Do you believe that these West Point first classman are violating the UCMJ by making a political statement while in uniform?

If these Cadets are, in fact, posing in a manner that violates the DoD Directive, then appropriate action needs to happen.

Yes, they are, they are in violation!!!! No organization withing the military is authorized unless authorized! Also, this is a racial sign they are expressing, used by the Black Lives Matter movement and the Black Panthers. When are we going to uphold the regs that are written and stop the "let it go"? Suggest they be counseled on the matter so they understand and then allowed to move along in their military career! If not, this type of behavior will continue to grow and will cause problems and segregation in the future, something we fought to abolish!
The bad thing is, if someone in the future were to complain about their action at a later date and claim racism, this matter will be brought back up! Not good!

I have heard the "they are just kids" argument plenty here.
And it's bullcrap.
These are Seniors at West Point who are about to become officers in the United States Army. They should be held to a higher standard. You can say whatever you want, but Officers in the military SHOULD be held to a higher standard. If not, then why do they exist?
There is no excuse for this.

Yup, I'll say that shit is racist. there's no room in the army for that. We got enough weird social experiments going on in the army then have to deal with racist female officers who would be commanding troops.. Lol so glad I'm not active duty. Takes 5 suicide prevention classes lol

Two things bother about all this. 1) Those young people do not have first hand knowledge of what Jim Crow was like. They were not there in Greensboro, where black citizens asked to be served and were denied. (Greensboro, NC.) People of the Philippines were slaves for 300 years!! They have moved on. In WWII, their kids, babies were impaled on poles for sport. But they marched the Bataan Death March and Corrigador along side Americans. They were crueally treated in their own Country. You were not here MLK was shot. I remember the event like it were yesterday. Little Rock Hall, was another instance where kids tried to go to school and were denied.

And I am pretty sure that you were not segregated and I actually witnessed the old school that was shut down. I used to play in the neighborhood. Willie and I were to a football game in Arkadelphia were the KKK were at. Willie said that, maybe we should go. lol, ya think? Were you there or where Hank Aaron had threats and his parents also. He handled it with grace. Bob Gibson who at one time, played basketball for the Globetrotters but could not stay in a white only hotel. Anheiser Busch rectified that? The backdrop to all of this is, that real people experienced stuff you had no experience with.

Lastly and more importantly you were not there and then to throw the power sign around, oblivious to the sacrifices of other blacks and you were not there. Lou Brock, Bob Gibson experienced it and so did Ozzie Smith, but the great SS got over that and said that if you don't have it, you don't miss it.
COL Sam Russell SSG James J. Palmer IV aka "JP4" SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL did as well.

Regards and respectfully,
Larry

yes they did violate ucmj, they know it as well, but think its ok, which it isnt. officers or future officers need to exercise restraint, this was a stupid act to be involved in, no matter your political leanings. Officers are not involved in politics on purpose.

Garbage. Wouldn't want these creatures out there leading, if they do stupid shit like this before they're even in the fleet...
The comment that they are young and stupid is so oblivious, ignorant and dangerous - they are training to be officers of soldiers, what kind shit is this?? If this were a group of whites, it would automatically be shut down, condemned and potentially kicked out of the academy.

Last but not least, to summarize some of the comments - this isn't about diversity or open mindedness or freedom of speech... Screw that, they want to enter an organization that should be one unit, not divisive/everyone's feelings need to be heard/taken into consideration type of bullshit. It starts with the basics, and they can't even keep their bearing in training......
Even if there wasn't any subtext or connotation, they (cadets/classmates, whatever) should know better.

I believe they are in violation. Just think if me and my team of Army Recruiters took a photo like that in front of our recruiting center! Would there even be a debate if we were in violation?

The military is NOT a Social Service Organization. It has rules / laws to maintain decorum and respect.

These people violated those laws/rules and should be removed. They have disrespected the Military, the Military Academy, and the American People that provided their education.

When are they getting their walking papers? I sure as hell don't want them in my unit.

Yes.

Make them write an essay on why they think they are exempt from 1344.10. It should be interesting reading. Then thank them for their interest in West Point and then dismiss them.

I am frankly embarrassed by all the officers blindly ignoring what these cadets did and cheering them on... Has the service sunk so low that this pandering, might in the minds of these officers, actually help them get promoted?

Kick them all out..... They knew what they are doing...It is a challenge to the leadership of the military that can not be allowed to fester and poison the army....

I think their action merits punishment. In the late 1960s, we were just in uniform and were soldiers. No politics like this -- and, given what the raised fist means when flown by blacks, it seems political to me. Their judgment stinks. Collectively, numbnuts. Personally, get them out of the service.

it is a blatant and obvious political statement and it does several things:
1. Disrespect and dishonor of the uniform and those who fought to make the armed forces and the academies what they are to day.
2. it violates the regulations and academy rules and policies.
3. it sends a political statement which misrepresents the academies and the armed forces.
4. it makes us all look bad because that's not why we serve or have served our country because what they did is a political statement not the defense of Constitution or Constitutional rights.
5. As cadets they swore an oath and promised to follow the honor code.

Agree with LTC Stephen F. views of the photo which explains why I for one was greatly taken back by it. As someone said 'perception is reality' and being a survivor of the horrible racial strife in the US which spilled over into the armed services back in the same time frame, an image like that gives me the creeps to see raised again in this day and age. The 'old corps' photos of past years always brought a sense of unity, loyalty, and pride among the Corps of Cadets. The below photos is taken from the same article as the one above and I feel more aptly displays the virtues sought to be displayed in traditional photos.

COL Sam Russell there has been a lot of discussion about this photo. My West Point class forum has discussing it for a few days. Earlier I responded to a post after my classmate Brenda Sue Fulton who currently chairs the U.S. Military Academy’s Board of Visitors weighed into the fray "The controversial photo of 16 black female cadets raising their fists was just one of dozens of images the women took as part of a long-held West Point tradition, according to Brenda Sue Fulton."
As far as a claim that this is an old corps photo, the only things old corps about it is the location in front of one of the older buildings and the crossed sabers which are not included in this version of the picture.
The raised fists were something associated with the black power movement of the 1960s and then became more radicalized when the Black panthers adopted that pose. The full dress gray uniform was modified by 1976 when I entered the US Military Academy as part of the class of 1980 which was the first to include women - so uniforms had to be modified.
There has been a lot of discussion about this picture among my classmates with some jokingly indicating it honors Michael Jackson.
USMA cadets like others in military uniform are prohibited from making political statements in the uniform of the US military or attending political events in uniform unless on official duty such as MPs, SPs, etc. Prohibited statements include what we do while in uniform. The Nazi salute is an example of something which brings discredit upon the military if somebody performs it in public.
Thanks for mentioning me CPT L S

When wearing the uniform of the Armed Forces you no longer have the right to do anything that may be percieved as political in nature. Unfortunately, many have been to political rallies, supported one candidate over another or been seen shaking hands with candidates while in uniform. This policy has not been enforced with a strong enough fervor in the past but that does not excuse these cadets and their behavior. If they choose to serve after their initial obligation it is best they learn now that there are consequences for even the percieved wrongs, no matter what the original intent.

I would counsel (might be to strong a word, maybe openly and honestly talk to) these young leaders in development on how perceptions can become reality, fairly or not, and that actions can have significant consequences especially when using social media, as can be seen by the uproar that occurred over the photo. I would also ask them their thoughts on having soldiers they will lead do something similar in nature especially if that something could be found offensive by some. This is a good chance to instill the lesson that as a leader you can not enforce discipline or establish a rule if you first are not bound by that discipline or rule.

I would also have a discussion with them about what the raised fist symbol means to different people around the world and how it will be difficult for them to separate their feelings as black women to various subjects and their duties as members of the US military especially as an officer in the military.

Another good discussion point is how it is ok to support various groups to include Black Lives Matter in your personal time but as soon as you are on duty this is inappropriate (I know you are always supposed to be on duty but let's be honest, what you do in the comfort of your house is your business unless it is a violation of national security, talking to you spies). How will your soldiers, especially non-black soldiers, feel and act if they saw that you publicly and in uniform supported Black Lives Matters? Would they be supportive? Would they be offended? Would they feel that you will now discriminate against them even if there is zero evidence that you would discriminate? I would then flip the discussion to how would they feel and how would they react to a company CAPT who has a confederate flag on his/her truck in the parking lot.

Bottom line, I would take this as an opportunity to make this a learning point about perceptions and how they can affect your relationships with your troops.

For my two cents worth I am going to focus on what I know. I know that an investigation is being launched to determine if anything wrong happened as a result of the picture. I know that if you never fully knew the DoD directive, it should be fully known now. I know that there are 16 ladies who know exactly why they posed for a picture with their fists raised and I'm sure that they have been instructed to only talk to certain people. I know that this is probably not the last time that I will see this picture. It will probably be integrated into various types of Army training. I know that here in a month or longer, that we will all move on to another news story and however anyone felt about this will be forgotten. I know that however you feel or think about this picture it manifests into your reality, meaning if you think their gesture supports the BLM movement, it becomes your interpretation just like if someone sees this as a way to show pride in their race or gender. It's important for everyone to remember that as individuals we interpret things in our own way so your opinion is not greater than anyone else's. I know that some people still only view the military as black and white instead of viewing their branches as one team. I know when I look at my coworkers I dont see their skin color or ethnicity, I see a group of teammates who are good at what they do. I know now that a picture is literally worth a thousand words because I have read about 1,000 different views on RallyPoint and the Army Times page on Facebook. Let's focus on things that we actually know instead of dividing ourselves about what we think we know.