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

it was no secret to those around me that i didn't and still don't like the guy in office, but it was understood that it was because i voted against him. he visited posted just after i started my post reintegration pass and my sgts asked if i was going to see, i replied with a negative, but then again i was on pass, had beer to drink and it was my first real day to myself after getting back.

Bottom line.....As long as you are Active in the United States Military, you ARE NOT allowed to speak bad or bash the Commander in Chief.  He is appointed above us and in our chain of command.  It is made very clear that it is against the UCMJ to bad mouth the Commander in Chief whether you agree with him or not.  You may express your displeasure with policies or changes in those policies that are implemented, but not about the Commander in Chief direcly, as a person.

In the National Guard, I notice a lot of troops do this. Rarely do I see anybody saying anything positive about Obama or any democrat.&nbsp;<div><br><div>These troops fail to understand that they swore to defend the constitution of both federal and state, and to obey the officers appointed over them, including the president when called into service.</div><div><br></div><div>However, they use the the their Guard status as a way to hide from that oath.</div><div><br></div><div>It does bother me. As troops, we do give up some of our rights to perform our duty.&nbsp;</div></div>

If one (the service member) was to say, "the Affordable Care Act" is a failure and does nothing to help American citizens and the&nbsp;Senators and Representatives&nbsp;who voted for it should resign", how many of you would consider this to be disrespect to the President?&nbsp;

I started noticing with President Bush. The amount of people I corrected for doing it while in uniform al,most drove me nuts.<div><br></div><div>As long as you express your opinions in a respectful manner and not while in uniform, I believe it should be protected speech.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>I disagreed with some of his policies, and I find myself disagreeing with a lot with the current administration's policies.</div><div><br></div><div>You get the government you elect. It is our responsibility to ensure our Nation gets the best government possible.</div>

he has changed all sorts of laws to fit in his warped way of thinking. having said that, I believe since we have "freedom of speech" or the illusion of it&nbsp;anyway, I think especially because we're in the military, we should be allowed to voice our opinions.

Having read through this thread several times, I can see its definitely a hot topic. The arguements being placed by both sides have concrete evidence in both, yet, the fact remains that this is not our fight to uphold. We have our Oath, we have our duty, and that lies with the Constitution and the American people.&nbsp;<div><br></div><div>While all of the rest falls into place behind them , in my opinion, the fact remains you respect the Office and not the individual. That s not to say I d spit in my hand and be disrespectful to the mans face, considering no one should be afforded that treatment.</div><div><br></div><div>I base my opinions and judgement of a person based on their morals and work ethic. Based on the standards of my father, his father before him, etc...the keys to success lie in hard work and dedication and no one is going to hand you anything. Again, these are my standards and mine alone, and based on those, whether they be too lenient or too hard, I have yet to be impressed by anything our President has done.</div><div><br></div><div>With that being said, the ability to differentiate what the ability or capability of the President has been blurred by the actions of his Administration. By any FM on Leadership or Administration would mean accepting responsibility of everything going on under you regardless if you know the facts or not. Pleading ignorance is not a culpable excuse nor one that would be accepted in the civilian world.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>I list the scandals that have occurred under President Obama simply because I feel bad for him having to constantly be thrown these curve balls, and it makes you wonder, whats next?</div><div><br></div><div>But for the record:</div><div>Benghazi</div><div>Fast and Furious</div><div>The IRS</div><div>The US Secret Service</div><div>The AP Wiretapping</div><div>Rosengate</div><div>The AG Holder's Perjury</div><div>The GSA Bash</div><div>US Department of Veterans Affairs 6 Million Dollar Disney Land</div><div>Solyndra</div><div>The American citizen being held for making a video about Islam</div><div>The relief of the IG s investigating personal friends of President Obama.</div><div><br></div><div>I am sure there are more but these are the major ones that have made the news lately.</div><div>If I was in his shoes, my attitude would not be one of ignorance, but one of, hey you guys are upset, I respect that, I will do everything possible to oversee an investigation as well as bring those responsible to be held accountable for those actions.</div><div><br></div><div>The majority of these I have seen ignorance being played rather than taking the brunt of the impact. "I get my news from the same place you do, CNN"</div><div><br></div><div>I just can t see how any of this is fostering good leadership. This gives you a little insight to how I view the President, and hate is a powerful. I do not hate him personally, I have heard he is quite the charming individual and a great person to meet face to face. I just dislike his actions and the resultant reactions to come afterwards.</div><div><br></div><div><br></div>

As far as the veterans speaking out they can and may. We have been there done that some of us left pieces there. Regardless if I agree with a fellow veteran or not I will Never do anything to silence them or help silence them and any that do try to silence them regardless of opinion should stand by. I am not an eloquent man nor do I pull punches. I do not believe that the current regime is or has a good record of leading. As far as active duty speaking out yes they may and it is protected under D.O.D order as long as it is not inciting riots etc etc.&nbsp;

To be totally honest a president does not run this country.....its the Fab 13 that do the Bankers and the owners of the US Treasury dept....wake up u guys are blind to the real deal, no president has ever run this country and never will till we get rid of the rich and the powers that be.... till then we are slaves to the rich

Well to start things off The Constitution and Federal Law preside above UCMJ, they are the Engines for UCMJ and what gives it power to be law for those who are commissioned or enlisted. &nbsp;So that does mean that our freedom of speech is not compromised at all...but there are federal laws as well as UCMJ laws that work together to keep an armed body such as our military in line with Authority above them. &nbsp;Articles 88 of UCMJ is specifically tailored for this. &nbsp;So while you think its not illegal due to blind eye of of popular opinion it is very illegal. Just ask General McChrystal.<br><br>Personally considering the fact that we transitioned from a force that was previously a majority of draftees to an all volunteer force, I feel that UCMJ needs to have an overhaul with respect to Citizens who are also by oath and definition Patriots.<br><br>Orders are orders and they need to be obeyed, or the strength of our Military Structure will be compromised. &nbsp;When it comes to consent to officials and UCMJ having supreme authority over punishment with a blanket authority for maximum punishments. I feel there needs to be restrictions on it, and anyone who is to be punished under Article 88 needs to be removed from the military and not face any other type of punishment.<br><div><br></div><div>So with that being said I fully support the articles but I feel that legal actions and behaviors civilians are granted should follow suit for UCMJ in that if its not a punishable offence for a civilian it should not be punishable under UCMJ, and removal from Service is not a punishment in my book, but an administrative action needed to keep our military structure from failing at the hands of those who do not respect it.<br><br>Does anyone find this opinion unreasonable?</div>