'Commie Cadet' Spenser Rapone Leaving Army with 'Less Than Honorable Discharge'

Started by OldGuy, June 08, 2018, 03:43:41 AM

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

OldGuy

(Former CAP Cadet)

https://pjmedia.com/trending/commie-cadet-spenser-rapone-leaving-army-with-less-than-honorable-discharge/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

Eight months after his communist social media postings and conduct caused a conservative media firestorm, 2nd Lieutenant Spenser Rapone (better known as "the commie cadet") is reportedly being processed out of the Army with the most severe type of military administrative discharge -- an "other than honorable discharge."

Rapone, you may recall, is the avowed Marxist and Antifa supporter who posted pictures of himself on social media promoting pro-communist messages and expressing an intention to infiltrate the U.S. military.

Victims of Communism

@VoCommunism
Senator @marcorubio calls for @USArmy to revoke Lt. Spenser Rapone's commission and discipline him under the UCMJ: http://bit.ly/2kw7hLJ

He graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in May of 2016, and had been serving in the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum in New York.

According to GIJobs.com, some actions that could lead to an other than honorable discharge "include security violations, use of violence, conviction by a civilian court with a sentence including prison time, or being found guilty of adultery in a divorce hearing (this list is not a definitive list; these are only examples)."


In most cases, veterans who receive an other-than-honorable discharge cannot re-enlist in the Armed Forces or reserves, except under very rare circumstances.  Veterans benefits are not usually available to those discharged through this type of discharge.
Rapone is scheduled to speak in July at a Socialism 2018 conference in Chicago, where he and fellow far-lefty Rory Fanning, an ex-Army ranger, will appear together in a "War Resister in the Ranks" discussion.

Rory Fanning
@RTFanning
At Socialism 2018 I'll be sitting down with with Spenser Rapone, the US Army Ranger, Afghan-war combat vet, recent West Point graduate, and now war-resister, who sparked nation-wide fury after publicly supporting Colin Kaepernick and Socialism during his West Point graduation.

Deciding he could no longer stomach the immorality of US imperialism, he spoke out against the reprehensible actions of the military in September 2017. He ultimately resigned his commission, and was separated from the Army in June 2018 with an Other Than Honorable discharge.

Last October, Senator Marco Rubio called on the U.S. Army to "immediately nullify" Rapone's commission and recommended that West Point revoke his degree, saying Rapone "clearly was and is a national security threat."

Rubio pointed out in his letter to acting Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy that Rapone's case was not just a matter of law, but also a matter of "common sense." He added that the second lieutenant's "unchecked behavior is an extreme embarrassment for the United States Army and the United States Military Academy."

SOFREP, a military news site run by Special Ops veterans, first reported the news that the "commie cadet" was finally being drummed out of the Army. For some time, the website had been trying to get an update on Rapone's status, to no avail.

SOFREP had a series of somewhat surreal e-mails with the Department of Defense about his status. An Army public affairs officer simply told us, "Privacy restrictions preclude us from discussing what, if any, actions may be taken against 2LT Rapone as a result of the administrative investigation, as well as the findings and recommendations of the investigation."
We pressed them regarding DOD policies regarding communists serving in the ranks. The public affairs officer said they would research this and get back to us. In a few days they replied that according to AR 600-20, members of the armed forces may not belong to extremist groups. We than asked how DOD accounts for service members who may not be members of extremist organizations but may follow decentralized strategies such as Dutschke's "long march through the institutions" or Abu Mu'sab al-Suri's "Open Front" strategy? Curiously, we received no reply.

SOFREP said that his "other than honorable discharge" was "likely the harshest punishment the Army could give Rapone unless they decided to charge him with something like sedition."

The "other than honorable discharge" means that Rapone will not be entitled to VA benefits or the GI Bill and may even have trouble finding a job.


Live2Learn

Interesting story.  A "Bradley Manning" or "Edward Snowden" avoided?  The real questions are:  How did the subject of this lengthy post (a) get into West Point; (b) continue to participate in all aspects of the West Point experience for nearly half a decade without challenge;  (c) get commissioned in the US Army; and (d) gain command of even a platoon in combat? 

Did he not espouse any of his current views during this long road to his voluntary 'outing'??  Are some of his associates during his Academy experience or thereafter of similar mind?  At some levels I have to wonder if we're seeing some low hanging fruit of social engineering policies that obscure or create disincentives for individuals and organizations to at least express concerns, not unlike some reports of Nidal Malik Hasan and others.   https://www.hsdl.org/?view&did=717443 and https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CHRG-112hhrg81127/html/CHRG-112hhrg81127.htm.  The British history of the Cambridge Five might offer some useful perspective on the evolution of personal acts of treason or terrorism.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambridge_Five  Kim Philby, the poster child for that the Cambridge Five offered these insights not-so-profound-insights during an hour long briefing of Stasi officers in 1981:  https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-35943428  Basically, it boils down to "see something, say something", which in itself is a tough thing for most of us to actually follow through on.

It's always interesting as we learn the methods, rationale, rationalizations and origins of people who conspire as individuals or in groups to betray trust.

OldGuy

While attending West Point, Spenser Rapone was mentored by Rasheed Hosein, a professor of Middle East history, who is now on administrative leave for reasons unknown. Hosein holds a Ph.D in Islamic history from the University of Chicago. His biography on the West Point website lists Rapone as one of several "cadets advised."

A West Point spokesman told Breitbart News that Hosein's leave is unrelated to Rapone.

According to Breitbart News, photos from Rapone's Facebook page indicate that in 2014, Rapone accompanied Hosein on a trip to the Taj Mahal. Breitbart News' Kristina Wong writes, "a review of Rapone's Facebook page shows that over time, since 2014, his posts became increasingly anti-racism, anti-Israel, pro-Muslim, pro-Communist, anti-military, and anti-police."

Gunsotsu

And this has what to do with the Civil Air Patrol? Former cadet? So what, there's a lot of those.

This has no business here.

OldGuy

Quote from: Gunsotsu on June 08, 2018, 04:14:16 PM
And this has what to do with the Civil Air Patrol? Former cadet? So what, there's a lot of those.

This has no business here.
1 - It involves the USMA - a goal for many cadets,
2 - It involves the US military - again part of who we are.
3 - I disagree, clearly so does Live2Learn

PA Guy

Quote from: Gunsotsu on June 08, 2018, 04:14:16 PM
And this has what to do with the Civil Air Patrol? Former cadet? So what, there's a lot of those.

This has no business here.

Concur. Take it somewhere else. Maybe put it in the National Enquirer.

OldGuy

Quote from: PA Guy on June 08, 2018, 05:57:36 PM
Quote from: Gunsotsu on June 08, 2018, 04:14:16 PM
And this has what to do with the Civil Air Patrol? Former cadet? So what, there's a lot of those.

This has no business here.

Concur. Take it somewhere else. Maybe put it in the National Enquirer.
Two for, two not.

Live2Learn

Quote from: Gunsotsu on June 08, 2018, 04:14:16 PM
And this has what to do with the Civil Air Patrol? Former cadet? So what, there's a lot of those.
...

As pointed out by "OldGuy", there is an academy connection.  It's a truism that culture is profoundly affected by leadership at the top of the chain.  In CAP we are, among other things, to instill in Cadets a sense of "moral leadership" and at least a rudimentary understanding of "OPSEC".  In addition to those, the Cadet program hopes to develop leadership skills and personal attributes.  Obviously, leadership involves accepting responsibility, personal integrity, and a willingness to speak up when illegal or other serious issues become known to us.  Perhaps the recent (and ONGOING!) fiasco in the 7th Fleet where secret information was being swapped for T&A, ipod tunes, luxury hotels, and cash might have never happened if the original naval officers contacted, then groomed by Fat Leonard had merely acted on "see something, say something" to alert the appropriate commander or to the USN's Criminal Investigation Service.  https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/fat-leonard-scandal-expands-to-ensnare-more-than-60-admirals/2017/11/05/f6a12678-be5d-11e7-97d9-bdab5a0ab381_story.html?utm_term=.6618fdb9209b.  I would hope that the CAP experience for the Cadets we are privileged to mentor will help them avoid, and if they can't avoid, deal with temptations that have ruined several hundred of the USN's not-so-finest.  We can bet that had a conflict with China, a serious military competitor, occurred in the South China Sea during the period before the Fat Leonard information conduit was known that losses flowing from these serious breaches may have cost many lives.

NIN

So he was a CAP cadet? So what?

There are a lot of teenagers who turn out not so good who were cadets. It happens.

Its it a fault of the program when one kid goes off the rails and becomes a commie?  Probably not. 

If we were somehow accidentally turning out hundreds of commie cadets, then we'd have a problem.

The same goes for the Boy Scouts. How many "serial killer Eagle Scouts" are there?  How many DUI tenderfoots? How many commie first classes?

Heck, where was Rapone's real live leadership during this period? IIRC, he was enlisted in the infantry and went to Ranger school, then 4 years at West Point, plus time at IOBC, Ranger School and the 10th Mountain (where I bet he was "kept away" from the real soldiers). Sounds like his politics got real serious after his tour in Afghanistan. And continued unchecked.  His behavior, by all accounts, was not not only allowed, but encouraged. 

Sounds like some solid Article 134 stuff. Good.
Darin Ninness, Col, CAP
I have no responsibilities whatsoever
I like to have Difficult Adult Conversations™
The contents of this post are Copyright © 2007-2024 by NIN. All rights are reserved. Specific permission is given to quote this post here on CAP-Talk only.

Pace

Lt Col, CAP