January 5th, 2010

Each of my oaths has bound me tighter to the Constitution

tgyclrg In 1963 as a sophomore in High School I joined my local volunteer fire departments. After 10 week of training was I admitted on a 6 month probation and provided with a copy of a document that I would sign in front of the Chief and the Assistant chief. The Document that I ultimately signed contained and oath that was something like this:

“I Frederick W Mayes do hereby declare, that I will support the Constitution of the United States, the Constitution of the State of Washington, and that, I will faithfully discharge the duties as Teen Volunteer in the South Bay, Washington Fire Department and the citizens of South Bay to the best of my ability, and will promote and protect the best interest of the South Bay, Washington Fire Department in accordance with the South Bay, Washington Fire Department policies”.

As a young teenager, the oath to support the Constitution seemed strange but I could think of no reason that I wouldn’t defend it. I took a similar Oath three years later when I enlisted into the Navy. I have taken this oath 5 times.

I, Frederick W Mayes, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.

I was told at the time that this oath took precedence to any other oath that I had taken and I have taken this oath once and reaffirmed the oath 4 times. In May of 1980 I took another oath that was slightly different and again superseded my enlisted oath as I was promoted to Ensign, USN:

I, Frederick W Mayes do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.

ssbn633_casimirpulaski_insig I have since affirmed that oath twice. Each of these oaths bound me tighter to the Constitution. I noted that in the last oath that I took, I was not long required to obey any orders from any person regardless of where they were placed in the Chain of Command. At “Knife and Fork” school it was drilled into our, as our drill sergeant put it “tiny little brains” that as offices we were a filter. It was our responsibility to ensure that any order we gave was a lawful order; an order that my sailors could obey with good conscience; an order that supported and defended the Constitution. I have never been released from that oath nor have I ever sought to be released from that oath.

Recently I have had many reasons to reflect on that oath and the price that I and my family may have to pay to be true to the oath. I have concluded that however high the price may be the, Constitution is the one instrument that can be used to rescue us from our current circumstances and return this Country back to the people even if that takes an act similar to the Declaration of Independence. Therefore I Frederick W Mayes do affirm my oath once again and, with firm reliance on the protection of God the Father and His son Jesus the Christ I pledge my life, my fortune, and my sacred honor alongside all like minded brothers. “With a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.” The last line of the Declaration of Independence.

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Posted in All, Testimonials | 3 Comments »

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3 Responses to “Each of my oaths has bound me tighter to the Constitution”

1
Mr. Smith Says:
January 5th, 2010 at 10:20 am
Welcome , and prepare to be in the company of great Men and Women…

LONG LIVE THE REPUBLIC!!!
2
Eddie Gilbert Says:
January 5th, 2010 at 1:56 pm
-
Hey Frederick,

Well said !

Welcome to Oath Keepers.

Thank you for your service to our Country and countrymen.

Eddie Gilbert
USMC SSgt 70-78
Peace Officer 97-present
3
Gary Covington Says:
January 5th, 2010 at 7:21 pm
Mr. Mayes, thank you. As I’ve been fuming about the demise of this great country, I occassionaly stumble across a site like this that reinforces my faith in “true” Americans…..I will forward this website to all of my currently serving military and police friends and family and hope they have the same commitment as you. Thank you.

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Oath of Enlistment

I, (NAME), do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.

Officers Oath

I, [name], do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God

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Site Dedication

This site is dedicated to the memory of John William Adams (1925-2006), Marine and Oath Keeper extraordinaire.

John Adams, at the age of 16, lied about his age to join the Marines so he could fight against Imperial Japan in the Pacific. His enlistment date was December 10, 1941, just three days after the attack on Pearl Harbor (see below). As a Marine rifleman, he fought the Japanese from island to island, across the pacific, including at Iwo Jima. We may have good men, but we never had better.

Until his death in 2006, he was a dedicated patriot who still took his oath to defend the Republic deadly serious. May God grant you the courage to do likewise.

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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.

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 previously wrote 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.