Political CANs and CANNOTs for Soldiers during a presidential election year

Now that we are through the hol­i­day sea­son and charg­ing for­ward towards Spring we face 2012, a pres­i­den­tial elec­tion year. That poten­tially spells prob­lems for mil­i­tary per­son­nel (active, Guard, Reserve, or retired) who want to be involved in the polit­i­cal process. This arti­cle is a quick ref­er­ence to help you nav­i­gate the var­i­ous polit­i­cal restric­tions that apply to you as a Service Member.

Voting is the right of all American cit­i­zens, but pol­i­tick­ing in uni­form is prohibited.

Restrictions on Soldiers who want to be involved with politics

For a num­ber of rea­sons, your abil­ity to make polit­i­cal state­ments and deci­sions is lim­ited while serv­ing as a mem­ber of the Armed Forces. Here are some of the most impor­tant restrictions:

Campaigning

The great­est restric­tion is that Active-duty ser­vice­mem­bers are strictly pro­hib­ited from cam­paign­ing for polit­i­cal office or actively tak­ing part in a polit­i­cal campaign–even behind the scenes.

Rallies

You CAN attend a polit­i­cal rally as a spec­ta­tor. You CANNOT wear your uni­form to the rally. You CANNOT speak in front of the rally.

Letters-to-the-Editor

You CAN write a let­ter to the edi­tor of a paper express­ing your per­sonal view call­ing for the repeal or pass­ing of leg­is­la­tion and sign it as a ser­vice member.

Talking to or writ­ing to your Member of Congress

You CAN express your per­sonal opin­ion to Congress about leg­is­la­tion or per­sonal issues. You CANNOT tell your Congressperson that you are speak­ing on behalf of your unit or the mil­i­tary when you tell him/her that (for exam­ple) DADT should be repealed. The right to com­mu­ni­cate with Congress is found in Article 138, UCMJ, regard­ing com­plaints of wrongs. And you are pro­tected from retal­i­a­tion by statute, 10 U. S. Code 1034.

Talking on the radio/TV or at a program/group discussion

You CAN express your per­sonal opin­ion when inter­viewed by the press, unless in uni­form. You CANNOT tell the press that you rep­re­sent the Armed Forces.

Petition

You CAN sign a peti­tion. You CANNOT claim to rep­re­sent the mil­i­tary when sign­ing a petition.

Bumper Sticker

You CAN put a polit­i­cal ori­ented bumper sticker on your per­sonal car. You CANNOT put bumper stick­ers on mil­i­tary vehicles.

Voting

You CAN vote for can­di­dates who sup­port your views. You CAN encour­age other peo­ple to vote dur­ing elec­tion times; but you can­not encour­age them to vote for a par­tic­u­lar can­di­date or party. You CANNOT cam­paign for a par­tic­u­lar can­di­date rep­re­sent­ing your­self as a mil­i­tary member.

Contributions

You CAN con­tribute money to polit­i­cal organizations.

Fundraisers

You CAN attend a polit­i­cal din­ner or sim­i­lar fundraiser, but NOT in uni­form. You CANNOT sell tick­ets for, or oth­er­wise actively pro­mote, the din­ner or sim­i­lar fundrais­ing events.

References

• DoD Directive 1344.10, Subj: Political Activities by Members of the Armed Forces.
• Air Force Instruction 51–902., Subj: Political Activities by Members of the US Air Force.
• Army AR 600–200., Subj: Army Command Policy, Para. 5–3, Political Activity, and Appendix B.
• Coast Guard
• Navy. SECNAVINST 5720.44, Subj: Public Affairs Policy and Navy Regulations.
• Marine Corps Order 5370.7B., Subj: Political Activities.

Additional Reading

• Here’s a reminder from Stars & Stripes that pol­i­tick­ing in uni­form is not allowed.
• Here is a piece by Bryant Jordan on Military.com with more on the recent “pol­i­tick­ing” of a uni­formed Reserve Soldier.

Know any other polit­i­cal CANs or CANNNOTs for Soldiers? Do you have any ques­tions about the infor­ma­tion in this arti­cle? Leave a com­ment below and sound off!