Oath Keepers in Three Forks

Oath Keepers keep their promise in Three Forks
“We, the People are the rightful masters of both Congress and the courts –
not to overthrow the Constitution, but to overthrow men who pervert the
Constitution.”
– Abraham Lincoln

Oath Keepers Conference At Three Forks – Mission Accomplished

By: Elias Alias – Big Sky Weekly

Oath Keepers is a national association of active-duty military, veterans, and peace-officer personnel who have become cognizant of the sacred gravity in the oath of enlistment. The Oath Keepers association was formed to remind all military personnel, veterans, and peace-officers that a knowledge of the Constitution they swore to uphold and defend is of paramount importance to the individual soldier or peace officer. And to America.
Oath Keepers was founded in March of 2009 by Constitutional Attorney Stewart Rhodes of Nevada. Stewart Rhodes is a former U.S. Army Ranger who graduated Yale Law School with honors and enjoyed working for Congressman. Ron Paul’s Washington, D.C., office. He travels with his lovely wife Tasha and their delightful children, a happy family on a mission to help save freedom in America.

Stewart wondered what he could do next after seeing that the Republican Party was not going to allow Ron Paul a fair shot at the White House. Knowing that time is short and action is needed on all fronts if America is to dodge the threat of an internationalized socialism and its inevitable oppression and enslavement of a once-free America, Stewart came up with the startlingly lucid idea to create a movement which would inform all Oath Takers of their obligation to become Oath Keepers. His campaign is that of educating military and law-enforcement about the Constitution which they’ve sworn to support and defend.

According to this year’s three published Homeland Security papers on “right-wing extremism”, “militias”, and “home-grown terrorists”, anyone who is worried about a one-world government, a North American Union, the loss of private gun ownership in America, the Federal Reserve, the open border with Mexico, the highly-questionable tactics of the IRS, or anyone who supported a third-party candidate such as Ron Paul or Chuck Baldwin or Bob Barr in last year’s election , or even anyone who dares march in a Tea Party rally, or anyone who talks “very much” about the U.S. Constitution, is to be considered to be a threat to law enforcement, a potential terrorist or terrorism sympathizer.

Yes, the Department of Homeland Security has announced that participants in Tea Party rallies should be considered to be involved in “low-level terrorism”. That’s bad enough, but DHS capped off this three-fold tirade against freedom by actually announcing that our returning veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan should also be under surveillance as potential “converts” to terrorism. The time for Oath Keepers has arrived.

A Federal agenda which would promote such foolish and dangerous notions about American citizens and service people is an agenda of tyranny. Knowing this, Stewart has devised a way to return the allegiance of our men and women in uniform, and their counterparts in law-enforcement, back to its original and intended source of authority, the highest authority, the U.S. Constitution. Stewart figures that if indeed a rogue element operating within the Federal government should initiate circumstances which would call on service and law-enforcement personnel to violate the rights of citizens, such a criminal element would depend naturally on its expectations that the soldiers and police and Sheriffs would carry out their unlawful orders. Stewart’s vision notes that if troops and peace officers only learn about that Constitution to which they swore an oath, any attempt to misuse the military and/or law-enforcement against the American people for compliance would be futile.

On Saturday, July 4, 2009, more than two thousand Montanans with pitched enthusiasm marched up Main Street in Bozeman to the cadence of dueling drums and sign-waving chants. The Tea Party patriots were on patrol and on topic. Leading them, just a step behind the drummers, were two symbols – an American flag and the Oath Keepers marching banner. Those two symbols of liberty paced side-by-side up the street ahead of the marching throng.
It was a Fourth of July to remember always, culminating with expressive speeches at the County Court House. A number of Oath Keepers from out of state had made the trip to march with local patriots. Leading them was Stewart Rhodes, the former Army Ranger turned Constitutional lawyer who worked for Ron Paul in Washington, D.C. and the founder of Oath Keepers.

But the Oath Keepers were not here just to march with the Tea Party. After the march on Main, the Oath Keepers would be featured at the Tea Party picnic where they would conduct the stirring Oath Keepers ceremony and administer to one and all the oath to protect and defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. At that ceremony the Oath Keepers read aloud their “Ten unlawful orders” which they vow never to obey. There were many moist eyes as the crowd stood with raised hands and solemnly took the oath in unison. It was a beautiful and emotional moment, and it is now an unforgettable portrait of patriotism written into the history of Gallatin Valley.

After the events of the Tea Party the entourage of Oath Keepers drove in caravan out to Willow Creek for the annual Willow Creek Cannon Shoot to watch in marvel as Larry Pogreba fired a few volleys with his home-made cannon. Larry’s cannon can fire a large black bowling ball up to two miles, and the high-flying shots put the Oath Keepers in awe. A short night’s sleep led them to Sunday morning at the Sacajawea Hotel for their conference.
Four months old, the Oath Keepers association is spreading its popular message nation-wide. Members include a Montana Highway Patrolman, a California Highway Patrolman, various military officers including a two-star Major General, many enlisted active duty personnel, County Sheriffs and Police officers, even three people from Homeland Security. The Oath Keepers conference in Three Forks was one of several engagements for Stewart and his road crew. This conference featured wonderful speakers from law enforcement and the military.

Following Stewart Rhodes’ presentation on the Constitution the conference heard a sterling presentation by Sheriff Richard Mack. Sheriff Mack spoke on the powers and responsibilities of the County Sheriff in today’s America, taking the audience back to the Constitutionally-rooted authority of a County Sheriff in any county in America. Sheriff Mack is a polished and poised speaker and a man of great stature. A serious Oath Keeper, he revealed the duty of the County Sheriff to the people of the Sheriff’s county, and he revealed the vested powers inherent to the badge which can protect his county’s citizens from Federal intrusion. Sheriff Mack would know of such things, having won a Supreme Court challenge to the Clinton Administration’s Brady (gun-control) bill. His victory over Federal usurpation embellished previously-forgotten but Constitutionally-based powers of the Sheriff as the highest law enforcement officer in any county, with authority over intruding Federal agencies or agents.

Sheriff Mack is the author of two books, the latest being “The County Sheriff: America’s Last Hope”. His first book is titled:”From My Cold Dead Hands”, and deals with private gun ownership issues. He is from Arizona, with plans to move to Montana.

Following Sheriff Mack, Chauncey Normandin, Army veteran and 30 year veteran police Captain from Florida, gave a pleasing presentation on how to reach out to police with the Oath Keepers message. Captain Normandin drew from his career experiences in law enforcement to illustrate and drive home his approach to informing fellow peace officers of the Oath Keepers mission. His smiling attitude personalized his presentation and kept the audience focused on the positive nature of the Oath Keepers mission.

Captain Normandin was followed by US Navy LCDR David Gillie, graduate of the Naval War College and intelligence officer. LCDR Gillie spoke about the military oath and how military members can best keep their oaths. Active duty military personnel have the right and duty to refuse to obey an unlawful order, and, thanks to the Nuremberg War Crimes tribunals after World War II, the right to refuse an unlawful order is written into the UCMJ (Uniform Code of Military Justice). LCDR Gillie shared his faith in the Constitution and in his God as he presented detailed information on how to correctly refuse an unlawful order. LCDR Gillie is on active duty and flew in from Virginia for the conference.

Following LCDR David Gillie, Representative Joel Boniek and Representative Mike More, both current legislators for Montana, gave inspiring talks on the political aspects of Oath Keepers and the moral aspects of the Oath Keepers mission. Montana can be proud of each, as Representative Joel Boniek was the sponsor in the Montana legislature for Gary Marbut’s (Montana Shooting Sports Association, Helena) “Made In Montana” gun bill which is designed to challenge Federal interpretations of the Interstate commerce clause in the Constitution and Representative Mike More wrote and introduced the Montana Sovereignty resolution. Both of those pieces of legislation/resolution attracted strong national coverage.
As the state coordinator for Oath Keepers in Montana, I closed the conference with an appeal for volunteers as Oath Keepers launches its mission in Montana. My goal is to see that Montana leads the nation as the first State in the Union to have an Oath Keepers chapter in every county. Why? Because no abusive authority at the national level can enforce nefarious agendas, or expect its unlawful orders to be obeyed by the military and the peace officer community, if a goodly percentage of military and law-enforcement personnel stand strong and proudly on their oath to the Constitution. The Oath Keepers message is that the oath of enlistment is sworn to the Constitution and not to any government agency, not to the three subservient branches of government, and not even to a U.S. President.

The Constitution is the highest authority in the United States of America. We’d like to keep it that way. It is to that hallowed document that all law enforcement and military personnel swear their oath. Reminding them of that is the mission of Oath Keepers.

If you want to be inspired, please read the testimonials by the many soldiers, officers, veterans, and peace officers who have signed on to the movement. Oath Keepers is teaching our service and peace-officer personnel how to make their way back to their rightful place in American society, how to stand against any threat of tyranny by simply honoring their oath and understanding the Constitution to which that oath is sworn. Stewart Rhodes feels that our military and peace-officer personnel belong in the bosom of America – the families and communities which make America great. One of Stewart’s goals is to reunite these service people with their roots, historically and culturally. That can only be good for America. Our troops and our law-enforcement are a rightful and appreciated part of America. Reminding them of that can only be a good thing. Time is short. Join us. Be an Oath Taker and an Oath Keeper. And always remember -

“We, the People are the rightful masters of both Congress and the courts — not to overthrow the Constitution, but to overthrow men who pervert the Constitution.”
– Abraham Lincoln

Correction: Stewart was not an Army Ranger.  He was an airborne reconnaissance scout for the 9th Division (E. Co. 60th Infantry, 9th ID Scouts).