"I, _____ (SSAN), having been appointed an officer in the Army of the United States, as indicated above in the grade of _____ do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign or domestic, that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservations or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office upon which I am about to enter; So help me God." (DA Form 71, 1 August 1959, for officers.)”
On the wall of my office is my commission as an officer in the United States Army. In order to get it I had to swear an oath (above) to defend the Country and the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic and to swear true faith and allegiance to the same.
This was given to me long ago and I never really gave much thought to anything but the foreign enemies part. Nor did we receive training in anything other than how to deal with foreign enemies (violently but with certain rules). I had no training in identifying or defending against domestic enemies. And I had no training on what it meant to defend the Constitution.
I’m going to leave the Commission on my wall, because it reflects an achievement I’m proud of. But if asked to accept it again, I’d be tempted to say “Gosh… I’m not willing to defend the Constitution as currently written, and I think you are a domestic enemy, is one out of three okay?”.
Oh sure Ken, you say, you don’t like Obama so you call him a domestic enemy. I despised Clinton, but I would have accepted a commission from him. I believe that Obama is a domestic enemy. I do not believe he likes or respects this country and I think he actively works against our interests and the good parts of our Constitution. I believe he and others in his government have long term plans to subvert the freedom parts of our Constitution.
Not all parts though. I think there is one part he really likes. And that leads me to the other reason I’d have a problem accepting a commission today… there are parts of our Constitution I would not be willing to defend. In particular the 16th amendment – the right to tax us any darn well the Government wants to. Put it in context with the other amendments, which detail what the Government can’t do, the 16th amendment is the most “unconstitutional” amendment one could imagine other than “this document is nullified”.
The 16th amendment led to the growth of government that threatens our rights and economic freedom and security. Why defend it?
This is not to disparage any serving today. If I were younger I’d probably be serving as well – we clearly have foreign enemies that are actively fighting against us.
But… I’d do so with a sour taste in my mouth as I knew I’d only be willing to do a third of the job.
November 17th, 2009 at 12:47 am
I have one too, signed by President Reagan. I wouldn’t be too proud of one signed by the draft dodger Clinton, or this president, who apparently had better things to do than serve his country.
I’d have a hard time fighting for a government that gives terrorists the same rights as US citizens. I have a problem with a government that denies citizens their 2nd amendment rights. I have a problem with a government that invents rights out of whole cloth, while denying us the ones already there.
November 17th, 2009 at 6:21 am
If you were young enough for first commissioning, you would not be (and were not at the time) obsessed with the 16th Amendment. And except possibly for the gun advocacy, you would not be obsessed with any other provision. One reason the Army wants only young new lieutenants is that they don’t yet know enough to question basic tenets of the government they are defending. George Marshall’s attitude toward such questions was that the military stays completely out of politics, even to the extent of not voting. Obsession with the 16th Amendment would only come to someone later in life who was earning substantial income and felt entitled to keep more of it.
November 17th, 2009 at 8:07 am
Sure I’m peeved over the theft. But I’ve earned a substantial income for a long long time now. I view the 16th amendment as a threat to the country, to my childrens welfare, and as the primary reason we are losing our freedoms.
Read what I write, it hardly ever mentions the money.
November 17th, 2009 at 9:58 am
Why do you equate the desire to simply have the rights so plainly spelled out as an obsession? The ACLU and thier ilk burn a ton of calories defending only the rights they like, mainly the 1st amendment, which of course they misinterpret. Then they invent other rights and demand them . Are they obsessed?
I think maybe, along with all the other requiremnts to be president, military service should be as well. Then we avoid people like Clinton and Obama, who are clueless as to military matters. I’m not saying I want stormin Norman as president, but just some military service. The fact these two actively avoided it speaks volumes about thier character, or lack of.
November 17th, 2009 at 1:04 pm
Desire and obsession differ only in degree. I would like vs. I would kill to get.
As long as you are proposing military service as a prerequisite for President, you could specify combat command in a theater of war which would conveniently exclude almost every woman in the USA. We could also avoid another W. Try getting such a Constitutional amendment through two-thirds of the Congress and three-fourths of the states. Whatever conditions you tried to specify would raise a ton of questions and present another gold mine for lawyers.
November 17th, 2009 at 3:31 pm
You could specify a lot of things that would make it impossible to pass. I’m only asking for a minimum requirement. You threw in the part that would exclude women. I personally feel I am substantially more qualified than obama to be CinC, even with my limted military experience.
Why should I have to desire to get my rights, or even have to obsess on it? They are inherent, and obvious, and liberals like to take them away. Is it obsession to want what is already rightfully mine?
November 17th, 2009 at 3:35 pm
If you disagree you are extreme or obsessed. Standard liberal playbook.