Posted on 04/06/2016 3:38:03 PM PDT by markomalley
A video that captured a retired U.S. Air Force sergeant being forcibly removed from a ceremony at a California base has prompted an investigation, an Air Force Reserve official said Wednesday.
The incident occurred at Travis Air Force Base, near Sacramento on April 3, at the retirement of an unidentified master sergeant from the 749th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron. Retired Senior Master Sgt. Oscar Rodriguez, in civilian clothing, is shown attempting to read a statement before three uniformed airmen forcibly remove him.
The 50-second video clip was first posted on JQPublicBlog.com, which called the footage “a disgraceful spectacle” during what is usually a calm send off.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Conflicting statements on the incident.
The officiating officer says it was unplanned. Some say both the retired guy and troop retiring knew about it.
The the retired guy was banned from the base??????
Unseemly to say the least.
Glad I told them to just mail me my final paperwork.
The base commander had banned this guy from the base.
Not enough information to make an opinion one way or the other.
Our military has some real bad sicknesses if this could ever even happen. Back when America was still sane, this would NEVER have happened.
On a side note, many younger cops I know believe the tripe they have been fed over a lifetime of public education and hollywood media. Many today believe that citizens shouldn’t have firearms.
It is just a matter of time . . .
Makes a body wonder about the Base Commander.
The Base CC had no legitimate reason to ban the retiree from the base.
He was not a threat...unless God is a threat. Oh wait...
Seems to me that there is a base commander in dire need of being relieved of command.
What were the base commander’s motives? I don’t see that in the article. Nor do I see what the evictee’s speech contained. Not enough information.
No, the retiree was not banned from the base. His buddy, the speaker, was.
He had an update link embedded in the original that had additional information, including a link to a copy of the remarks SMSgt Rodriguez was attempting to make.
Read the FB post in the article, it mentions the Base CC and the fact that he couldn’t stop Rodriquez at a prior ceremony, so was intent on stopping him at any others, to include this one...
The speaker is a retired SMSgt...
This will be interesting....... common nickname for Wing Commanders was Wing King as that base is HIS till relieved of command. If he and this retired NCO had previous bad blood the Commander probably had him declared persona non grata and barred from base legally ...... Seen such many times during my career......This guy was lucky only a few NCO’s at the ceremony took him from the room. Had the sky cops shown up it would have been painful to watch much less experience first hand....
His buddy - the speaker - was the retired guy. The retiree is not retired until the first of the month.
I retired from Travis myself. To me, it seemed almost as bad as being at an ATC base. I retired at the earliest possible moment.
I enjoyed my career, but when it was time to move on, I did exactly that.
So do retired military men have fewer free speech rights than plain old civilians?
In my experience the Base commander, though, did most of the personnel/administrative work in that area while the wing commander was the ranking O-6 but more in operational control of the assets.
In either case, there were/are "sundowners" at all levels, even the squadron. They simply say "Get off my base by sundown" and the troop disappears. I've seen this mostly in DDs, OTH discharges and Administrative discharges for the good of the service. It is unusual this would be a retiree.
In the end though, there are always two sides to a story.
First I heard him whisper “seriously?” and then when he saw that they were serious he began reciting what I can only assume is part of the Code.
Wow! You inferred all that from the posted item.
Or, should I assume you have some direct link to the event...or just to the voices in your head?
On base you may not be disruptive be ye retired or active duty ...... you have a beef with your commander or those appointed over you have a chain of command not a soap box. Freedom of speech ..... yes from the brig / guardhouse or corrective custody where three hots and a cot are you new friend till an article 31 hearing for a court-martial or if your lucky a Article 15 non judicial punishment with a general discharge and a free ride to back gate to start your new adventure as a “civilian” .....:o)
NCO’s , real ones know their responsibilities , professionalism and proper etiquette, standards, customs and courtesy and as stated, chain of command.
Inspector general, Senior Enlisted Advisor, Judge Advocate General, Office of Special Investigations , Command level, Congressman or Senator ...... all available to address grievances , complaints etc....... even the chaplain will lend you an ear.
You go toe to toe with a staff officer verses due process you lose.
Back in the day even wall to wall counseling was part of the unofficial process.
But my experience with DOD ended officially in 96 with retirement so maybe things have been liberalized to the point such a mess we read about here today is common drivel and snivel solutions.
Stay Safe !
Agree ...... Combat Support Group Commander was indeed the “base commander” while the Air Wing Commander was host tenant if i remember my DOD / DNA correctly..... Good info.
Stay Safe !
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