Army recommends 'birther' for promotion

October 20, 5:33 PMLouisville Independent ExaminerGreg Skilling

Previous Next

63 comments Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the Louisville Independent Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

(AP Photo/Karim Kadim)

In a stunning display of latent disrespect for President Barack Obama and a complete disregard for the good order and discipline of the U.S. Armed Forces, the Army has recommended "birther", 1LT Scott Easterling for promotion. In February of this year, the Tennessee native joined forces with "birther" attorney Orly Taitz and wrote a widely-reported letter calling President Obama a "usurper" and "impostor" because he did not believe the President was a natural-born citizen. At the time, many believed that 1LT Easterling had jeopardized his career and possibly his freedom for violating the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) which clearly prohibits publicly insulting the integrity of the President of the United States; instead he got an "administrative reprimand", also known as a slap on the wrist.

Here are excerpts from the Army's response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request submitted on September 23, 2009. The information below was provided by Major Brian J. Chapuran, Staff Judge Advocate for the 3rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) based at Fort Knox, Kentucky.

"Our investigation concluded that 1LT Easterling wrote the letter. 1LT
Easterling never refuted that conclusion.

1LT Easterling received an administrative reprimand for violation of the
UCMJ.

1LT Easterling is currently assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters
Company, 3d Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) in the Support Operations
Division.

After this incident and subsequent investigation and action, 1LT
Easterling was not involved in any other incidents. As a result, his
supervisors recommended him for promotion on his officer evaluation report."

Barely a month after a historic election elevated the first African-American to the highest office in the land; 1LT Easterling had the audacity to call it all a sham without a shred of credible evidence. I'm left wondering, "How many times does a commissioned officer in the United States Army have to publicly question the integrity of the President before he or she would be denied a promotion and receive more than a stern "talking to" for their actions"?

The actions of "birther" officers who are abusing their oath of office is not only detrimental to the morale and discipline of our troops, it provides aid and comfort to our enemies abroad. I'm not sure what's worse, the actions of 1LT Easterling or those of the officers who recommended him for a promotion.