So, LtCol Terrence Lakin (US Army) has seventeen years in service. He makes $7,959 a month. He's a flight surgeon. Pretty good gig, right?
Then Obama was elected, and he was told he was deploying in April, and he decided he wasn't going to, because "Obama's not a citizen and my orders come from the commander-in-chief, so I'm not going." (I rather picture him throwing a temper tantrum and stomping his foot here.)
Today brought good news - yesterday, the judge for his case ruled that "birther" elements cannot be considered in his case, because HIS orders come from his direct superiors, not directly from the commander-in-chief.
Not gonna lie, this had me doing a happy dance.
The judge, Army Col. Denise Lind, said any evidence or witnesses related to Obama's citizenship is irrelevant to the charges against Lt. Col. Terrence Lakin, who has 17 years of service in the U.S. military.
After failing to deploy with his unit in April, Lakin was charged with missing a movement, disobeying a lawful order and dereliction of duty.
So basically, what this says is that this idiot has no case. Period.
Afterward, Jensen [Lakin's attorney] said he respected the judge's ruling, but called it distressing.
"It completely deprives us of any opportunity to present a defense in this case," Jensen said.
Well, I guess your SEVENTEEN-YEAR VETERAN LIEUTENANT COLONEL should have read up more on what constitutes the reasoning for determining an order "unlawful". Military law states that your personal beliefs don't count, bro. It has to be based completely on rational reasons.
An improper decision that an order is unlawful: "I don't believe Obama is president! He totally lied about his citizenship and his parents got Hawaii to go along with it!"
A proper decision that an order is unlawful: "I was just told to shoot these unarmed, detained, blindfolded civilians. This is murder."
Easy peasy!
The prosecutors in the case argued that Obama's eligibility is not relevant because the officers who ordered Lakin to go to Fort Campbell and then ordered him to answer questions about why he didn't go were his proper superiors in the military chain of command, and they gave him legal orders. Jensen later conceded that point.
As a former active duty enlisted Marine, I kind of have to say "um ... duh?" to this part. I've never not known my chain of command. Not EVER. I don't know if this guy really expected this case to go through, but if he did, he was freakin' delusional.
Now, shall we see what the lieutenant colonel has probably won for his shenanigans?
The Uniform Code of Military Justice says the maximum punishment for both offenses -- missing his plane and disobeying lawful orders -- is a dishonorable discharge and up to two years in confinement. A guilty verdict could also result in forfeiture of Lakin's pay, which totals $7,959 a month, according to a charge sheet provided by a group sponsoring his defense.
Now, given that he IS a lieutenant colonel, I doubt he'll get maxed out. Do I think he deserves to get maxed out? I sure do - I've seen sergeants' careers obliterated for MUCH less than missing a movement and dereliction of duty. But ... the military being the way it is, I'll be surprised if he gets full punishment.
Me personally? I hated Shrub Jr. I thought he was an incompetent idiot who bought his way into the presidency, and couldn't lead his head out of his ass if he had four extra hands, a map, and a flashlight, let alone lead the US. But when I got my orders to deploy, I WENT. That's what you do. You serve your sentence tour, do your duty to the utmost of your ability, and if you don't like your leaders or what you're asked to do, you get out when your term's over. It's not difficult to understand.