How do you feel about veterans or Soldiers criticizing our President?

I have always respected the rank or "position" but true respect has to be earned.&nbsp;<div>Is it not our oath to defend the Constitution against all enemies foreign AND Domestic?</div><div>in my humble opinion, POTUS is an enemy of our constitution. I have a supervisor at work who is dumber than a box of rocks and an ass. I do what I am told because of the position. but that does not stop me from voicing my opinion. With that said, I do not feel that active duty personnel should be gagged. If you are given an illegal order, do you obey it? I also have a problem with a president who has not served in the forces.&nbsp;</div><div>As for cutting from the military... when we joined voluntarily, we basically &nbsp;gave Uncle Sam a blank check up to and including our lives if necessary. There is no greater sacrifice and all veterans should be compensated for their commitment. Without the military we would probably speaking a different language and Obama wouldn't be president.&nbsp;</div>

<p>I think that a lot of people (Vets and Active Duty alike) disliked the President from day one before he even entered the White House or even muttered a single word. The true reason for&nbsp;this&nbsp;dislike&nbsp;is somewhat TABOO to discuss. I find that a lot of&nbsp;people constantly make up reasons&nbsp;and excuses&nbsp;(sometimes rediculous)&nbsp; to down talk our current President to hide the real reason for the dislike. </p><p>For instance Fox News was saying "that the President didn't care for the people that earn minimum wage" "He had no intentions to see that the minimum wage be raised!" But when they found out that he had been working on sending up a bill to be voted on by the house to raise the mininum wage, the same critics said that he was squandering our money, and&nbsp; the minimum wage people only was going to buy big screen TVs and new cars! Lets see I think that statement was per Mr, Hannity. So it is pretty safe to say that whatever he do, it will be wrong. (kind of like Damned if you do and Damed if you don't) During my life, I have disagreed with quite a few Presidents, but I did not disrespect them, lie on them, question their worth on every situation and in fact, I respected them as a person and I respected the position that he held. After all, being in the Armed Forces and a Government worker, the President will always be my boss. During these two terms, I have never in my life of 56 years, seen so much blatant disrespect for the top position in this country by people in the military. Isn't that kind of like treason? I also don't understand why when i was in Iraq and other places overseas in combat zones, places that had TVs in them kept the channel on FOX News. I don't know if it was just me, but I felt very strange sitting among many different allied soldiers in a combat zone, listening to this American news station constantly attack, low rate, contradict, down talk and discredit our own Leader. All of the allied foreign soldiers, that I talked to,&nbsp;admired our&nbsp;Presdent&nbsp;and the United States&nbsp;were the only ones&nbsp;that&nbsp;disliked him.&nbsp;One Austrailian Soldier said out loud in the defac, "I don't understand If you all don't like your bloody President, than for whom are you blokes fighting for?" At that time the whole defac burst out into laughter. I was thoroughly embarrassed and I failed to see the humor.</p>

I don't think SMs target the President for he does that on his own.&nbsp; If I only stated&nbsp;facts those statements which won't be statement of my own, more like statements made by the President himself and then matched with actions that say otherwise.&nbsp; I will probably have a few people getting the wrong perception.&nbsp; Once someone said, "You should support the President".&nbsp; I stated, "I am not required by support him but I am prohibited by regulation not to disrespect him or his position.&nbsp; I will leave you all with this, all Presidents lie to get elected.

What I see most often is Soldiers doing this through social media while having pictures of themselves in uniform and job title as army or whatever service they are affiliated with. If they are affiliated with a branch of service on social media they should not be posting their personal political opinions expect ally without distinguishing that it is their personal view and by no means the view of the military or others therein. It's just like attending a political rally, you can do this on your own time but not distinguishing yourself as a service member. People try to add weight to their opinion by doing so.

I think there is some difference in between being a veteran, former military, then someone active.&nbsp; First of all, the President is a elected position and all of us have the option to vote for whomever we want.&nbsp; The President is not promoted to his position or appointed due to his rank.&nbsp; He is elected by ALL eligible voters, which naturally includes military members!&nbsp; <br><br>Now the Office of President should be respected as I SFC Gates said, but doesn't mean I have to respect the person in it!&nbsp; Hell Clinton didn't even show respect for the White House, and please don't try to tell me different.&nbsp; The boy was caught with his pants down and lied!&nbsp; :-)&nbsp; <br><br>The ballot is where we can all tell who we want!&nbsp; I can complain all day about Obama, but he is there till 2016.&nbsp; Then I can vote differently, lets just hope there is a worth while candidate.&nbsp; As I am concerned, both parties are on my hit list after voting to cut military pensions!&nbsp; I am a so-called Republican!!!&nbsp; But people have blamed the Democrats for the pension, really?&nbsp; In the house 67 vote for the cuts, there isn't 67 Democrat Senators, furthermore the House is Republican controlled and they voted for the cuts.....&nbsp; <br><br>One of my first questions about a politician when I decide to vote; has he/she served in the military!&nbsp; And the 2nd question is:&nbsp; Do they support our troops!!!!&nbsp; I have to have a yes on both or they don't get my vote.<br><br>If I got a bit off track, sorry.&nbsp; But politcs has gotten to be sicking issue in our country.<br>

I ran into this precise situation while attending Warrior Leaders Course. During a break, newly promoted fellow SGT had a group of junior enlisted gathered at the smoking area while he ranted about his point of view of the President. It was blatantly obvious to all listening that his point of view was born of bigotry thought he never came right out and said it. A few of us had to pull him aside and explain that as an NCO he simply could not do this, because wearing those stripes meant he needed to hold himself to a higher standard of conduct, ESPECIALLY when dealing with the Soldiers.<br><br>During the recent government shutdown, I was asked by a New York Times reporter on my way into work what my opinion of the president and the government was. My answer was "They are my superiors, and while I may not always agree with what they do or how they do it, they are in a better position than me to understand the decisions they need to make." A very PC comment to be sure, but we all need to be aware of what we represent.<br><br>Yes, we are all entitled to our opinion, but that doesn't mean forcing it into every open ear. There is a line between voicing your opinion under freedom of speech and violating good conduct and discipline in the ranks.<br>

I think it was very effectively covered in a previous post that there are articles in the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) that cover this subject. I think that a distinction must be drawn between political discourse that is posted on social media and comments that can be classified as insubordinate towards the president, or comments that undermine good order and discipline. These must be made by leaders, and if the line was crossed there should be counseling of the service member making the derogatory comments. These distinction apply to face-to-face conversations/interactions as well (handing out leaflets calling for impeachment, for example).<br><br>Using the example of the past two presidential administrations which have wrought some very vitriolic exchanges between political factions in our country, it is noteworthy to say that all leaders should familiarize their subordinates with the regulations in the UCMJ, as well as other documents like DoD Directive 1344.10 titled "Political Activities by Members of the Armed Forces." When the line is crossed by service members in their comments, either face-to-face or social media, ignorance is no defense, and they may be called to task for the comments. There have been several examples of this since the rise of social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, and others. The case of Marine Sgt Gary Stein is one example. Link to story: http://www.cnn.com/2012/04/14/opinion/obeidallah-marine-obama-facebook/<br><br>As for a Veteran making comments on social media. I am referring to someone who has been discharged from the service. These individuals are private citizens again, and are not subject to the UCMJ. However, posting derogatory statements on social media about the president that are just meant to be snarky instead of furthering a substantive argument is just counterproductive, and may lead brothers and sisters in the service down a slippery rabbit hole when they respond in support. Conversely, substantive arguments that further a useful political discourse is what our country is all about as long as they adhere to existing directives.<br><br>It is important to note that the most useful tool that a service member has in their toolbox is the vote! If the direction of the nation is a point of dissatisfaction for service members they have to register, and cast their ballot on election day. For more information go to http://www.fvap.gov or talk to your unit Voting Assistance Officer.<br><div class="pta-link-card"><div class="pta-link-card-picture"><img src="http://ad.doubleclick.net/activity;src=1141777;type=fvapv515;cat=fvaph715;ord=1;num=1?"></div><div class="pta-link-card-content"><div class="pta-link-card-title"><a target="_blank" href="http://www.fvap.gov">Federal Voting Assistance Program - Home - To Vote Absentee, Start By Telling Us Who You Are</a></div><div class="pta-link-card-description">FVAP.Gov is a one-stop-shop for Uniformed and Oveseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA) citizens for absentee voting related information. UOCAVA citizens are active duty military, uniformed servic...</div></div><div style="clear:both"></div><div class="pta-box-hide"><i class="icon-remove"></i></div></div><div class="pta-link-card"><div class="pta-link-card-picture"><img src="http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/ [login to see] 9-marine-sgt-gary-stein-story-top.jpg"></div><div class="pta-link-card-content"><div class="pta-link-card-title"><a target="_blank" href="http://www.cnn.com/2012/04/14/opinion/obeidallah-marine-obama-facebook/">Marine's Facebook posts on Obama go too far</a></div><div class="pta-link-card-description">Dean Obeidallah says it makes sense that a Marine who said he wouldn't follow orders from Obama faces discharge</div></div><div style="clear:both"></div><div class="pta-box-hide"><i class="icon-remove"></i></div></div>

When your wrong, your wrong. No matter what the rank. The president is clearly wrong on many many things and if you can't see that, your blind. He should be in prison or put to death for treason alone. Every single soldier vowed to protect the constitution. I hope everyone remembers that when the people finally had enough.

<p>A Chief in Saudi once told me "Son, we're here to defend democracy not practice it"</p><p>Show some respect for the office if not the man.</p>

Soldiers Complain, just like how bakers bake and butchers cut. Go to your local barracks on a Friday or Saturday night and you will see the soldiers outside under age drinking and complaining about their chain of command (From team leader to president). That is just life. If your a leader, you know there's a soldier out there who talks trash about you. If you are a lower enlisted soldier, I know you have stood in a circle with your fellow PFC's and SPC's trash talking your unit leadership. Its just life. I am sure before he was CSMA Chandler, he was once PFC Chandler and he probably shit talked his squad leader once or twice. As did pretty much ever other soldier in the U.S. Army since the civil war.