Musgrave event follow-up.
The Fort Collins Coloradoan has run a follow-up story on the Musgrave event and the response from the Marine Corps, or the apparent one.
The first five grafs of the piece tell the tale …
The uniformed troops who appeared at the Larimer County Republican Party’s Lincoln Day Dinner last weekend did not violate military code, said a spokeswoman for the Marine Corps Headquarters’ public affairs office.
“I don’t think there’s any trouble to be had,” said the spokeswoman, who declined to give her name, citing protocol. “It’s a touchy issue because lots of honorees are being invited to things like this. It’s a shame people are trying to turn it into more than that.”
Organizations from both parties have been asking military members returning from Iraq and Afghanistan to attend their events to be honored, and the Marine Corps will turn down those requests if the troops are expected to speak, act in an official capacity to assist with the event or endorse a party or candidate, the spokeswoman said.
Strictly being honored at an event, however, is not against regulations, she said.
Officials at the Pentagon deferred to the Marine Corps for a ruling on the appearances.
Now, needless to say, I’m not in a position to interpret DOD regs. But here is a link to one version of the regulations.
I’ve spoken to a number of vets and active duty military who say that the training they got always made very clear that this sort of activity was prohibited. What’s more, look at the regs yourself. They seem pretty clear on their face. And, if you read them, the whole point of the regs, as they’re structured, is that having active duty military appearing in uniform as participants at partisan political events is tantamount to an endorsement.
Three other points about the spokeswoman’s statement strike me as suspicious. One is the inherently engaged nature of the response. She doesn’t state policy; she spins.
Second, she can’t be identified? Military spokepersons in some contexts won’t give their names. But this context? I find that odd.
Third, and most important, the spokesperson ducks the principal issue: appearing in uniform. It’s the essence of the issue. And she dodges it.
This whole story needs more attention.
