Latest Breaking News

24601

(4,059 posts)

18. It violates The Uniform Code of Military Justice for a Commissioned Officer, including those of us who are retired, from

Reply to Hotler (Reply #17)

Wed Jan 22, 2025, 12:21 AM

Jan 22

"using contemptuous words against the President, the Vice President, Congress, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of a military department, the Secretary of Homeland Security, or the Governor or legislature of any State, Commonwealth, or possession in which he is on duty or present..."

The truth of the statement is irrelevant. The standard of proof is that the words were used and that in the context used, the words were contemptuous.

The UCMJ is Federal Law, and the specific reference is Article 88, Contempt Toward Officials. The maximum punishment is dismissal, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and one year of forced confinement. Dismissal is the Officer & Cadet equivalent of a Dishonorable Discharge.

]https://www.mymilitarylawyers.com/ucmj-article-88-contempt-toward-officials/

You may recall that in 1993, the Air Force fined and retired Maj. Gen. Harold N. Campbell who called President Clinton a "pot-smoking," "womanizing" and "draft-dodging" Commander in Chief. If only he had added, "...and we fighter pilots admire most of these qualities," then the context might not have been contemptuous.