Oath of office- I (name) do solemnly swear that I will support and
defend the constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and
domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take
this obligation freely, without any mental reservations or purpose of evasion;
That I will well and faithfully discharge the duties I am about to enter; So
help me God
Oath of enlistment- I (name) do solemnly swear that I will support
and defend the constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign
and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; And I
will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the officers
appointed over me according to regulations and the uniform code of military
justice.
I had the most disturbing conversation with a young soldier who is
probably in his early thirties and a seasoned veteran who is currently serving
in the Army reserves. I spoke with him while working out at the gym. I
approached him with the deliberate attempt to find out what his units attitude
was toward gun control and disarming American citizens. He told me point blank
folks that if given orders to disarm Americans, because they had sworn an
oath to the constitution, his words, because they had sworn an oath to
the constitution they were obligated to follow orders whether they liked them
or not! Obviously this soldier is sadly misinformed of his duties to up
hold and defend and believes that the constitution represents the government.
In 1994 Marines in Twenty Nine palms were surveyed to determine how many would
go along with such orders. The numbers were shocking, 25% of Marines said they
would follow orders to disarm Americans. I am afraid to say my friends that
today, because of the intensity of leftwing indoctrination in our schools the
numbers would be higher. We have an obligation to reach out to our young troops
who believe that swearing an oath to the constitution means swearing an oath to
the president or the government. We have to educate them.
The oath of enlistment does demand that enlisted service members
obey the orders of the president; it goes on to say however, “according to
regulations and the uniform code of military justice.” In other words the oath
of enlistment bounds enlisted service members to obey only lawful orders as
they are described by law. The constitution is the supreme law of the land,
regrettably this is something from our education system today. Notice the oath
of office now, there is nothing dictating that those sworn in on this oath are
obligated to follow orders from any higher authority, except the constitution
itself. This means that officers and those sworn into elected office are explicitly
bound to disobey and disregard any orders that are unconstitutional. If an
officer in the military is true to this oath than an enlisted man can rest
assure that the orders he is following are constitutional and lawful.
The idea of swearing an oath to the constitution is to preserve
the fundamental principles that keep liberty alive. From the earliest days of
the nation military men were taking this oath. Before the revolutionary war
there many factions that were still swearing oaths to King George the third. As
a General, George Washington required men to disregard this oath, cut all ties
to the king and swear loyalty to the United States. Here are some examples of
the first oaths of enlistment.
"I _____ have, this day, voluntarily
enlisted myself, as a soldier, in the American continental army, for one year,
unless sooner discharged: And I do bind myself to conform, in all instances, to
such rules and regulations, as are, or shall be, established for the government
of the said Army."
"I
_____ swear (or affirm as the case may be) to be trued to the United States of
America, and to serve them honestly and faithfully against all their enemies
opposers whatsoever; and to observe and obey the orders of the Continental
Congress, and the orders of the Generals and officers set over me by
them."
Here
are some examples of the officer oaths rejecting the authority of King George
the third.
Officers: Continental Congress passed two versions
of this oath of office, applied to military and civilian national officers. The
first, on 21 October 1776, read: "I _____, do acknowledge the Thirteen
United States of America, namely, New Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay, Rhode
Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland,
Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia, to be free, independent,
and sovereign states, and declare, that the people thereof owe no allegiance or
obedience to George the third, king of Great Britain; and I renounce, refuse
and abjure any allegiance or obedience to him; and I do swear that I will, to
the utmost of my power, support, maintain, and defend the said United States
against the said king, George the third, and his heirs and successors, and his
and their abettors, assistants and adherents; and will serve the said United
States in the office of _____, which I now hold, and in any other office which
I may hereafter hold by their appointment, or under their authority, with
fidelity and honour, and according to the best of my skill and understanding. So
help me God." The revised version, voted 3 February 1778, read "I,
_____ do acknowledge the United States of America to be free, independent and
sovereign states, and declare that the people thereof owe no allegiance or
obedience, to George the third, king of Great Britain; and I renounce, refuse
and abjure any allegiance or obedience to him: and I do swear (or affirm) that
I will, to the utmost of my power, support, maintain and defend the said United
States, against the said king George the third and his heirs and successors,
and his and their abettors, assistants and adherents, and will serve the said
United States in the office of _____ which I now hold, with fidelity, according
to the best of my skill and understanding. So help me God."
These
historical oaths show the history of Americas thirst for freedom and
willingness to stand and fight for it. Notice in the second oath of enlistment
where it says “against all enemies and opposers whatsoever.” This puts the
principles of defending liberty as the utmost priority of this oath.
The
idea of supporting and defending the constitution is also established in
historical law. In 1803 (Marbury vs. Madison) Judge John Marshall obliged all
judges to give precedence to the constitution over any other legislative act.
This is the same decision in which he declared any laws repugnant to the
constitution are null and void. Justice Joseph Story wrote in “Commentaries on
the Constitution of the United States” that all officers sworn to uphold and
defend the constitution are conscientiously bound to reject any act that is
inconsistent with it.
It
must be remembered that the constitution is the supreme law of the land and it
is the principles of this constitution to which our soldiers, officers and
elected officials are sworn to uphold. The young soldier I described is
severely misguided and in need of a history lesson. With all the challenges we
face as a nation and the news of West Point Cadets being trained to believe
right wingers are threats to national security we as responsible Americans are
obligated to develop a strategy to teach our warriors the truth about their
obligations to their nation and to liberty, not to president Obama or any other
president.
Here is a link to a series of quotes describing
the supremacy of the constitution.
http://www.ourrepubliconline.com/Topic/27
Sources: www.heritage.org
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