Media Strikes Again
Going to lead off with a rant.
Dunno who saw the Louisiana killings’ news over the weekend. Shamar Elkins shot ten people, killing eight, ages 1-14. including seven of his own kids. 31 years old, and what do we know about this a$$hole? Well, he has assumed ambient temperature (good work by the po-po) but it seems the only actual personal detail: he’s a veteran. Seven years in the Louisiana National Gurad, during which he achieved the lofty rank of PFC/E-3 as a support specialist. (Later news says he was working at UPS and had a felony weapons conviction, so he sure wasn’t a legal gun owner.) But any headline that says anything? ARMY VET. 7 years as a private sounds pretty low-speed high-drag to me, and a conviction in 2019 suggests he may not have been a model soldier (if not indeed asked to leave the service.) But I get real tired of the media always harping on “he’s a vet” ONLY when a crime is committed. Puke on UPS if you have to, that’s six year’s more current.
And, as a blind man could have predicted, an open letter from 73 retired flag officers and service secretaries in support of Mark Kelly as an amicus brief in his suit against the Trump administration.
They collectively served under each president, from Dwight Eisenhower to Donald Trump, and include 17 4-star signatories.
Kelly and a handful of other Democratic military veterans made and released a video in November 2025 reinforcing active-duty service members of their constitutional right “to refuse illegal orders.” It sparked a contentious back-and-forth between Kelly, a retired Navy captain and astronaut, and the Trump administration, extending into legal battles.
“This decision is not made lightly: the attempt to punish Sen. Kelly suggests that public disagreement with the secretary—even if made in good faith and supported factually—invites retaliation,” the amicus brief states, adding, “This chilling effect risks silencing dissent from those who served in uniform—a critical ingredient in American self-governance dating back to those who fought for our independence.”
The video that Kelly and others made certainly was characterized as seditious , and according to some here, treasonable – but as others have said here, what the text may be seen as implying versus what it actually says – as the Bard said, there’s the rub. And for SecDef to try and reduce Kelly’s retired pay and rank? Tough to justify legally. The actual text of it did not seem to cross that line. “You have a duty to refuse unlawful orders” is hardly calling for sedition. I don’t credit Kelly with enough smarts to have intentionally laid a trap – but Hegseth has definitely put himself in a vulnerable position.
The list of 73 officers follows. If you remember the retired military folks who have sonsistently come out pro-Democrat and anti-Trump in past filings, most of the names will sound familiar.
- Former Secretary of the Army Louis E. Caldera
- Former Secretary of the Navy John H. Dalton
- Former Secretary of the Navy Richard Danzig
- Former Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro
- Former Secretary of the Air Force Michael B. Donley
- Former Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James
- Former Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall III
- Former Acting Secretary of the Navy James E. McPherson
- Former Secretary of the Navy Sean C. O’Keefe
- Former Secretary of the Air Force F. Whitten Peters
- Former Secretary of the Army Christine E. Wormuth
- Admiral C. Steve Abbot, U.S. Navy (Ret.)
- Admiral Thad W. Allen, U.S. Coast Guard (Ret.)
- Admiral Dennis C. Blair, U.S. Navy (Ret.)
- General George W. Casey, Jr., U.S. Army (Ret.)
- General Peter Chiarelli, U.S. Army (Ret.)
- Admiral William E. Gortney, U.S. Navy (Ret.)
- Admiral John C. Harvey, Jr., U.S. Navy (Ret.)
- General Michael V. Hayden, U.S. Air Force (Ret.)
- Admiral Gregory G. Johnson, U.S. Navy (Ret.)
- Admiral Samuel Jones Locklear, III, U.S. Navy (Ret.)
- Admiral John B. Nathman, U.S. Navy (Ret.)
- Admiral Robert J. Natter, U.S. Navy (Ret.)
- Admiral William A. Owens, U.S. Navy (Ret.)
- Admiral Gary Roughead, U.S. Navy (Ret.)
- Admiral Scott Swift, U.S. Navy (Ret.)
- Admiral Henry G. Ulrich III, U.S. Navy (Ret.)
- General Anthony Zinni, U.S. Marine Corps (Ret.)
- Vice Admiral Donald C. Arthur, U.S. Navy (Ret.)
- Vice Admiral Michael T. Franken, U.S. Navy (Ret.)
- Lieutenant General Walter E. Gaskin, U.S. Marine Corps (Ret.)
- Lieutenant General Russel L. Honoré, U.S. Army (Ret.)
- Lieutenant General Claudia J. Kennedy, U.S. Army (Ret.)
- Lieutenant General Jan-Marc Jouas, U.S. Air Force (Ret.)
- Lieutenant General Charles P. Otstott, U.S. Army (Ret.)
- Rear Admiral (Upper Half) William D. Baumgartner, U.S. Coast Guard (Ret.)
- Rear Admiral (Upper Half) Kelvin Dixon, U.S. Navy (Ret.)
- Major General Richard T. Devereaux, U.S. Air Force (Ret.)
- Major General Paul D. Eaton, U.S. Army (Ret.)
- Rear Admiral (Upper Half) Albert Garcia III, U.S. Navy (Ret.)
- Rear Admiral (Upper Half) F. Stephen Glass, U.S. Navy (Ret.)
- Major General Jonathan S. Gration, U.S. Air Force (Ret.)
- Rear Admiral (Upper Half) Donald J. Guter, U.S. Navy (Ret.)
- Major General Richard S. Haddad, U.S. Air Force (Ret.)
- Major General Irving L. Halter, Jr., U.S. Air Force (Ret.)
- Rear Admiral (Upper Half) Janice Hamby, U.S. Navy (Ret.)
- Rear Admiral (Upper Half) John D. Hutson, U.S. Navy (Ret.)
- Major General Steven J. Lepper, U.S. Air Force (Ret.)
- Rear Admiral Thomas G. Lilly, U.S. Navy (Ret.)
- Major General Randy E. Manner, U.S. Army (Ret.)
- Major General Frederick H. Martin, U.S. Air Force (Ret.)
- Rear Admiral (Upper Half) David R. Oliver, Jr., U.S. Navy (Ret.)
- Major General Gale S. Pollock, U.S. Army (Ret.)
- Major General Patricia S. Rose, U.S. Air Force (Ret.)
- Major General Linda Singh, U.S. Army (Ret.)
- Major General Antonio Taguba, U.S. Army (Ret.)
- Major General F. Andrew Turley, U.S. Air Force (Ret.)
- Brigadier General Steven M. Anderson, U.S. Army (Ret.)
- Rear Admiral (Lower Half) Michael S. Baker, M.D., F.A.C.S., U.S. Navy (Ret.)
- Rear Admiral (Lower Half) James A. Barnett, Jr., U.S. Navy (Ret.)
- Rear Admiral (Lower Half) Jay A. DeLoach, U.S. Navy (Ret.)
- Brigadier General Stephen A. Cheney, U.S. Marine Corps (Ret.)
- Brigadier General John W. Douglass, U.S. Air Force (Ret.)
- Brigadier General Robert J. Felderman, U.S. Army (Ret.)
- Rear Admiral (Lower Half) Charles D. Harr, U.S. Navy (Ret.)
- Brigadier General David R. Irvine, U.S. Army (Ret.)
- Brigadier General David McGinnis, New York National Guard (Ret.)
- Brigadier General Joseph V. Medina, U.S. Marine Corps (Ret.)
- Rear Admiral (Lower Half) Harold L. Robinson, U.S. Navy (Ret.)
- Brigadier General John M. Schuster, U.S. Army (Ret.)
- Brigadier General Paul G. Smith, U.S. Army (Ret.)
- Brigadier General Allyson Solomon, U.S. Army (Ret.)
- Brigadier General Robin B. Umberg, U.S. Army (Ret.)
Category: Politics
Of all those GOs/FOs, the only one I’ve heard of is Honore. Glad to see exactly zero I served under. I guess that a lot of GOs are just glad to be quietly retired, as opposed to using their retired rank to make political statements.
George “Yeah, maybe 13 Soldiers and an unborn baby were killed (whatever…) by an insider threat that we ignored. But Our Precious Diversity!” Casey, and Peter Chiarelli, who I remember as a rather unspectacular entity on The Hood.
I ask again, does UCMJ protect such… carbon based organisms from accurate and applicable adjectives into retirement?
It’s always the same thing whenever a vet commits a crime that hers/his Military service is mentioned by the lame shitbird socialist media…..
Same thing with police officers. If I get into trouble, I will get the double whammy: Retired Sailor and former police officer screwed the pooch! Our instructors even talked to us about that in the academy.
I asked a newspaper editor why is it the veteran status of an alleged criminal is always highlighted above the fold? Why are the criminals more nefarious if they are veterans? If veteran status is important then why is no mention made of the type of discharge the veteran received (e.g. honorable vs dishonorable)? Why aren’t criminals who are not veterans identified by their jobs or professions?
The editor answered the veterans swore an oath and “we” expect them to follow that oath for life.
I argued no further with him; his mind was made up why confuse a journalist with the facts?
He probably wouldn’t be able to quote a single word of that oath.
Now you mentioned it; I once criticized him on how his newspaper insulted veterans. “How dare you?” said the editor, “don’t you know who I am?” He went on to say his bona fides included he almost became a US Navy Officer. To me, that’s like me saying I was a man about town and dating Miss April because I once saw her picture.
That is akin to Hillary saying she “almost” enlisted in the Marine Corps.
Eeewwwww….
Perish the thought…
Does he support them for life?
I remember during my retirement classes here recently we were told UCMJ applies so no political shenanigans.
Wonder if this applies to retired officers (flag and otherwise)…..oh you got us again double standards.
Flag officers are politicians, just like “Secretary of xxxx”.
Politicians in uniform are no more trustworthy than politicians in flannel shirts mishandling an axe or shotgun and trying to cosplay as an “everyman”.
Everything they say must be measured against the weight of “what’s in it for them and/or their agenda”. They say nothing based on whether they think it’s true, moral or right, they say everything based on what it will gain them.
In other words, those signatures mean nothing.
At face value, Kelly’s words were absolutely true. Nothing wrong there. However… anyone who served can instantly discern his meaning and implication that Trump is issuing illegal orders, especially members of the theoretical E4 Mafia. Has Mark “The Foreskin” Kelly violated any laws? No. His statement was still absolutely wrong and intended to foment discontent among the ranks. Can we prove that? Sadly, no.
For those holding commissioned rank, implying that the President is breaking the law, sans proof or real effort to prosecute, seems to me to violate Article 88. And if you still have an ID card with that rank and a non-resigned commission, 88 still applies.
You can say you disagree with policy. You can’t disparage the President.
It’s despicable when a senior officer wants the perks but won’t uphold the obligations.
I’m 100% in agreement. Add in 134, conduct prejudicial to good order and discipline. Now, how do we prove implication?
A couple names on the army side I’ve had close contact with. Glad to see the GOs I actually worked for and regard favorably are not on this list. I am very surprised to see one two-star I worked for isn’t here. Lib for sure.
As a slick sleeve private, stars used to impress me. Nowadays, I’ve met enough flag officers to not be impressed by stars, but by their actions. This list does not impress me.
That vile bastard is extremely low speed IMHO. Wonder how many MUTA’s he skipped and missed. He was a stellar
…citizen with those eight kids he sired with three different baby-mommas. I am extremely pleased the popo put him down, like the mad dog he was.
One of the Air Force 2 Stars mentioned officiated my retirement.
Mike
USAF Retired
I recognize a few of those GOFOs.
Hayden is real looney-toon.
As for Kelly…