Right-Wing Extremist Group on Active Military Duty
October 26, 2009 by Michael Leon · 11 Comments
- Growing evidence of extremists in U.S. military, photo of active duty Oath Keeper in Mosul, Iraq -
by Rob Waters and the Southern Poverty Law Center on AlterNet - Oath Keepers, the militia/“Patriot” extremist group made up of law enforcement officers, military personnel and veterans, has posted a photo on its site showing (it says) “an active duty Oath Keeper in Mosul, Iraq” wearing two Velcro-attached “tabs” or patches, one saying “Oath Keeper” and the other “Three percent.” The flag patch beneath them is also an insignia of the “Three Percenters,” an informal alliance of hard-line gun owners.
The Oath Keepers figured prominently in a recent special report by the Southern Poverty Law Center on the resurgence of the antigovernment militia movement. The report described the group as “a particularly worrisome example of the Patriot revival.” Oath Keepers is fully on board with all the standard right-wing conspiracy theories, as evidenced by its official list of 10 “Orders We Will Not Obey,” in which it vows to resist any government efforts to “disarm the American people” or turn cities into “giant concentration camps.”
In July, the SPLC also presented Congress with growing evidence that extremists are infiltrating the U.S. military and urged Congress and the military to take steps to ensure that the armed forces are not inadvertently training future domestic terrorists.
A spokesman for the Defense Department, Lt. Col. Les Melnyk, confirmed that the uniform shown in the photo is an Army combat uniform, the kind worn by soldiers in Iraq. Army regulations stipulate that any uniform item not expressly authorized for wear is prohibited. But Melnyk noted that a Velcro-attached tab can be put on quickly for a photo-op and just as quickly removed. We’re guessing that not many soldiers are really parading around Mosul or anywhere else with these things on display.
Oath Keepers has scheduled a national conference this weekend in Las Vegas, hometown of the group’s founder, Stewart Rhodes. The Las Vegas Review-Journal profiled Rhodes and the organization in a story on Sunday. The story included this quote from the SPLC’s Mark Potok: “I’m not accusing Stewart Rhodes or any member of his group of being Timothy McVeigh or a future Timothy McVeigh. But these kinds of conspiracy theories are what drive a small number of people to criminal violence. … What’s troubling about Oath Keepers is the idea that men and women armed and ordered to protect the public in this country are clearly being drawn into a world of false conspiracy theory.”
Rhodes and Potok also faced off last night on MSNBC’s “Hardball with Chris Matthews.”
And how does the Pentagon feel about Oath Keepers? “I don’t have a formal assessment of Oath Keepers for you,” Melnyk, the Pentagon spokesman, said in an E-mail. He noted that it is “a fairly new group” and said the Defense Department would defer to the judgment of the Department of Justice and the FBI. “Certainly if they were on an FBI list of gangs or groups espousing hate, DoD would find this a compelling reason for prohibiting membership.”
Melnyk provided the specific Defense Department regulation regarding prohibited extremist groups, and it clearly is aimed more at groups that discriminate based on such things as race, ethnicity or religion. Simple conspiracy theorists, for now, might get a free pass. The regulation reads as follows:
Prohibited Activities. Military personnel must reject participation in organizations that espouse supremacist causes; attempt to create illegal discrimination based on race, creed, color, sex, religion, or national origin; advocate the use of force or violence; or otherwise engage in efforts to deprive individuals of their civil rights. Active participation, such as publicly demonstrating or rallying, fund raising, recruiting and training members, organizing or leading such organizations, or otherwise engaging in activities in relation to such organizations or in furtherance of the objectives of such organizations that are viewed by command to be detrimental to the good order, discipline, or mission accomplishment of the unit, is incompatible with Military Service, and is, therefore, prohibited.
As the SPLC noted in its July report, however, the military services’ track record when it comes to disciplining or purging extremists in their ranks has been spotty.
Here’s a story from Stars and Stripes, the independent military paper, based on the SPLC report.
I strongly suspect that the situation outlined above, where active duty federal soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen have strong ties to non-military groups, is not unprecedented. Lets take a quick look.
The overwhelming majority of generals and admirals that have run for office after their careers were finished aligned themselves with the most conservative political party of that day, whatever it might have been. I have no evidence to support this claim, but I would guess that most of the officer corps in the U.S. Armed Forces today are right wing Republicans or at least extreme conservative types.
Groups such as the Freemasons have long been represented in the Armed Forces. I know because I am a Blue Lodge Mason, a Scottish Rite Mason and a Shriner.
I knew several Rosicrucians while I was in the Service and I knew one young guy whose parents were card carrying communists.
I knew several French Canadians who were serving on active duty in the U.S. Coast Guard when I served there who had family ties to Candadian separatist groups.
He shall go nameless, but I knew of one U.S. Coast Guardsman who had strong family ties reaching back decades among the Irish Republican Army and I knew one Scottish American chief radioman in the U.S. Coast Guard who had family ties to a seperatist Scottish group with violent tendencies and that was in the early 1980s.
In 1983-1984 while assigned as an instructor to Coast Guard Yeoman School in Petaluma, California, I had several bad experiences with a large group of Coast Guardsmen that somehow or other had gotten themselves involved with an extreme anti-Catholic Bible Ministry headquartered in San Francisco. It was absolutely bizare.
On the ship in which I served as a chief yeoman, USCGC RUSH (WHEC 723) from Oct 1984 until July 1987 I served with a guy who was a Native American and a third class machinery technician. He was a cousin to Leonard Pelltier, the American Indian who was convicted of shooting and killing an FBI agent in the 1970s. He made no secret of his hatred for the FBI.
What I am trying to say is that this whole idea of an "untainted" mind serving in uniform, that is a mind that has no allegiance to any sort of ideology other than the Code of Conduct for Service men and women is unrealistic. Some of the most radical and unstable people I have ever met in my lifetime wore a U.S. uniform. And that was almost thirty five years ago.
In my limited experience with "outside influences" in the U.S. Armed Forces, they are a hell of a lot more prevelant than anyone would think.
CWO3 Tom Barnes, USCG (Ret.)
This American soldier has come to find peace in a form of patriotism as the antidote to endless war.
The recessive economy, that is currently being experienced, has affected only the common people, like this soldier will become upon his return.
These have been forced out of the markets, their savings and retirement accounts have been depleted, their homes have been repossessed, and their jobs have been terminated. Their losses were reflected only briefly by a downturn in the markets into which they had been lured by their own greed and by the tempters of the financial world who offered them wealth without honest endeavor.
In truth the moneyed internationalist investors have at a rock bottom price acquired their assets causing the markets to rebound, but the jobs, homes, savings and tabgibles were not regained. The wealth has been transferred from the many unto the few who control their destinies.
Amen to that!
people must enjoy being enalaved or they would rise up and change things.patriotic about what!it reminds me of abused children who continue to love the person who abuses them.i would not love anyone who abuses me!
The REAL question that needs to be asked here isn’t about the Oathkeepers, Masons, or any other groups represented in the U.S. military (they will always be there because our Armed Forces are drawn from across the spectrum of our society) but the SPLC and their dubious claims of an increase in supposed militia groups across this country. The SPLC headed by Morris Dees or Sleaze runs a shakedown operation that uses scare tactics to raise money. This is just the latest con that he and the SPLC is running. They have been investigated by both the local papers and the Nation (to name just a few) and their articles don’t paint a flattering picture of it. They are given the grade of F by a watchdog charity agency that grades these type of organizations. Their report is less than flattering as well. As a currently serving officer and former enlisted U.S. Marine (Vietnam veteran), I find their accusations both baseless and false. Please, Veterans Today, don’t publish anything by this organization on this web site.
The troop in the picture is wearing unauthorized additions to his uniform. His commander / platoon ldr must be one also, to allow it. After all they are called uniforms for a reason
Yea, and how many gang bangers are in the military just to learn combat ways? Or how many left-wingers are in just to leak out classify info?
What a stupid article, once again.
A photo on its site showing (it says) “an active duty Oath Keeper in Mosul, Iraq” ??? Please, this is not evidence. We can’t really know if this is even in Iraq.
The photo (along with a short paragraph) was submitted by the dirtbag soldier to the oathkeeper website. This group is a subversive organization; anyone who thinks otherwise has been hittin’ the koolaid too much. As an Army and CG vet, still serving (21years total, both Sr NCO and officer), I find it alarming that such a group, that claims to be patriotic, would stand for such subversive, unConstitutional, and unAmerican looniness. Surely the FBI, DHS, and the Secret Service are keeping tabs on them. I hope the military is tracking troops who belong to the organization!
Reason surfaced, that is, rose to the top, when Lt. Col Lynn gave the correct assertion concerning the nature of the SPLC. But the journalists of this publication are not all conservative in their orientation, and some will continue to look to news containing misrepresentations from various sources which will shed a better light on organizations such as SPLC. My congrats to Lt. Col Lynn
when you take you oath to the u.s. constitution, did you mean it? i served many years and my right hand didn’t come down, have any of you read the u.s. constitution and the bill fo rights do you as veterans know yours rights as an american? i challenge you to read these documents and to study it and then look at the world we live in and watch the news, i am an oathkeeper i kept my oath when i joined in 1981. we as an org is growing we have over 14,000 and growing very day, we have pastors, law enforcement, military, even government reps, i challenge you as an veteran to look into your hearts and decide, we have issues in this country and un-constitution laws that have been broken, example remember katrina when law enforcement and military disarmed americans, well, i do this was a violation of the 2nd amend of the u.s. constitution. and that was under george bush now we have healthcare, bailouts, earmarks, climate change, etc. these items are not in the u.s. constitution. honor your oath and join us at oathkeeper we want only our u.s. constitution to be adhered to and not be trashed like it is now.