And Here's More

 

In keeping with my word, here's more on this asshole and soon-to-be-former USAF major.

This is soon-to-be-former US Air Force Major Jason Watson.  For reasons known only to himself, he chose to put on his uniform and take part in an anti-Trump political demonstration in which he stated how much he disagreed with President Trump and that  he should be impeached and then imprisoned.

And of course the masses of drooling, mindless libtards are flocking to support him, singing his praises and crowing about how brave he was to do this.

Those of us who have served in the military understand why what he did was wrong, and those who never served won't.  So for those of you who never served (and for those of you who did but still support this asshole) let me explain it to you. 

When soon-to-be-former Major Watson assumed his rank in the Air Force, he swore to the following oath:

"I, (state your name), having been appointed a (rank) in the United States Air Force, 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 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 upon which I am about to enter. So help me God. (optional)"

Part of the duties of the office upon which he was about to enter included obeying all lawful orders and regulations, just as all members of the military are obligated to do.  He knowingly and willfully violated one of those orders, that order being Air Force Instruction (AFI) 51-508/Political Activities, Free Speech, and Freedom of Assembly which states in Chapter 2 that Air Force members may not:

"Participate, while in uniform, in any activity such as unofficial public speeches, interviews, picket lines, marches, rallies or any public demonstration which may imply DAF (Department of the Air Force) endorsement of the cause for which the demonstration or activity is conducted. (T-0) Authorization to wear the uniform under certain circumstances may be granted in accordance with DoDI 1334.01, Wearing of the Uniform, as implemented by AFPD 36-29, 8 DAFI51-508 24 MARCH 2023 Military Standards, and DAFI 36-2903, Dress and Personal Appearance of United StatesAir Force and United States Space Force Personnel."

Soon-to-be-former Major Watson obtained no such permission to wear his uniform to that rally; therefore, by representing himself as a member of the United States Air Force he is in clear violation of the lawful regulation governing his conduct and wear of the uniform.  He is therefore subject to punishment under Article 92 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, which is "Failure to Obey a Lawful Order or Regulation." 

At this point one of two things will happen:  the Air Force will give this asshole the opportunity to resign his commission and avoid a courts-martial, or they won't.  They'll exercise their option to bring him up on charges and convene a courts-martial, the end result of which absolutely could be a reduction in rank to Airman Basic, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and confinement at hard labor for a couple of years. 

Considering the attitude and convictions of the current War Secretary, I don't see this asshole being allowed to resign and avoid punishment.  I think Pete Hegseth is gonna tell the Air Force to make an example of him.  And I think that's exactly what should happen.

Let me be clear on this:  I fully support this asshole's right to voice his political opinions, and I applaud his courage and conviction to do so.  BUT - and you knew there had to be a 'but' - doing so while in military uniform is unforgivable no matter what.  When you join the military - and this is the part that civilians don't know and can't understand - you give up certain perceived rights.  (There's a difference in 'perceived' rights and 'actual' rights; more on that tomorrow.)  One of those rights is where, when, and how to voice your political opinions.  Actually, the same regulation I quoted as to the wear of the uniform also says that military members are prohibited from display political signs/bumper stickers on their cars, and should refrain from voicing their political opinions at all.  And this is done in the name of maintaining good order and discipline, a practice I agree with.

EVERYONE who joins the US military whether it be enlisted or as an officer does so voluntarily, and in doing so they agree to give up these perceived rights.  If you can't handle that, then you shouldn't have joined.

By wearing his uniform to a political rally and voicing his opinion while doing so, soon-to-be-former Major Watson did two things:  first, he brought disgrace on himself, the uniform, the Air Force, and the United States.  Second - and most importantly (to me anyway) he violated the oath he took when he assumed his position as a commissioned officer in the US Air Force.

Any man who breaks his oath or goes back on his word cannot be trusted and is NOT worthy of admiration.

It's as simple as that.

Now I'm gonna sit back and see what the Air Force does with this asshole.  

Deo Vindice

IHC  

 

 

Happy 4th of July!

 

One of the things I never stopped to consider during the Bicentennial Celebrations in 1976 was that I'd also be around to see the Sesquicentennial Celebration FIFTY YEARS LATER.  You know, when you're that young - as in 19 years of age - you really never think about things like that.  Hell, you don't even think about things that are going to happen next week, much less fifty years in the future.

But here we are, celebrating the Sesquicentennial, or 250th Anniversary, of the founding of our nation.  Man, where did the time go??

Every time I think about the Bicentennial I always think of two things:  one of them was the prank I pulled on Amn Suzanne Council at the Main Gate while working a midnight shift on the 4th, and the other is the raising of the American and Bicentennial flags every morning for the entire year.  

I'm pretty sure it's the same way now as it was way back then, but in 1976 at Seymour Johnson AFB in Goldsboro, NC the Security Police were responsible for raising the flags in front of Base Headquarters every morning - specifically, the Law Enforcement flights.  While this was no big deal with the US flag, as you can see from the picture at the top of this page it wasn't quite that simple with the Bicentennial flag.  With the flag being all white, at 0600 hours (that's six AM for you civilians) you really couldn't see which end of the flag was which, and the flashlights we carried at that time weren't anywhere near as bright as the LED monsters we all use today.  So at least once a week at 0700 hours the Law Enforcement Desk Sergeant would get a phone call from the Base Commander's office informing the Desk Sergeant that the Bicentennial flag was upside down AGAIN.  So right in the middle of all of the activities that usually took place between 0600 and 0700 hours, someone would have to go take the flag down, flip it over, and then put it back up.  This was a challenge for us for two reasons:  first, shift change took place at 0630 hours, and there was a LOT of stuff that the offgoing flight had to do to prepare.  Second, we only had 3 base patrols, and they were all busy doing the end of shift stuff I just mentioned.  But one way or another somebody would have to go out and "fix the damned flag again!"

Then one day somebody got a simply brilliant idea, one that was so simple someone should have thought of it long before and one that immediately solved the problem of the Bicentennial flag being raised upside-down.  

Somebody spray-painted the top grommet of the flag red.  Brilliant, simply brilliant!  And it worked like a charm, too!  Once that grommet was spray-painted red, that damned flag was never raised upside-down again.  The base commander was happy, which meant that our squadron commander was happy, which meant that we were happy.  Life was good!

Until some wiseass decided to spray-paint the other grommet red, too. 

Do I need to tell you what happened next?

At that point the squadron commander had had enough.  He issued an order to the Flight Chiefs that he didn't care what it took or what they had to do, they were to personally ensure that the Bicentennial flag NEVER went up upside-down again.  So guess who was on the flag raising detail for the rest of the year?  Yep, the Flight Chief!  Usually it was the junior patrol that did it, but after Major Quantock issued his order about the flag, the Flight Chiefs thought it would be a very wise idea if they saw to it themselves because they were the ones who were going to be skinned alive if it happened again.

Still makes me chuckle every time I think of this!

So what prank did I pull on Airman Council at the Main Gate?  Well, it's like this:  the bathroom at the main gate was so narrow that you could touch both side walls without extending your arms all the way, and it was so small that once you sat down on the toilet your knees were only about six or seven inches away from the door.  And you had to be careful not to bump into the sink while sitting down and getting up, which made moving around even more difficult.

Well, my flight worked a midnight shift (ten PM to six AM) on July 4/5 of 1976, and I happened to be on base patrol that night.  The base patrols spent the quiet hours of the night throwing firecrackers at each other as we passed on the streets, and since back in those days NONE of the Air Force vehicles came with air conditioning we were all driving around with our windows down.  Around 2AM or so Suzanne called for a bathroom break, and as the junior patrol I was dispatched to take care of it.  At that time females in the Law Enforcement career field were given the option of wearing male uniforms for duty since they were better suited for wearing a gunbelt with, and that's what Suzanne wore.  So as soon as the door to the bathroom closed I snuck over and put my ear against the door, listening for the distinctive and unmistakable clinking of the buckle of her uniform belt hitting the floor.  When I heard that I pulled a firecracker out of my pocket, put it on the floor in front of the bathroom door, lit the fuse, and then flicked it under the door and into the bathroom.

"OH SHIT!  CRAIG, GODDAMN IT!"  BANG!

I didn't wait for her to come out.  I ran out of the gate house laughing my ass off, getting in my truck and leaving just as she came running out, holding her pants up with one hand and her gunbelt in the other.

Yeah, those were the days!

Happy 4th of July! 

Deo Vindice

IHC