Oath Keepers is a non-partisan association of current and formerly serving military, police, and first responders, who pledge to fulfill the oath all military and police take to “defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic.” That oath, mandated by Article VI of the Constitution itself, is to the Constitution, not to the politicians, and Oath Keepers declare that they will not obey unconstitutional orders, such as orders to disarm the American people, to conduct warrantless searches, or to detain Americans as “enemy combatants” in violation of their ancient right to jury trial. See the Oath Keepers Declaration of Orders We Will Not Obey for details.
Oath Keepers reaches out to both current serving and veterans to remind them of their oaths, to teach them more about the Constitution they swore to defend, and to inspire them to defend it. See below for details on how we do that. Oath Keepers also includes a membership program designated as “Associate Members”, which consists of patriotic citizens who have not served in uniform but who serve now by supporting this mission with their Associate Membership and volunteer activities. Oath Keepers welcomes our Associate Members and appreciates their support of our mission.
Our motto is “Not on our watch!“
First responders includes fire-fighters, search and rescue, EMTs, disaster relief, and similar emergency personnel. While not all such personnel take an oath to the Constitution, many do, and all are a critical audience for our mission.
Current Serving and Veterans, you swore an Oath…
While the enlisted oath does contain a pledge to obey the orders of the President and of commanding officers, that is still preceded by a pledge to “defend the Constitution,” and is also qualified by the requirement that such orders be “according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice.” Any order, by anyone, that is not constitutional or according to regulations, is unlawful and military personnel are not obligated to follow such orders – and, in fact, are obligated to refuse.
In contrast to the enlisted oath, the oath of military officers is to the Constitution alone, without qualification. To learn more about the history of the military oath, go here.
Veterans, your Oath NEVER expires! It’s time to keep it!
Who are Oath Keepers? Anyone who takes the Constitution seriously, and wants to preserve and defend it.
Oath Keeper David Berry, a Navy veteran, who joined us at our first annual conference in 2009.
Oath Keeper David Berry again, in 2014, at Bundy Ranch.
Here are Eddie and Ada Gilbert, in an interview with Stewart Rhodes in 2010. Eddie Gilbert, an active duty Cleveland, Ohio Police Officer at the time, served as our first Ohio State Chapter President. Unfortunately, he later passed away from cancer, but we were honored to know him, and he joins the ranks of the eternal Oath Keepers. He was an outstanding man, and an outstanding example of a peace officer who took his oath seriously, and he had the full support of his wonderful wife Ada. God bless them and their family. We miss Eddie still.
Here is 93 year old Oath Keeper, Renn Bodeker, from Plains, Montana. Renn served as a paratrooper in WWII, and participated in the 1945 rescue of over 2,000 POWs at the Los Banos prison camp in the Philippine Islands. Renn and his fellow paratroopers jumped in behind Japanese lines to rescue the POWs, who included men, women, and children, all of whom were going to be massacred by the Japanese troops. They were all saved. In this video, Renn has just helped to take down the absurd barricades at the WWII memorial in Washington D.C. and he talks of his experiences in WWII, and why he has stepped up one last time to defend the Constitution against the domestic enemies.
Here is current serving Oath Keeper A-10 pilot, Brian Miller, at the 2011 Memorial Day service for fallen Marine Veteran, Jose Guerena, who was killed by a SWAT team in Tucson, Arizona, standing tall and telling it like it is.
Oath Keepers come in all colors, shapes, sizes, ages, and backgrounds with one common bond – the oath to defend the Constitution. If you take your oath seriously, and believe in defending the Constitution against ALL enemies, foreign and domestic, and of whatever political party (there are oath breakers galore in both major parties), and if you stand for the rights of all Americans, at all times, then you are one of us. Join us. We need your help to preserve liberty for our children and grand-children, and for all Americans.
For the Republic!
Oath Keepers