Marines discharge sergeant for Facebook posts

[Deven]

"Screw Obama and I will not follow all orders from him."

SAN DIEGO (AP) — The Marine Corps said Wednesday it has decided to discharge a sergeant for criticizing President Barack Obama on Facebook.
The Corps said Sgt. Gary Stein will be given an other-than-honorable discharge for violating Pentagon policy limiting speech of service members.
The San Diego-area Marine has served nearly 10 years in the Marine Corps. He has said he was exercising his free-speech rights.
The discharge will mean he loses all benefits.
A federal judge previously denied a request to block military discharge proceedings against Stein, who called Obama an enemy on Facebook.
U.S. District Judge Marilyn Huff ruled then that the military has the right to respond to Stein's online comments in a case that has called into question the Pentagon's policies regarding social media and the limits regarding the speech of active duty military personnel.
Attorney J. Mark Brewer told Huff the entire process violates the First Amendment, which federal courts have the right to uphold.
Huff disagreed, calling Stein's postings "truly troubling." Service members have had their speech limited since the Civil War, especially if their comments are believed to disrupt good order and discipline.
The judge pointed out Stein's March 1 comments on a Facebook page used by Marine Corps meteorologists in which the sergeant stated, "Screw Obama and I will not follow all orders from him."

I agree with his discharge, but I think it should've been a harsher sentence.

I don't care who the President is, regardless if it was Bush or Obama. He is your Commander in Chief. If you signed up for the Military, your Freedom of Speech is long gone, buddy. Unless the orders are morally reprehensible, such as firing into a crowd of American Civilians (just an example,) the President's orders are to be followed. You are his subordinate. He is higher in rank than you. The Military, in this regard, is just like any other job: Would you expect to trash your boss on facebook and still have a job the next day?

Decades ago, he would've spent a very long time in the brig, along with a dishonorable discharge.

I have no sympathy for this man.

Bolded statement is for emphasis.

Edit: So MY OWN post doesn't turn into a Republican Vs. Democrat or Conservative Vs. Liberal posting: I believe this has to do with neither side. I would support this man's discharge if it was Reagan, Bush, Clinton, Obama... any President in office. This young man knew or should've known that there might be backlash and that in joining the Military, his speech was restricted. This is not about who the President is: It's about upholding the standard of Honor and Respect in the military. What he said was tantamount to mutiny, and needed to be addressed. He disrespected a Commanding Officer, and I would expect him to be charged for insubordination if he said this about ANY Commanding Officer.

 

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[Deven]