Army Officially Reprimands Soldier Who Spoke At Ron Paul Rally

March 30, 2012

Prison Planet

By Steve Watson

“We wonder if the Army would have reprimanded this soldier if he spoke and Mitt Romney’s rally?” –KTRN

The uniformed solider who endorsed Ron Paul during a rally in Iowa in January has been officially reprimanded by the US Army.

After being cut short during a CNN interview on January 3, Reserve Corporal Jesse Thorsen, who has served two tours in Afghanistan and was due to head back for a third, was invited on to the stage by Paul himself to address Paul’s cheering supporters.

“If there’s any man out there that’s had a vision out there, it’s definitely [Ron Paul],” Thorsen said. “His foreign policy is by far, hands down better than any other candidate’s out there, and I’m sure you all know that. We don’t need to be picking fights overseas and I think everybody else knows that, too.”

Someone within the military infrastructure did not take kindly to Thorsen’s remarks, and a move was immediately set in motion to punish the 10-year veteran for his words.

Detractors began pointing to Department of Defense Directive 1344.10 which states that active duty troops wearing a uniform are expected to avoid activities that “imply official sponsorship, approval, or endorsement” of political figures.

As military news site Stars and Stripes reports, Army reserve officials said Thursday that Thorsen’s actions clearly violated Defense Department rules, and that a letter of reprimand has been placed in his personnel file.

Click here for the full report.