Military Campaign Appearances: IOKIYAR

Ahh, the old double standard--military personnel are prohibitied from appearing in uniform at political campaign events UNLESS it's for a republican.

From the Boston Globe:

Seven on-duty Army personnel participated in a campaign event for Senator John McCain earlier this month in Londonderry, New Hampshire, in an apparent violation of a Pentagon directive against partisan political activity, two military officials confirmed this week.

More after the jump...

McCain was in New Hampshire on September 14 as part of his "No Surrender" tour of early-primary states. These pro-military "rallies" are being held to draw attention to the Senator's military service and continued support for the war in Iraq.

So it seems that Pres. Bush is not the only one who can exploit military personnel for political benefit. There's just one problem--IT'S ILLEGAL AS HELL!

A Department of Defense directive signed in August 2004 by Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz prohibits on-duty members of the armed forces from "speak[ing] before a partisan political gathering, including any gathering that promotes a partisan political party, candidate, or cause."
...
After introducing other dignitaries and before giving his defense of General David Petraeus and the Bush administration's strategy in Iraq, McCain handed a microphone to each of the seven soldiers — all wearing fatigues and berets — who introduced themselves by name, rank, and, in some cases, a description of their prior service elsewhere.
...
A Pentagon official did not dispute that the 2004 directive would apply in this instance.

We can expect Rush and all the other chickenhawks to come up with all kinds of excuses as to why this was OK. Of course, they'll be wrong, but they're not known for letting mundane little things like facts get in the way:

But a leading specialist in military law said they believed it was a clear violation. "It was obviously a political event," said Eugene Fidell, president of the National Institute of Military Justice. "Military personnel should not be participating."

But we all know what happens when someone opposes the war, don't we.

In June, a Marine reservist received what an official described at the time as a "nonpunitive discharge" for participating in an antiwar demonstration.

It should be noted that this reservist wasn't actually in uniform. He was wearing camouflage clothing, did not pretend to be speaking on behalf of the US military, yet they went after him.

So far, no disciplinary action has been taken against the seven personnel who appeared at McCain's event. Why am I not surprised?