November 13th, 2009

I Retired but My Oath Did Not

us_navy_logo I swore the oath almost 50 years ago when joining the Navy. I did so in good faith even though I didn’t realize the full significance of it at the time. As a career Naval Officer I never found the oath to be a burden upon me, it just seemed to be the right thing to do; and doing otherwise would be unthinkable.

When they gave me my retired ID card I really didn’t think of the oath as being retired too. But, it was at that time, I think, that I started thinking more seriously about the oath than I had ever done before.

I started reading history. The extent to which Constitutional considerations have been the issues most central to our nation’s conflicts fascinates me. Looking into the people and ideas involved in formulating our founding documents (Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation and The Constitution) I see how the creation of The United States of America seemed almost a miraculous process. In trying to grasp a better understanding of how it happened I embarked upon a study of Republican era Rome to see if I could better understand, by comparison how our government developed. I found that good people could have very different points of view regarding the structure that our Constitution ought to eventually take. The debates of the loyal patriots (Federalist and Anti_Federalist) who argued over the fine details and eventually compromised to make the Constitution what it is does much to enlarge my view of the oath.

I am truly saddened by the current state of affairs wherein the Constitution is ignored or threatened with such absolute disregard for what is being lost in the process.

Posted in All, Testimonials | 4 Comments »

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4 Comments »

Welcome aboard. You make us stronger. I have learned a lot since I joined, and we will prevail.

Comment by Curtis Hartwell — November 13, 2009 @ 1:35 pm
Welcome Aboard Sir,
I too retired from the US Navy in Feb of 1995. My OATH has the same Expiration date as shown on my retired military ID (INDEFINITE)!
Best Regards,
Ed Demski

Comment by Edward Demski — November 14, 2009 @ 6:08 am
Thank you for your suatained and honorable service to our Country.

Thank you for caring enough to find out about the history of our great Nation.

And most of all…

Thank you for being a true Oath Keeper !

Eddie Gilbert
USMC SSgt 70-78
Peace Officer 97-present

Comment by Eddie Gilbert — November 16, 2009 @ 10:30 am
Welcome and thank you very much for your service to our country and for continuing to keep your oath. I am proud to be able to stand side by side with so many of our American Heroes.

Comment by Kristen Kipp — November 16, 2009 @ 1:51 pm

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Click here to read full length version. 1. We will NOT obey orders to disarm the American people. 2. We will NOT obey orders to conduct warrantless searches of the American people 3. We will NOT obey orders to detain American citizens as “unlawful enemy combatants” or to subject them to military tribunal. 4. We will NOT obey orders to impose martial law or a “state of emergency” on a state. 5. We will NOT obey orders to invade and subjugate any state that asserts its sovereignty. 6. We will NOT obey any order to blockade American cities, thus turning them into giant concentration camps. 7. We will NOT obey any order to force American citizens into any form of detention camps under any pretext. 8. We will NOT obey orders to assist or support the use of any foreign troops on U.S. soil against the American people to “keep the peace” or to “maintain control." 9. We will NOT obey any orders to confiscate the property of the American people, including food and other essential supplies. 10.We will NOT obey any orders which infringe on the right of the people to free speech, to peaceably assemble, and to petition their government for a redress of grievances.
Click here to read full length version.

OATH KEEPERS: ORDERS WE WILL NOT OBEY

Click here to read full length version.

1. We will NOT obey orders to disarm the American people.

2. We will NOT obey orders to conduct warrantless searches of the American people

3. We will NOT obey orders to detain American citizens as “unlawful enemy combatants” or to subject them to military tribunal.

4. We will NOT obey orders to impose martial law or a “state of emergency” on a state.

5. We will NOT obey orders to invade and subjugate any state that asserts its sovereignty.

6. We will NOT obey any order to blockade American cities, thus turning them into giant concentration camps.

7. We will NOT obey any order to force American citizens into any form of detention camps under any pretext.

8. We will NOT obey orders to assist or support the use of any foreign troops on U.S. soil against the American people to “keep the peace” or to “maintain control."

9. We will NOT obey any orders to confiscate the property of the American people, including food and other essential supplies.

10.We will NOT obey any orders which infringe on the right of the people to free speech, to peaceably assemble, and to petition their government for a redress of grievances.

Click here to read full length version.

Founder Stewart Rhodes

He is a former firearms instructor and former member of Rep. Ron Paul’s DC staff.

Stewart currently writes the monthly Enemy at the Gates column for S.W.A.T. Magazine

Stewart graduated from Yale Law School in 2004, where his paper “Solving the Puzzle of Enemy Combatant Status” won Yale’s Miller prize for best paper on the Bill of Rights. He assisted teaching U.S. military history at Yale, was a Yale Research Scholar, and is writing a book on the dangers of applying the laws of war to the American people.