The Capital insurrection was over a month ago, it feels like years though. As Congress continues to bicker about whose fault the insurrection was, there is clear evidence that the President at the time wanted it to happen. If there are not consequences for those who participated in the uprising it will happen again, next time it might be successful. People who compare the incident to the Black Lives Matter (BLM) protest over the summer need to remember, the BLM protests that happened over the summer were not an attempt to overthrow the government like the insurrection on 6 January 2021was. To my dismay there were a lot of veterans, civil servants, and active-duty troops that participated in the insurrection that killed 5 people. One of those killed was a Capital police officer, and a former National Guard Member with two deployments. He was beaten to death for doing his job by the mob.
Some of these folks who attacked the Capital building get retirement, disability, and paychecks from the US Government, the same government they were trying to overthrow. They killed a military Veteran and one of our own… there must be consequences. This begs the question, should those former or present government employees who participated in the insurrection receive benefits from any government agency, including the Veterans Administration (VA)? The removal of the American Flag and being replaced by the Make America Great Again (MAGA) flag at the Capital of the United States was a tell of what the insurrectionist wanted to happen. Do these folks deserve their benefits?
Those of us who have served in the military took an oath to protect the constitution of the United States. As far as I know that oath has no expiration date. Those who participated in the insurrection broke that oath. Call me naïve but I truly feel these folks that made that oath should have known better, they made a poor choice by following the mob, and bad choices have consequences. There are jails full of folks who made bad choice. Should veterans who participated in the insurrection be given a pass because they served their country?
There are those out there who feel that veterans and Active-Duty personnel should be given a pass. Here is my question to them, should a veteran or Active-duty member be giving a pass for a Driving under the influence (DUI) arrest and killing someone because they are veterans? How about giving them a pass for domestic violence (DV)? I don’t think so. Those of us who are retired from the military can be called back to active duty, so those who are retired veterans and participated in the insurrection could in theory be called back to active duty and court martialed for their actions. Just like anything else in the government, it depends on the situation and the type of retirement. Some constitutional scholars believe it is unconstitutional to recall retirees to active duty where others believe it to be constitutional. It appears that this topic might end up in the supreme courts, but the supreme court confirmed a case to be constitutional by not hearing a lower court ruling where a retiree was called to active duty for court martial in 2015.
I understand that I will get some folks who disagree with me on this topic, but that’s OK. I just want us to come together as a country and put politics aside. We need to look at the facts and make our own decisions. It is important to get facts from reliable sources, but that is in question today. Veterans know right from wrong, if not they should have never been let in the military. I feel the veterans who participated in the insurrection at the capital should suffer the consequences of their actions. If there not held accountable it will tell others in the future that this is OK. At the end of the day, you teach people how to treat you and by not holding these folks accountable we are telling them that its OK to try and overthrow the government. If nothing is done and there are no consequences IT WILL HAPPEN AGAIN!
For questions or comments you can contact me at afterdutyvets@gmail.com or visit my website at www.afterdutyvets.com and like us on Facebook @ afterdutyvets.