Exclusive Video: Veteran Forcibly Dragged from Air Force Ceremony for Mentioning God - Breitbart

Maj Kevin "Mac" McLaughlin - Thanks for the additional details. Interesting issue there between the person and the commander which we can chat about separately (I commanded a squadron and a group and have an opinion on that). So, for me it boils down to this: 1) the author misrepresented the story entirely (again, not good in my view), 2) if someone wanted an explanation and the commander was not willing to give it, elevate it to the next command level or go to the IG - that's why they are there.

Understood. I've worked within the squadron command level (as the deputy) and I see this as an abuse of power by the commander. The individual elevated the issue and took it to the Security Forces. They claimed they would investigate, but to date no one has heard anything of the results of that investigation. I find that strange. Granted, neither of us has all the information, but from the surface, this appears to be an overreach of authority. As a commander, what authorization would you have to remove a retired SNCO from a base facility? The answer to that escapes me if we're not talking about a secure/critical facility or a flight line and even then, I would expect there to be a potential danger.

Maj Kevin "Mac" McLaughlin - Great points. I'm not sure the security police would have been the best route to go if there was an abuse of power (the IG may have been better). Most of the time if I was faced with an interpretation like this I'd consult the local JAG. Note that a commander has the responsibility to maintain good discipline and order under his or her command so that gives them broad latitude in making some of these decisions. For example, in my squadron I had an NCO killed on her way home by a drunk driver. Her home was at Edwards AFB and we were at March AFB (when it was an AFB). Versus having a group of vehicles headed to the funeral I gave the order that they needed to take a bus from the motor pool. Several NCOs gave me grief for that but it was my call to watch out for the welfare of the organization. That may have been more cautious than needed, but I felt it was in the best interest of the squadron and within my role as commander. So, in the case were talking about, there may be more to the story that they can't talk about (I suspect that may be the case). Who knows for sure - clearly not us.

There is a lot to this story. As far as i can tell it is all true. This ahould not have happened. A SNCO's retirement was ruined because of the actions os a out of control CO. The SMGT had permission to be at the retirement for the MSgt retiring requested his present. The SMgt was assualted by SNCO during the flag folding. This has been a black eye to the Air Force and such actions should have never hapened.