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Facebook marine could be fired

by on09 April 2012



Said he could not follow Obama's orders


A Marine who made the mistake of posting on Facebook that he would not follow orders from President Barack Obama is to be dismissed from the military with a less-than-honorable discharge.

Lawyers working for Gary Stein, unsuccessfully sought to delay the military review board by seeking an injunction in federal court in San Diego. The military decided to fire Stein after a 13-hour hearing and an hour of deliberation by the panel. It will be submitted to Brigadier General Daniel Yoo, the commanding general of the Marine Corps Recruiting Depot, where Stein is stationed. Stein, who is a meteorologist at Camp Pendleton, served nearly nine years, including a tour of duty in Iraq. He was due to end his enlistment at the end of July.

But before he did that he posted comments saying he would refuse to obey orders from the president, who is the commander-in-chief of the military. The comment was made on a Facebook page called the Armed Forces Tea Party page.  He later removed the comments and said he meant only unlawful orders. But it is the second time he has been in trouble with the Marines for posting pro-Tea Party comments. Last time he was advised to post a disclaimer that the Armed Forces Tea Party is not affiliated with the Armed Forces.

This time he appears to have flipped his lid. Stein posted comments to a Facebook network called METOC, which is limited to active duty meteorologists and oceanographers, where he described Obama as an enemy to America. A coalition of attorneys support Stein, saying in a written statement that the First Amendment guarantees his freedom of speech although we would have thought not shooting people who he is told because he thinks the President is a criminal would stop him doing his job.

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