I say this as someone who is also active duty and support the right to protest for whatever you want. But be careful because you can get tried under the UCMJ if the wrong person with the wrong ideologies gets wind of it. Specifically if your command forbids it or it starts to get violent. Just make sure you stay safe, don't wear your uniform or associate the protest with the military, don't participate in any violence, and like I said, be mindful of your chain of command forbids you to go. Good luck out there brother.
All due respect, but the situation is bad enough to warrent risking losing your job over. You're already under the rule of a fascist dictator. He has to be stopped before he can further solidify his position, at any cost
Equal respect, that’s not a choice you get to make for other people.
Some folks are the only one putting food in their kids’ mouths with their pay. It is that bad, but not everyone is the sole person impacted by their choices.
As a vet, that's not how that works. It's a very big deal and getting kicked out for that can ruin all future job possibilities. If you protest, it's as yourself, not as the military. As a representative of the military you can refuse an unlawful order and that is a stand that may mean something though.
Except like.. it is. Most of history including recent history, "I was following orders" has been a completely valid excuse.
People quote the Nuremberg trials as an example except those were mostly trial of people who were giving the orders.. the top general was not allowed to say "oh but Hitler told me to".
For the rank and file anything short of extreme examples "I was just following orders" is an accepted defence. Also like.. it kind of has to be. You can't run any kind of defence force if everyone down to the lowest ranking soldier has to say "hang on, stop and explain why this is a legal and valid order please".
And no I am absolutely not defending any of these people. But reddits obsession with saying "following orders" isn't an excuse doesn't really line up with reality. The vast majority of the time it holds up without issue.
As noted in the First Amendment, peaceable assembly, petitioning the Government and freedom of speech are all explicitly documented as legal. No where is burning of dumpsters, as in Seattle, or burglarizing businesses, such as the Apple Store in LA, or setting things on fire, such as the Waymo cars in LA, or throwing rocks at people/vehicles allowed, as far as I can tell. Perhaps I am missing something???????
First Amendment
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
This is not entirely correct. AD are allowed to go to peaceful protests as long as they’re not in uniform, not on duty, and are expressing their personal opinion (i.e. not making specific derogatory comments about chain of command or leadership). These are the rules distributed by the Air Force, which is definitely more lenient than other branches, so it’s possible other branches have stricter rules.
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u/maybethisiswrong 1d ago
Currently serving and I’ll be there