Lt. Col. Terry Lakin, a decorated military man who has become a part of the fringe "birther" movement - which believes President Obama was not born in the United States - could face a dishonorable discharge for failing to obey orders, MSNBC reported on Tuesday.Read the rest here.
The 18-year veteran came out in support of the largely discredited conspiracy theorists at the end of March, proclaiming he would "disobey" his "illegal" orders to deploy.
"I believe all servicemen and women, and the American people, deserve the truth about President Obama's constitutional eligibility to the office of the presidency and the commander in chief," he said in a video statement posted on YouTube on March 30.
At the risk of sounding unChristian, IMO this man needs to be dealt with severely. Private citizens have an absolute right to subscribe to any zany beliefs they wish provided they don't break the law. Members of the armed forces do NOT have that right. Nor do they have the right to spread seditious lies. The military should throw the book at him. His actions could have extremely prejudicial effects on the good order and discipline of the armed forces.
When I was in the Navy the way it was explained to me is if given an order from any superior you are obligated to obey it. If you believe it is unlawful you must still obey it and file your complaint later. The ONLY generally recognized exceptions were in cases where the "unlawful" order was as a matter of common sense one that would endanger lives and or the ship or violate the laws of war (war crimes). In those cases anyone refusing to obey said orders could be required to defend their actions in court. The burden of proof is on the defendant in such cases as there is a legal presumption that orders are lawful unless proven otherwise.
That policy exists for very good reasons. You can't have everyone making up their own mind about what orders they will and will not obey in the armed forces.
This nut job needs to be cashiered and sent to the brig.
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