A Military Case of Free Speech

One of the downsides of social media forums like Facebook (and blogs for that matter) is that it gives people the opportunity to give their opinion, where in their actual lives, they would have neither a forum nor an audience. Some see this as the ultimate expression of the First Amendment right to freedom of speech. However, it often serves as a transcript that can indict people who step over the line. Enter stage left Marine Corps Sergeant Gary Stein whose Facebook page, entitled Armed Forces Tea Party, included his statement that he would not follow orders from the president that violated the constitutional rights of fellow American citizens. As innocuous as that might seem to the average reader, there is an inherent danger as well.

Since the time of the Civil War, it has been an unofficial policy that military members have a reduced expectation of certain rights. Key among these is the freedom of speech. It should be said that, if his views are conducive to some of the fiscally conservative ideas of the Tea Party, I am sympathetic towards his goals. However, no civilian-controlled military can permit military members to express objections to the president’s authority. We are assuming that many other government and legal machinations would prevent the president from violating American’s constitutional rights. In that case, Sgt. Stein has no grounds for disobeying a presidential order. It does not matter whether he political agrees with the president or not, world history is replete with examples of what happens when military members move to protest or object to civilian policy.

What is most troublesome, not unlike the woman who went to a Catholic university and then demanded contraception, when one goes into the military, it is said and said often the relationship between their freedom of speech and the presidency. The president of the United States is the commander-in-chief of all armed forces and in that sense is Sgt. Stein’s boss. From the beginning of his enlistment and throughout his career (as a sergeant, it can be assumed he has been in at least six years), he has been told that he cannot criticize the president or his policies openly. I’m not sure if Sgt. Stein is challenging his dismissal from the Marine Corps as a protest to the policy but it cannot be from a position of ignorance. He knew the military policy on such political writings and to that degree, he must face the consequences.

It might seem odd that a conservative take this point of view but this is not about politics or the current administration. This is about sound military order and discipline and as president, Barack Obama cannot ask his military to do something, he must be able to order and expect immediate and dutiful compliance with the same. Anything short of that and the country runs the risk of a military that can pick and choose the orders they follow. As we’ve seen in so many other countries, that never works out.

Update: Late yesterday, a military board ruled in favor of dismissing Sgt. Stein from the Marine Corps. If I remember my Uniformed Code of Military Justice correctly, the decision goes before a general who can either sign off on it or reject it. Afterwards, we will have to wait and see. The sergeant's lawyers expressed shock at the verdict. ("I'm shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on in here.") Hard to know how to respond to that one.