The Tennessee Air National Guard colonel who led a re-enlistment ceremony in which a senior noncommissioned officer recited her oath using a dinosaur puppet has been immediately retired at the rank of lieutenant colonel.
Army Maj. Gen. Terry Haston, the adjutant general for the Tennessee National Guard, also announced in a Facebook post Wednesday that Master Sgt. Robin Brown, the SNCO whose videotaped re-enlistment ceremony created a firestorm online, has been removed from her full-time job with the Tennessee Joint Public Affairs Office and is facing other administrative actions.
Haston also said that another Tennessee Air National Guardsman — an unidentified SNCO who videotaped the event ― has been removed from his job as unit first sergeant and has been reprimanded. That SNCO will stay in the Guard.
Brown could be identified in the video because she said her name as part of the re-enlistment oath.
Randy Harris, the director of joint public affairs for the Tennessee Military Department, refused to identify the other airmen who have been punished.
William Jones, a spokesman for the joint public affairs office for the Tennessee National Guard, said that it was an official re-enlistment ceremony. Brown’s children were not in attendance, Jones said, but the video was made for them to watch later.
However, screenshots of an online conversation that were posted online showed someone from the Tennessee Military Department initially said the ceremony was “not an official reenlistment.” Jones said it was unknown who wrote that, or why it was initially said to have been unofficial.
“I am absolutely embarrassed that a senior officer and a senior NCO took such liberties with a time-honored military tradition,” Haston wrote. “The Tennessee National Guard holds the Oath of Enlistment in the highest esteem because that oath signifies every service member’s commitment to defend our state, nation and the freedoms we all enjoy. Not taking this oath solemnly and with the utmost respect is firmly against the traditions and sanctity of our military family and will not be tolerated.”
ht/ Mrs. PHenry
Making a Joke about the most important oath one can take; swearing to serve one’s country, is very, very bad form.
I know they meant no harm, however that is wrong on a whole new level of wrong
When Oaths are jokes, lies are truths.
This seems like overkill. I mean, raising the Black Power fist at West Point was totally cool, right?
Wake me when there’s an online firestorm over some Mohammedan being sworn into the U.S. military on a koran.
Unofficial or not, the military doesn’t have a sense of humor. [Even though John McCain is a joke]
What was John Brennan sworn in on as CIA director? It wasn’t a Bible. I can’t find the pic now. Anyone? It may have been the koran.
So the dinosaur gets off scott free?
Thirty years ago, that would have been a cute anecdote in Reader’s Digest “Humor in Uniform. What the hell happened to our sense of humor?
I still remember one anecdote sent in by a soldier, about a mortar squad in Vietnam that had a sign by their sandbags saying, “Howard Johnson Mortar Lodge”. That was funny stuff to an eight year old boy. Lighten up, TANG.
It’s about disrespecting everyone who took the oath and sacrificed their lives. Sorry for being an asshole, but I cannot accept this irreverence. End of transmission.
If the two of them can’t take a time honored ceremony seriously, they won’t take their responsibilities seriously.
Get rid of them.
In poor taste, massive over reaction.
Well, they’re white; so it’s okay to lower the boom on them for stupid behavior. We should all know how this shit works now.
I took the oath when commissioned over 50 years ago and administered a couple times as a reserve officer on an active duty tour at the CBPO.
I don’t ever remember a TRex hand puppet being involved.
However, back in those ancient days we also didn’t have trannys and queers being reienlisted.
The dinosaur lady looks pregnant?
I’m guessing her favorite movie is “The Beaver”?
Third,
I remember when taking courses for my masters degree at the Pentagon, seeing a sign “Help the energy crisis. Eat more beans.” It was around 1973, however, never have I seen someone mock the solemn oath in which someone is swearing to support and defend the Constitution and, in fact, swearing to do so with no reservations, I.e., swearing to put one’s own life on the line in supporting and defending the same.
Of course, a very similar oath is administered to Presidents and members of Congress and we all know how they have failed to live up to the oath.
It could have been worse. It could have been a monkey puppet.
watch the video, something is not right. The hand is digitized when she brings it down. Almost like they CGI’d the Dino after the fact. One paragraph said this was a “take” for her little kids. If true, I get the “for kid use” aspect but seems like since it went viral, (should have kept for family not you tube) they can’t excuse it now…
Meanwhile, a senior TNG officer who was only identified as “Barney” has been quoted as saying that when he received word of the incident, he became so furious that he actually turned purple.
The oath is not to be mocked. Sure. Politicians do it all the time. But they aren’t us. They mostly suck.
With notable exceptions.
Anonymous @ 6:16 pm
Yes. If this is true and not cgi, it deserves respect and gravitas. Not levity. Doing that tells me she’s Pelosi-serious about the oath.
My father swore me in, he didn’t get to sign the official paperwork but he did the deed.
You folks have heard me talk about my father.
It was indeed SOLEM.
Should have staged this for the kids video after the actual re-up ceremony. And change the wording, put a paper pirate hat on the CO…
Just not funny in context. This is a solemn occasion. Well, was to me anyway.
The USS Harvey Milk, Gabby Giffords, Medgar Evers, John Murtha and Cesar Chavez are unavailable for comment?
Whatever you think about it, remember this, these are Patriots. Was it slightly inappropriate? Yes, slightly. Based solely on this, overkill.
Whatever you think, these are Patriots.
Slightly inappropriate?
Yes, slightly.
I only saw a pic. Not offended.
Overkill for just this.
This should be an EX colonel, an EX top sgt and an EX sgt!
Period!
Nope. Sorry.
I never took the oath. But father in law did He took the oath and served in the marine corps artillery in Nam. I recently asked and upon my request, he bequeathed to me one thing.
An 105 mm shell casing fashioned into a vase/trophy
That was later engraved. (Name excluded). Southeast Asian War Games Viet Nam 1963-1973. SECOND PLACE.
Sorry kids, but this is deeply personal to me.
It breaks my heart and to have these assholes disrespect the oath? They have no idea about it.
Actually, the sign at the Pentagon said “Eat more beans. The country needs the gas.” Funny how it comes back after over 40 years. I just thought it was a cool sign in a highly secure Pentagon office.
Of course,that was an interesting time to be stationed in the DC area. We had the Vice President resign over past issues when he was Maryland Governor, the President appointing a new Vice President, the President resigning, and the appointed Vice President becoming President.
I also remember a Sunday morning in March when some of us from Andrews AFB went over to Georgetown area and had brunch with Guinness Stout. As we passed by the Whitehouse, there were a bunch of protesters as it was the morning after the “Saturday Night Massacre” where Archibold Cox was fired. An E9 in our group was married to a young Korean woman who was learning English and German from her husband.
One of the protesters has a sign reading “Cox may be a sucker, but Nixon is a cocksucker.”
The Korean wife was checking her quick Korean to English dictionary. Her husband said he’d explain it later.