Lieutenant-General Burt Weighs In On LGBTQ Laws In The States - Time For Her To Go

“Transformational cultural change requires leadership from the top, and we do not have time to wait.”

“Since January of this year, more than 400 anti-LGBTQ+ laws have been introduced at the state level. That number is rising and demonstrates a trend that could be dangerous for service members, their families, and the readiness of the force as a whole.”

LTG DeAnna Burt speaking at a Pride event at the Pentagon days ago.

One hopes that LTG Burt will have court-martial charges preferred against her post haste.

The law is clear. Uniformed military personnel are free to vote for the candidates of their choice. They are not allowed to engage in partisan political activity. They are most particularly not allowed to appear in uniform and express political opinions thereby giving the impression that the Department of Defense is involving itself in domestic politics.

This is a red line. There is no ambiguity. When Lt. Col. Matthew Lohmeier had the audacity to call out the obvious dereliction of duty on the part of senior officers during the Afghan withdrawal he was summarily booted off active duty.

If anything, what Burt just did was much worse. She did not disagree publicly with her chain of command. She called out democratically elected state legislatures and condemned them for being on the wrong side of the debate over transgender ideology in this country.

In the 2020 DOD Public Affairs Guidance for Political Campaigns and Elections memorandum of Feb. 11, DOD spokesman Jonathan Rath Hoffman summarized the rules that apply to all DOD personnel regarding involvement in political events.

"The Department of Defense has a longstanding and well-defined policy regarding political campaigns and elections to avoid the perception of DOD sponsorship, approval or endorsement of any political candidate, campaign or cause," Hoffman wrote. 

"The department encourages and actively supports its personnel in their civic obligation to vote, but makes clear members of the armed forces on active duty should not engage in partisan political activities."

“4.1.2. A member of the Armed Forces on active duty shall not… Participate in any radio, television, or other program or group discussion as an advocate for or against a partisan political party, candidate, or cause.”

DoD Directive 1344.10, “Political Activities by Members of the Armed Forces on Active Duty”

“Per longstanding DoD policy, active duty personnel may not engage in partisan political activities and all military personnel should avoid the inference that their political activities imply or appear to imply DoD sponsorship, approval, or endorsement of a political candidate, campaign, or cause.”

A three-star general in uniform appearing at an official Pentagon event criticizing the actions of state legislatures and demanding that the country support a radical transformative agenda that does not enjoy anything like majority support has stepped into very dangerous waters. Her job is to take orders and defend the country. If she wants to get into politics she needs to resign and run for office.

This is not simply a matter of bad form. Under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) this is a criminal matter. The DOD guidelines on this are binding. They are lawful general orders. Failing to comply with such orders is every bit as big a deal as refusing one given to your face orally.

Article 92 of the UCMJ provides:

“Any person subject to this chapter who—

(1)

violates or fails to obey any lawful general order or regulation;

2)

having knowledge of any other lawful order issued by a member of the armed forces, which it is his duty to obey, fails to obey the order; or

(3)

is derelict in the performance of his duties;

shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.”

“The maximum punishment for a violation or failure to obey lawful general order or regulation is dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and confinement for two years.”

mcmilitarylaw.com

Junior enlisted personnel are disciplined every day for violations of lawful general orders. They are sent to the stockade. They are reduced in rank. They are thrown off active duty.

The punishment for a three-star general who thinks it is now her job to lecture the country on what the law “should be” must be equally as severe. LTG Burt has forgotten for whom she works. She no longer perceives herself as a servant of the people and subject to the rules governing military conduct in a democratic society.

Burt is a revolutionary. She is part of the vanguard. In her own words, she doesn’t have “time to wait” for democratically elected legislatures to decide what the law should be.

Burt is the poster child for everything wrong inside a military that has lost its way.  Fixing DOD will take a while, so we too have “no time to wait.”  Court-martial her today.