Posted on May 4, 2016
Do you believe that these West Point first classman are violating the UCMJ by making a political statement while in uniform?
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DOD directive 1344.10 states:
-A member of the Armed Forces on active duty may:
4.1.1.3. Join a partisan or nonpartisan political club and attend its meetings when NOT in uniform, subject to the restrictions of subparagraph 4.1.2.4. (See DoD Instruction 1334.1 (Reference (c).)
From the article "Racism Within West Point"
http://www.inthearenafitness.com/index.php/racism-within-west-point
-A member of the Armed Forces on active duty may:
4.1.1.3. Join a partisan or nonpartisan political club and attend its meetings when NOT in uniform, subject to the restrictions of subparagraph 4.1.2.4. (See DoD Instruction 1334.1 (Reference (c).)
From the article "Racism Within West Point"
http://www.inthearenafitness.com/index.php/racism-within-west-point
Posted in these groups: 
United States Military Academy (USMA West Point)
Black Lives Matter
PoliticsUSCC
UCMJ
United States Military Academy (USMA West Point) Black Lives Matter PoliticsUSCC UCMJ
Edited 8 y ago
Posted 8 y ago
Responses: 238
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Sir, I don't know the exact language of the UCMJ statutes that govern political activity in uniform, but I just always went by the dictum, "Don't do it." The raised black fist certainly carries a political connotation, but a couple hundred years of white supremacy (to include a segregated Army) was also inherently political. If, today in 2016, the "black power salute" is associated w/ Black Lives Matter, then--again--the gesture is inherently political.
But the next question is . . . what to do about it? For some context, let's remember A) these cadets are kids. Kids with far more responsibility and expectations placed upon them, but still college kids nonetheless. College kids get wrapped up in emotion and passion--and that's part of the university experience. B) More importantly, how many snide comments or outright blatant political statements/displays were made by folks in uniform & at work about Presidents Clinton? And not by just 22 year olds, but career field grade officers and senior NCOs!
The military is political, inherently--war is politics by other means, right? But it cannot be partisan. Leadership has to instill this in every service-member from cadet to E-1 to O-6 (one would hope our generals understand this, though MacArthur apparently did not).
If it were up to me, I would give these ladies an unofficial talk-to (a counseling, I suppose you could call it) that just reminds them of all the above. After all, they may encounter a Private Snuffy (or LT Snuffy, for all that matter when they're CPTs and MAJs) who is making political statements in uniform and on duty. They are going to have to step up and call him out on it.
Anyway, my 2 cents. I was never a JAG.
But the next question is . . . what to do about it? For some context, let's remember A) these cadets are kids. Kids with far more responsibility and expectations placed upon them, but still college kids nonetheless. College kids get wrapped up in emotion and passion--and that's part of the university experience. B) More importantly, how many snide comments or outright blatant political statements/displays were made by folks in uniform & at work about Presidents Clinton? And not by just 22 year olds, but career field grade officers and senior NCOs!
The military is political, inherently--war is politics by other means, right? But it cannot be partisan. Leadership has to instill this in every service-member from cadet to E-1 to O-6 (one would hope our generals understand this, though MacArthur apparently did not).
If it were up to me, I would give these ladies an unofficial talk-to (a counseling, I suppose you could call it) that just reminds them of all the above. After all, they may encounter a Private Snuffy (or LT Snuffy, for all that matter when they're CPTs and MAJs) who is making political statements in uniform and on duty. They are going to have to step up and call him out on it.
Anyway, my 2 cents. I was never a JAG.
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Personally, I think we should celebrate that these young women decided to attend a predominantly all white, male institution. I have no idea what they went through as cadets first and black females second. But I am sure it was more difficult than most others. What I dislike is people calling them thugs and other names. I give them all the respect.
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SFC David Pratt
The symbolism of the pumped fist in support of the BLM movement while in uniform is a disgrace. Their poor judgement is not conducive to the high ethical and moral standards of a military officer. Sir, these future leaders have portrayed themselves as thugs by their own choice. Hopefully they will walk a few hours, learn a valuable lesson, and use much better judgement as they take on leadership roles.
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can anyone prove, other than the yellow scandal loving press, that these cadets really intended to make a political statement?
can anyone brush off 4 years of hard studies and training and living under our most precios value "Duty Honor Country"?
whoever is promoting this photo as a political statement must be shamed in his/her attempt to damage and embarrass this senior cadets and soon to be officers of the United States Army.
can anyone brush off 4 years of hard studies and training and living under our most precios value "Duty Honor Country"?
whoever is promoting this photo as a political statement must be shamed in his/her attempt to damage and embarrass this senior cadets and soon to be officers of the United States Army.
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Great question COL Russell. Because belief systems are diverse and tend to induce parochial historiographies and symbolisms (i.e., Operational Intelligence (OPINT) and Imagery Intelligence IMINT) of discord, I'll delay offering my beliefs until the end and start by framing my response with the aphorism, "One man's civil rights is another man's human rights."
In the following link please find OPINT and IMINT addressing a similar protest incident that occurred with American Olympians Tommie Smith and John Carlos; and Australian Olympian Peter Norman during the 1968 Olympics at Mexico City. It provides a prescient warning that this OPREP-3 Incident/Event will probably uncover findings of UMCJ violations, if history repeats itself. http://www.josephclan.com/tjblog/?p=1522.
Although I believe the "Black Power" and "Black Lives Matter" dialectics used in tandem with the historic fist-raising imagery is divisive, my earliest memory of its use is during the 1970's by a group of disenfranchised American revolutionaries, namely "Black Panthers," who were politicizing their struggle for "Human Rights.” However, due to Rockefeller-indoctrinated leadership and social systems leveraged by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and forces not so explicable, the disenfranchised were outmaneuver into into settling for “Civil Rights,” which according to activist lawyer Michelle Alexander (2010) has proven to be a new caste system that offers advantages only the few that "toe the line" in sustaining the civil-right psychological operation (PSYOP). These West Point first classmen fail to realize that they've given up human rights given by God or natural law in place of civil rights provided by the state or the republic that is educating them for military service. https://www.solidarity-us.org/site/node/2189
I also believe that these West Point first classmen are the new freedom fighters, who, armed with the right public relations (PR) spin or Information Operation (IO) support, represent solidarity for global human rights, creating a "win-win" situation for both America and West Point. Unfortunately, although they've demonstrate the leadership will, without the appropriate IO support they forfeit the psychological wealth and weaponry to achieve their objective—and all three tools are necessary for real changes in progressive human rights. In the meantime UCMJ is designed to sustain the American civil-rights PSYSOP, not political statements of sixteen West Point first classmen. This is the wrong attire and wrong forum. http://web.calstatela.edu/faculty/cendy/glossary.pdf
In the following link please find OPINT and IMINT addressing a similar protest incident that occurred with American Olympians Tommie Smith and John Carlos; and Australian Olympian Peter Norman during the 1968 Olympics at Mexico City. It provides a prescient warning that this OPREP-3 Incident/Event will probably uncover findings of UMCJ violations, if history repeats itself. http://www.josephclan.com/tjblog/?p=1522.
Although I believe the "Black Power" and "Black Lives Matter" dialectics used in tandem with the historic fist-raising imagery is divisive, my earliest memory of its use is during the 1970's by a group of disenfranchised American revolutionaries, namely "Black Panthers," who were politicizing their struggle for "Human Rights.” However, due to Rockefeller-indoctrinated leadership and social systems leveraged by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and forces not so explicable, the disenfranchised were outmaneuver into into settling for “Civil Rights,” which according to activist lawyer Michelle Alexander (2010) has proven to be a new caste system that offers advantages only the few that "toe the line" in sustaining the civil-right psychological operation (PSYOP). These West Point first classmen fail to realize that they've given up human rights given by God or natural law in place of civil rights provided by the state or the republic that is educating them for military service. https://www.solidarity-us.org/site/node/2189
I also believe that these West Point first classmen are the new freedom fighters, who, armed with the right public relations (PR) spin or Information Operation (IO) support, represent solidarity for global human rights, creating a "win-win" situation for both America and West Point. Unfortunately, although they've demonstrate the leadership will, without the appropriate IO support they forfeit the psychological wealth and weaponry to achieve their objective—and all three tools are necessary for real changes in progressive human rights. In the meantime UCMJ is designed to sustain the American civil-rights PSYSOP, not political statements of sixteen West Point first classmen. This is the wrong attire and wrong forum. http://web.calstatela.edu/faculty/cendy/glossary.pdf
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For the most part, I have only a passing interest in sports. During my years in Kenya and later in the UK, I was interested in cricket but that faded over the years after I moved to the US. However, I have maintained a sustained interest in the Olympics – an interest that commenced with the Melbourne games in 1956 when I lived in Kenya. It was my mother who got me interested – she, too had only a passing interest in most sports except when it...
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MAJ Hugh Blanchard
I was wondering if anyone was going to recall this Olympic episode in this discussion. Interesting.
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MSgt Ken "Airsoldier" Collins-Hardy
At the end of the day, the question is enigmatic because a political statement is being made anytime one dons the military uniform whether it toes the party line or not.
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Perception is everything.... It doesn't bother me but everything has to be equal. I could open a can of worms but it wouldn't change anything.
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SSG (Join to see)
SPC Andrew Griffin - You asked how Black Lives Matter became a Hate Group. I was answering that question.
It's the perception that matters. And the perception on these Cadets is negative
It's the perception that matters. And the perception on these Cadets is negative
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Weather you like what they are doing or not is immaterial. We as Soldiers, and especially West Point Cadets must honor the commitment that they raised their right hand for. Everyone has an opinion on whatever the topic is, but at the end of the day we are all still soldiers. you have to trust your leaders, and the leaders trust the troops to have their back when we go into a hostile situation. To me "All Lives Matter" I do not care what color you are, ethnic background, political affiliation, or anything that doesn't pertain to the mission. I have had leaders who were different ethnic background, and I would have followed them to the gates of hell if they wanted to go their. You want to voice your opinion go ahead, but do it out of uniform and on your own time. Not in uniform and so obviously expressing and political and racial opinion.
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Edgy, yes; not sure it crosses the line. Clearly, it's in uniform and you could make a strong argument that they are violating the spirit, if not the letter of the regulation. On the other hand - when are USMA Cadets EVER out of uniform? If the problem is real, and it's about behavior manifesting inside their ranks or inside the walls at USMA, then maybe this was their only recourse, short of resignation. If I were the Commandant of Cadets or the IG up there, those in the picture might warrant a reprimand yes, and some re-training on Army Values and the statues involved here. And then I'd be thinking long and hard about whether there's a bigger issue at here. Maybe they're off-base, and MAYBE...they aren't; and nobody's been listening. The article says there were many sessions with senior leaders about the issue before this happened. Were they taken seriously?
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Capt Adam Saxe
"[W]hen are USMA Cadets EVER out of uniform?" -- great point, Colonel.
As an ROTC guy, I remember my cadets (and leadership) wondering why I would wear the uniform from time to time outside of formations and drills. My blunt answer was simply to impress girls. It had mixed results.
But of course Academy life is very different from ROTC life. We ROTC cadets were given (almost) free-reign to engage in public political activity (out of uniform, of course) as long as we did not explicitly denigrate the chain-of-command. Even this became blurry at the height of public passions around the lead-up to OIF.
I suppose our Colonel could sleep at night knowing that he commanded a detachment at a relatively non-political mid-western state school and that most of his cadets were engineering majors, and not poly-sci majors (like myself)!
I think the cadets in question shouldn't have their future careers jeopardized, but simply be given an unofficial counseling that reminds them they will be leading troops of all backgrounds, races, colors, ethnicities, religions, etc. and they are obligated to come down hard equally on anyone that even gives the appearance, in uniform, to be challenging civilian control.
As an ROTC guy, I remember my cadets (and leadership) wondering why I would wear the uniform from time to time outside of formations and drills. My blunt answer was simply to impress girls. It had mixed results.
But of course Academy life is very different from ROTC life. We ROTC cadets were given (almost) free-reign to engage in public political activity (out of uniform, of course) as long as we did not explicitly denigrate the chain-of-command. Even this became blurry at the height of public passions around the lead-up to OIF.
I suppose our Colonel could sleep at night knowing that he commanded a detachment at a relatively non-political mid-western state school and that most of his cadets were engineering majors, and not poly-sci majors (like myself)!
I think the cadets in question shouldn't have their future careers jeopardized, but simply be given an unofficial counseling that reminds them they will be leading troops of all backgrounds, races, colors, ethnicities, religions, etc. and they are obligated to come down hard equally on anyone that even gives the appearance, in uniform, to be challenging civilian control.
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SSgt (Join to see)
White Power sign... a demonstration against Jim Crow. CPT L S But you like me, all the same/ :)
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Yes and I am positive that the appropriate disciplinary action is being taken, or has already. Remeber these are college students, it will likely not be there last mistake. I am sure that they will go on to become stellar officers in their chosen field.
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