Questions were raised Tuesday by the Pentagon and Democratic National Committee after two uniformed soldiers flanked U.S. Samoa party representatives who cast their ballots for Joe Biden to receive the presidential nomination.
The two masked service members stood with their name tags visible and their patches identified them as members of the U.S. Army. Uniformed service providers are not required to attend political events and are instructed to remain strictly apolitical by the Department of Defense Directive 1344.10.
Asked to comment on the incident, a Pentagon spokesman said Newsweek: “All members of the Armed Forces, including members of active duty, members of the reserve component who are not on active duty, and retired members, are prohibited from wearing military uniforms during political campaigns or election events.”
A U.S. military spokesman said Newsweek the service branch investigates the two soldiers, both of whom belong to the 9th Mission Support Command – an Army Reserve unit based in Fort Shafter, Honolulu, Hawaii.
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“Wearing a uniform at a partisan political event such as this is prohibited,” the spokesman explained. “The Army follows the long-standing and well-defined policy of the Department of Defense regarding political campaigns and elections to prevent the perception of DoD sponsorship, approval or endorsement of any political candidate, campaign or cause.”
“Examples of prohibited political activities include campaigning for a candidate, soliciting contributions, marching in a partisan parade, and wearing the uniform to a partisan event.”
American Samoa has a small military footprint, with no National Guard and no active duty army deployment. The islands are home to a small army reserve center that controls several hundred reservists.
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A DNC spokesman said Newsweek: “The composition of that shot was a surveillance. Each state was asked to highlight issues and values that matter most and the U.S. Samoa delegation wanted to highlight their commitment to military service when filming their segment.”
Army members can publicly support political candidates and attend rallies, but must do so in their private time and never in uniform.
An unnamed defense official told ABC News that the appearance of both soldiers will raise questions about how they fared in the DNC feed, given the political restrictions that apply to all active troops and reserve troops.
Democrats have long criticized President Donald Trump and the GOP for using the military as a political prop to win votes. But the American Samoa incident could have caused the DNC to try to do the same – accusations that Biden could have made without him trying to discover the quote.
Trump has sought to cast himself as an ally of the military, and has regularly spoken out about his pressure to increase America’s mammoth military budget and include his pardons for convicted and suspected war criminals as pro-military decisions.
Biden meanwhile plans to cut the U.S. military budget, which is $ 738 billion larger than the next 10 fathers who combine the highest expenditures.
This article has been updated to include statements from the DNC and the U.S. military.
Handout / DNCC via Getty Images / Getty
