Thanks to Major Nidal Hasan, the Pentagon is considering widening the scope of the regulations regarding the rights of soldiers to participate in “dissident and protest activities”. This is grim news considering the liberal democrat who is Commander-in-Chief.

The DoD Directive 1325.6, which governs such activities, was revised in 2003 and outlines acceptable conduct for military members in this area.

Section 3 provides the basic guidelines to follow:

3. POLICY
It is DoD policy that:

3.1. The Department of Defense shall safeguard the security of the United States.
3.2. The Service members’ right of expression should be preserved to the
maximum extent possible, consistent with good order and discipline and the national
security.
3.3. No commander should be indifferent to conduct that, if allowed to proceed
unchecked, would destroy the effectiveness of his or her unit.
3.4. The proper balancing of these interests will depend largely upon the calm and
prudent judgment of the responsible commander.

It seems like if the Department of Defense had followed the rules that were already in place, the murder of fourteen people at Fort Hood by Hasan – a terrorist – never would have occurred in the first place. If the the commanders at Fort Hood had applied 3.1, 3.2 or 3.3, Hasan would have been subject to a court martial. However, 3.4 presupposes that the commander would exercise “prudent judgment” as a “responsible commander” and, according to 3.3, not be “indifferent to conduct that…would destroy the effectiveness of his or her unit.”

That being said, the part of section three that should be of concern is Section 3.5, specifically 3.5.8.

3.5. The following guidelines be applied to principal activities that the Armed
Forces have encountered:

3.5.8. Prohibited Activities. Military personnel must reject participation in
organizations that espouse supremacist causes; attempt to create illegal discrimination
based on race, creed, color, sex, religion, or national origin; advocate the use of force or
violence; or otherwise engage in efforts to deprive individuals of their civil rights.
Active participation, such as publicly demonstrating or rallying, fund raising, recruiting
and training members, organizing or leading such organizations, or otherwise engaging in
activities in relation to such organizations or in furtherance of the objectives of such
organizations that are viewed by command to be detrimental to the good order,
discipline, or mission accomplishment of the unit, is incompatible with Military
Service, and is, therefore, prohibited.

Janet Napolitano, according to her own DHS report, wants to monitor “right wing extremists” who oppose restrictions on firearms, lax immigration enforcement, continuing free trade agreements, same-sex marriage, one-world government, Communist regimes, policies of Obama regarding immigration, citizenship and the expansion of social programs, etc. The list continues, ad nauseum and includes the bulk of the United States military. Don’t forget that she singled out returning war veterans as being of particular concern.

This brings to mind groups like “Oathkeepers” who, according a report by the Southern Poverty Law Center, is “a particularly worrisome example of the Patriot revival…a newly formed group of law enforcement officers, military men and veterans…[who] vow to fulfill the oaths to the Constitution that they swore while in the military or law enforcement.”

The news of the Pentagon’s consideration of rewriting the regulations on “dissident and protest activities” is not good, especially in light of the willingness of this administration to favor “political correctness” over the obvious truth. When you take into account Obama’s response to things that concern our men and women in uniform, i.e. Fort Hood, I don’t hold out any hope that the outcome is going to favor our soldiers.

I expect that the rules that should have been applied to Hasan will soon be re-written and applied with force and vigor to our dedicated and decorated soldiers, sailors and airmen. And when these heroes are court-martialed as domestic terrorists, don’t expect the lame stream media or the Obama administration to conjure up any pre-PTSD symptoms out of thin air.