A few months ago Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel encouraged US troops to vote, noting
For Americans serving in uniform, voting is more than a civic responsibility. It’s about exercising the rights you’ve sworn to defend.
It’s encouraging to see senior leaders call on troops to exercise the rights they’ve promised their very lives to defend. Notably, the right to free exercise of religion is Read more
Update: Based on new information, some conclusions in this article have been updated here.
Every now and then members of the military post official articles that might best be understood as “public service announcements” for their fellow troops. They often cover high interest issues (like politics, social media, and religion, see below) or regulations that are the topic du jour. Unfortunately, because these articles carry no weight (unless they are written by a senior Air Force leader issuing official guidance), they can often add confusion to the issue they mean to clarify — especially if they’re wrong.
For example, a Public Affairs troop recently wrote “Rock the vote, but beware of guidelines,” which was a combination of encouraging voting while cautioning on the restrictions on political activity: Read more