Warning: Attending conservative rally could threaten your military career
Members of the leadership team at an Air Force base in North Dakota are being called out for issuing a warning to personnel to avoid a conservative rally that was scheduled in their home town of Minot, specifically warning that participation could threaten their military career. "Yikes – how problematic is that?" expressed a commentary…
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U.S. Air Force Academy cadets participate in the Soaring Program, the world's largest glider operation, in Colorado Springs, Colorado, Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023. (U.S. Air Force photo by Rayna Grace)
Members of the leadership team at an Air Force base in North Dakota are being called out for issuing a warning to personnel to avoid a conservative rally that was scheduled in their home town of Minot, specifically warning that participation could threaten their military career.
"Yikes – how problematic is that?" expressed a commentary at Red State.
"There have been a lot of questions about how woke the military has become over the past few years, particularly during the Biden administration. We reported on a poll in August that found confidence in the military — usually something that Americans rank pretty high — is at the lowest in two decades. That's likely in part due to the woke push within the service, leaving the impression that it's not focusing as much as it should on its main mission," the commentary said. "But the text sent out by Minot Air Force Base leadership in North Dakota to their service personnel is raising a lot of concerns about what's going on."
According to a report posted at MSN the base leadership "sent a text message to service members to warn them of the dangers of being near a downtown rally that featured a speaker from a pro-Trump organization."
Warned the base officials, "Please exercise caution if downtown this weekend. … We just got word of an event going at the fairgrounds downtown, called Dakota Patriot Rally, Its guest speaker is from an alt-right organization called Turning Point Action. Please advise your folks that if they are going to be downtown this weekend, it's good to be cautious, as the crowds this event may attract could be confrontational to military members.
Air Force Tech. Sgt. Mark Spitznogle stains a concrete pad with a red, white and blue stripe and star design as part of the Minnesota Air National Guard's Flight of Honor display in St. Paul, Minnesota, June 3, 2023. The display recognizes past and present airmen who have distinguished themselves with notable professional achievement and service or heroism. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Austen)
"Additionally, please remind them that participation with groups such as Turning Point Action could jeopardize their continued service in the US military," the message threatened.
Then the memo noted that "there was a shooting incident yesterday in Minot," but admitted it was "unclear if it was related."
RedState pointed out, "First, painting folks on the right as somehow being 'confrontational' to military members shows some nasty bias when, indeed, historically, it's been the left that has frequently been confrontational with the military. Then, painting Turning Point, which is a pretty mainline group, as "alt-right" seems like a smear."
But the bigger question the memo raised, RedState noted, was, "Warning members off from participating with Turning Point? Are they forbidding people from any political involvement now? What's next? Telling members they aren't allowed to be Republicans? Saying they can't support Republican candidates? Telling them how to vote?
"What the heck are Air Force officials doing getting involved in any such political judgments? This seems like it's walking down a very slippery slope and is quite concerning.
"Then that slam about the shooting at the end seems intended to make them fearful about attendance if they hadn't already been warned off enough by the rest of the text. But it appears at this moment to have had nothing at all to do with the event."
An Air Force F-22 Raptor prepares to receive fuel from a KC-135 Stratotanker during Exercise Red Flag over Alaska, Aug. 5, 2020. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Jesenia Landaverde)
RedState said the base and Air Force hadn't responded to a request for comment.
"But this needs to be looked into right away, and the Air Force needs to answer up. Members of Congress should be pressing the Air Force about what's happening here because it sounds like demonizing a Republican group and trying to intimidate members against political participation, which they have every right to do."
The MSN report noted Turning Point Action "typically promotes conservative values."
"Though the group has attracted controversy for questioning the results of the 2020 presidential election and the efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines, it has become a mainstay in conservative political circles. According to a report from the New York Times, the group's July 2023 ACTCON conference in Florida drew about 6,000 attendees and included speaking engagements by Trump and about a third of Republican presidential candidates who were declared at the time."
An official for TPAction said, "Turning Point Action is not alt-right, it's a mainstream conservative organization and Tyler Bowyer [a speaker at the event] is not some fringe personality—he's the COO of TPAction, an RNC committeeman from the state of Arizona, and one of the most accomplished political organizers in the country."
Further, the official said, "Mr. Bowyer and attendees of this event are not ‘confrontational to military members,’ they're some of the US Military's most ardent supporters.
"This should set off alarm bells throughout North Dakota and DC, that something is terribly wrong at the Minot Air Force base. This also warrants an immediate congressional hearing and investigation, and whoever is responsible should be held accountable. It's exactly this type of poison that has caused the Air Force to miss its recruiting goal for the first time in decades."
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