The following was written by MLTF steering committee member James M. Branum. Like all commentary posts, it reflects the views of the author and may not represent the position of the MLTF as a whole.
This was submitted as a letter to the editor of the Washington Post, but is shared here as well.
Dear Editor,
I’m writing in response to the story “Airman dies after setting himself on fire outside Israeli Embassy” by Emily Davies, Peter Hermann, Dan Lamothe and Hannah Allam.
The article stated, “U.S. service members are prohibited from acts of political protest, in adherence with the Pentagon’s long-standing policy of remaining nonpartisan while civilian leaders oversee policy decisions.”
This is not accurate.
Department of Defense Directive 1325.06, enclosure 3 provides that protests by active duty servicemembers are legal as the protest is done off-post, in the United States, not in uniform, not in “breach of law and order,” and not in a situation where “violence is likely to occur.”
Military servicemembers are often wrongfully and illegally told by commanders that all protest is forbidden, but this is not true. The Washington Post should not be passing on this misinformation.
Civilian Attorney who practices military law
(Oklahoma City, OK)
The post Commentary: Sorry Washington Post, but servicemembers have the right to protest appeared first on Military Law Task Force.