GOP Rep. Hunter wants Marine Corps to drop dismissal of anti-Obama sergeant

Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) is urging the Marine Corps to
drop discharge proceedings against a Marine who faces dismissal for writing on Facebook that he would not follow unlawful orders from President Obama.

Hunter, who is a Marine reservist, wrote a letter Tuesday to
Marine Col. C.S. Dowling, a commanding officer at the Marine Corps Recruit
Depot in San Diego, where Sgt. Gary Stein has an administrative separation
hearing scheduled on Thursday.

{mosads}Hunter says that a Defense Department directive on political
activity — which says that servicemembers cannot actively participate in
political events while in uniform — does not mention social media activities
like Facebook.

Hunter said the Pentagon’s policy is “both vague and
contradictory in the context of new ‘social media.’”

“In fact, nothing in the directive actually mentions social
media and what activity is or is not approved for active duty servicemembers,”
Hunter wrote. “Because of the ambiguity regarding this issue, I urge the Marine
Corps to withdraw the discharge proceedings and allow Sgt. Stein to complete
his enlistment over the coming months.”

Stein faces dismissal from the Marines for his “Armed Forces
Tea Party” Facebook page, where Stein posted that he would not follow unlawful
orders from the president and called Obama a “domestic enemy.”

The Marines said in a statement last month that Stein was
investigated after he “posted political statements about the President of the
United States on his Facebook Web page.”

Stein posted on his Facebook page the notification he
received from the Marines about his discharge proceedings, which said he “allegedly
made statements regarding the President of the United States that are
prejudicial to good order and discipline.”

Hunter said in
a March interview with The Hill that the military’s actions against Stein were
upsetting. 

“This sergeant is getting punished for basically using modern technology, which
allows us to talk to way more friends way easier,” Hunter said. “He was not
acting while in uniform.”

Hunter also said that the issue was “being politicized.”

In his letter sent Tuesday to Dowling, Hunter called on the
Pentagon to map out a better social media policy.

“In the meantime, Sgt. Stein should not face separation for
expressing an opinion shared by a majority of Marines,” Hunter wrote,” in a
forum that encourages civil interaction between family, friends and acquaintances.”