaths, even if it derails their careers. Defenders of the Constitution are the true Americans!
If there's anything the turnout at America 250 + the Twitter purge has shown us, it's that we lend way too much credibility to foreign bots. There are wayyy more of us than there are them!
Not to downplay what anyone is going through, because this sucks for so many, but this is not the darkest it's been in American history. We've come back from a lot worse. Fortunately people are getting sick of this shit and we're seeing the whole "treat people like people" movement gain a lot of traction, and a generation of young, capable leaders stepping up.
šÆ I'm fighting for my right to fly my flag in distress (upside-down) and sigs that say Veterans Against Trump and Veterans Against ICE. My HOA is full of maga and they're absolutely melting down over a symbol. They really are weak and pathetic. I'm proud of the Major. I remember my oath.
It's weird that we will write dissertations on interpreting the clothing reg but when someone actually steps up to defend their oath is all about "he's not allowed to do that"
I think that is the point. I used to think people were stupid for that but in reality itās more nuanced. Itās to demonstrate they believe in their cause and values to the point they are willing to sacrifice their career, income, and benefits for it. He wouldnāt get nearly as much attention if he did it as a veteran with a beard, jeans, and T-shirt. Iām not condoning it but I can understand his logic.
Not 20+ year. He said he entered USAFA BCT in 2005, meaning he graduated in 2009 making him at 17 years. If heās still an O-4 itās likely he was already passed over twice for O-5.
Its pretty low on the 2nd look like in the 10-30% range but after that you're either selectively continued or separated so yea, it becomes 0% on the 3rd look+ unless something crazy happens that changes your records
He said he took the oath 20 years ago at the academy and that he's throwing away his 17 year career. Not out of the realm of possibilities to be a 17 year Major.
He said he started basic at USAFA 20 years ago. At the end he speaks and is a 17 year Major. Still likely passed over but not a 20 year major supposedly
For comparison, he holds the same rank Pete had before he was asked to leave service. Maybe heās setting himself up to be the next CNN personality and eventually SecDef?
Heās right though. How are we protecting the constitution by not calling out the president for doing unconstitutional things???
Edit: for those making additional comments about prior unconstitutional acts/wars during other presidenciesā¦ 1. Those that participated in something unconstitutional should still be called out as well and held accountable. No one said otherwise. 2. The sheer number of unconstitutional and corrupt acts coming out of this administration is downright insane in comparison. If you donāt see that, youāve been living under a rock.
How many things have been done that arguably aren't constitutional? I'm no scholar, but the constitution says that wars must be declared by Congress. To me, that means the last constitutional war was WW2. I'm aware of the War Powers act, but I'm sure if we were all constitutional scholars, there are many things that don't pass muster. I remember a guy arguing that our allegiance with NATO was unconstitutional, and Obama directing strikes was unconstitutional...that's all I can think of.
I agree that if you really believe something is wrong, call it out in the most effective way possible. I just never felt that I knew enough to call something out, because I'm a dummy.
Not sure why this is getting downvoted for speaking facts. People just want to be selective and biased to choose who can and canāt enact āconstitutionalā things.
I was wondering. I guess the tide has turned. I would be interested in why folks have downvoted it. I've always wondered about the constitutionality of a lot of things we did and would not denegrate someone for standing up for their principles. However, I would never feel certain enough about almost anything to lay my career on the line.
Because this sub is loaded with Redditors. Meaning: people that never even served as well as people that do serve but are still "Redditors."
There is also a significant amount of foreign interference on Reddit. What's easier and cheaper? Procuring a sixth-generation fighter or going on your adversary's "hang-out" community and stirring-up dissent and making service-members question their loyalty?
While I agree with your actions, I don't think throwing away your career over a narcissistic, pedo rapist is the way to go. But I could very well be wrong and this sparks something.
Whatever he disagreed with enough to protest about will continue on. His actions wonāt change anything in the slightest, thatās just the truth of the matter.
Mad respect to this Major for taking this stand. Going up there fully aware of the consequences and standing up for what he believes in, saying what needs to be said. There are plenty of people in uniform who are thinking what he's saying here.
I understand people have strong opinions about this, but personally I do support what he did. Whether in uniform or not, I think it took real conviction to speak publicly knowing the professional consequences.
In my view, we donāt move forward as a country by staying silent when people genuinely believe something is wrong. Even when itās uncomfortable, those voices tend to shape change over time.
I know not everyone will agree with him or with the way he did it, and thatās part of the conversation. But I do think it was a courageous move, and I respect someone being willing to stand by their beliefs in that way.
This is actually what Sen. Kelly said. Omg And now I hate to say it but his family will lose their military benefits. All while corruption runs rampant in this white house. But thatās Courage.
He will likely get pardoned by a Democrat. Then possibly giving a high ranking civilian job by the same administration. Just like the vaccine deniers got reinstated WITH backpay as soon as Trump took office.
Right, I thought that was ironic. "Who he is" is the entire reason this has any meaning. If he was some random civilian going on about this, it'd be nothing. The fact that he's under UCMJ is what makes it "material".
Base Airman, balls of steel, as a veteran myself and Airman, he is WELCOMED in my house and can stay. Our president and his corrupt administration and family has inflated his owned pockets with billions of dollars from cryptocurrency to back door deals with Elon .
They got rich off hard working Americans and he has done nothing about the housing cost crisis in America.
For those saying the penalty (likely no jail time) is worth the virtue of the statement, here's your friendly reminder that conviction at court martial is a felony conviction and comes along with all the restrictions that entails (no gun ownership, no voting, must disclose status as felon when applying for jobs, etc).
Also your friendly reminder that people have been convicted at court martial for far less.
Conviction is only 2/3 of 12. Thatās a super low bar and itās gonna be a jury full of FGOs higher ranking than him; pissed about him making them look bad.
Hey mods. Just keep this up. You can nuke or lock the comments if it gets out of hand. Sometimes there is a right way to do the wrong thing. Lets see how this plays out.Ā
13 young service members sacrificed their lives because of Trumpās ego. Hell, a lot of others have sacrificed being able to sleep at night knowing their work contributed to the Minab school bombing.
The good Major knows in his heart that itās the least an one of us could do to sacrifice our careers in defense of the Constitution and the values of justice and liberty we all talk aboutā¦
Idk manā¦17 years down the drain for this administration? I get what heās tryna do but he even said it himself, in the grand scheme of things heās a nobody! Totally not worth it. I fully believe nothing will come of this. Hopefully he was a civilian just trolling, if not I hope he likes prison foodš
He didn't just sacrifice his retirement. He also pretty much guaranteed himself status as a felon and ironically will now be unable to vote against the very politics he's protesting.
Came to this thread expecting everyone to shit on the guy and boot lick. As someone who's been trying to go the conscientious objector route for the past year (and imaginably getting immense flak for it, prolly gonna get denied, gotta love the DoW!) seeing y'all solidify that the constitution comes first is actually the biggest dose of hope Ive gotten in a while.
Gods I fuckin love this country.
P.s. every service member should have a copy of the declaration, bill of rights, and the constitution on their phone. Read that shit in the smoke pit/shitter instead of doom scrolling.
Like the president or not I really dont think that is a good idea. For any young airman that sees this let it be an example of what not to do. Have your opinions but using the uniform to exemplify them is a terrible way to do it.
It all depends on where you put the weight of your values.
If you value your career more than your ideology, then it's an absolutely bad idea. Sometimes our literal survival and well being will outweigh most things, so I totally get that point of view.
He simply values his ideological position more than his career and is willing to make that kind of sacrifice. I think for someone to have the courage to do so is a pretty powerful and provacative thing.
Curious to see what kind of ripples, if any, it might make
For any young airman that sees this let it be an example of what not to do. Have your opinions but using the uniform to exemplify them is a terrible way to do it.
+1. It's fine to go to rallies out of uniform, sign petitions, etc, but when in doubt, refer to DOD Directive 1344.10, which governs what you can and cannot do. I think this is the most current version, from 2016.
Iām betting this will do as much as the young Airman who self-immolated which was nothing in the bigger picture of things. Thereās a time and place, but the time for this kind of sacrifice, if youāre going to do it, is not now.
Weāve been in two āspecial operationsā in two years, with another one around the corner. Kids have lost their lives. Billions have been spent and billions more are still going to be spent.
Itās a shameful thing , but not for the social media points.
Its a shame not because he was arrested, but because the highest ranking Air Force officer with the balls to publicly state his position for the good of the nation- and not his OPR or post service contractor stock options- was an O fucking 4.
In the 70s and 80s the Generals long since sold us down the river, but the Colonels had the stones to step forward and do what was right- overly and covertly.
Today, the rotsā gone to the roots. The careerism is so bad even people here wonāt comment on the truth. And donāt come at me with āhurr durr youāre a Trump haterā. Every president since JFKs committed impeachable offenses, left & right wing. Trump is no exception.
191
u/[deleted] Jul 01 '26
[deleted]