US Representative Duncan Hunter (R-CA), himself a Reserve Marine, has come to the defense of SGT Gary Stein, a Marine who faces an administrative discharge for comments he posted online.

Sgt Stein reportedly posted comments saying he would not obey the orders of the President, and he later clarified his statement to say he would not obey unlawful orders from the President.

This Saturday Stein faces a panel that will determine if he should be administratively separated from the Marines: 

Stein…said his written notification of administrative separation stated he had violated Article 134 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, a general article that addresses various misconduct and issues of good order and discipline. For administrating his Facebook page, the notification stated he also violated Article 92 by failing to adhere to Department of Defense Directive 1344.10, which addresses proper political activities for service members.

Some commenters criticized the Marine Corps’ response, as the administrative separation apparently limits Stein’s ability to defend himself and essentially eliminates his ability to appeal. Had the Marines chosen to punish (or court-martial) him, rather than take administrative action, those options would have remained open.

That is not insignificant, as Stein has some points that could make for a strong defense in an adversarial judicial setting:  The Marines were aware of, and reviewed, his online work nearly two years ago and cautioned him only to follow the rules.  If his Facebook page violated DoDD 1344.10, why did the Marines not say something then?  More recently, the Marines specifically said Stein was allowed to express opinions outside of his official capacity as a Marine, without referencing any political activities.

His hearing will ultimately determine his ability to stay in the Corps.

The board will hear both sides of the case and make a recommendation about separation. The board will make its recommendation to Brig. Gen. Daniel Yoo, commanding general for MCRD San Diego, who will decide whether to uphold it.

The result of his hearing could also impact the Facebook pages of every other US servicemember.

Notably, Rep Hunter makes the same observations previously made here:  The US military’s regulations have yet to catch up to the age of social media:

“The military works at a snail’s pace — it’ll probably take them 10 more years to catch up to the technology. But they need to determine what is appropriate — is social media protected speech?”

The article notes the Marine Corps’ “The Social Corps” advises online users “Don’t get political,” but fails to note it also says servicemembers can express political opinions.  As discussed previously, the “handbook” is not a regulation and is not directive in nature.