Sgt. Gary Stein is a member of the United States Marine Corps. He has two facebook accounts and has used both of them to ridicule President Obama, and has even said that he would not follow the President's orders. Nevertheless, Sgt. Stein is not in the brig.
Sgt. Stein identifies himself as a political conservative and tea partier, and he supports Ron Paul's candidacy for the presidency. It is reported that he had said on his personal facebook page that he would not follow President Obama's orders, but that he later amended that to say that he would not follow the President's "illegal" orders. Stein also superimposed Obama's face on a poster for the movie "Jackass", and has posted other pictures on his personal facebook account ridiculing Obama, including these:
Stein also posted other pictures and statements on his Armed Forces Tea Party facebook account that were critical of President Obama.
On April 5, 2012, an administrative separation hearing was held. The Los Angeles Times reports that "lawyers for Stein said that because his comments were made off-duty, not in his capacity as a Marine, they are protected by the 1st Amendment. ... Lawyers for his command say Stein has violated several orders restricting Marines from making partisan political statements or comments 'contemptuous; of the chain of command, including the commander in chief."
The administrative board has recommended that Stein be given an "other than honorable" discharge. A general will consider the board's recommendation and make the final decision on Sgt. Stein's fate, but that has not happened yet. Stein's attorneys have filed a civil suit in federal district court seeking to stop the Marine Corps from discharging him, but that case is likely to be dismissed, given the Supreme Court's past deference to the military's judgment on similar matters (Parker v. Levy, 1974, among others).
The Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) does not appear to directly prohibit Sgt. Stein's actions. The UCMJ prohibits commissioned officers from expressing contempt for civil authority (Article 88), prohibits disrespect toward a superior commissioned officer (Article 89), and insubordination toward warrant officers, noncommissioned officers, and petty officers (Article 91). None of those articles, however, apply to Sgt. Stein because he is not a commissioned officer, he did not show disrespect toward a superior commissioned officer, and he was not insubordinate toward a non-commissioned, warrant, or petty officer.
But the UCMJ also prohibits disobeying a "lawful command" from a superior commissioned officer (Article 90), and it prohibits "all disorders and neglects to the prejudice of good order and discipline in the armed forces, [and] all conduct of a nature to bring discredit upon the armed forces" (Article 134). It is those two articles that come into play in this case.
While UCMJ Article 88 expressly limits only commissioned officers' First Amendment rights, various military regulations and Defense Department Directives place limits on other members, and the Supreme Court has upheld those restrictions. Specifically, DOD Directive 1344.10 (PDF) prohibits service members from participating "in any radio, television, or other program or group discussion as an advocate for or against a partisan political party, candidate, or cause". It also prohibits actions similar to those taken by Sgt. Stein but which are not specific to social media. Members of the military do not enjoy the same Constitutional protections as civilians do, and there is good reason for this.
In relation to Sgt. Stein, President Obama is not only the President. He is Stein's Commander-In-Chief. Assuming that the President gives a lawful order, Stein must obey it. Insubordination toward one's commander can sew the seeds of mutiny, endangering the "good order of the armed forces." Furthermore, we place in the hands of service members the most powerful and destructive weapons that the world has ever seen. They must respect and show deference for civilian authority. Our soldiers, airmen, sailors, and Marines not only have the physical power to subvert or overthrow civilian government, but they also have the power to exterminate the human race. They must not think that they have the authority to do either, and disrespecting civilian authority is a dangerous step down that path.
An honorable discharge from the military is given only to those service members who have served honorably. A duly constituted military administrative board has found that Sgt. Stein did not serve honorably, and the evidence for that is in Stein's own behavior. He sought to belittle his commander in a public forum. He disobeyed orders not to do so.
He is lucky that he is not in Ft. Leavenworth.
Mon Apr 09, 2012 at 3:50 AM PT: Upon further reflection, I've decided that I don't want to put anyone in prison for their speech. A Bad Conduct discharge would satisfy me.