COL. MIKE NO COMBAT COLPO, THE CHAIRBORNE RANGER. It begs the question; can one be a devout Communist and not advocate the overthrow of the Government? Confederate leaders Jefferson Davis and Gen. Robert E. Lee both attended the academy. Rapone is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America and is serving as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Armys 10th Mountain Division, though he is currently at Ranger School. Spenser Rapone is a former Army Ranger and Infantry Officer recently separated from the military for speaking out against its imperialist violence. Hunter Finally Appears in Child Support Case, Judge Blasts Him for Concealing Income, SCOTUS Grants Review of Case That Will Gut the Federal Bureaucracy, Report Reveals Who Pushed Joe Biden to Run for Re-Election, FBI Retracts Image of Man Wrongly Identified as Cleveland, TX Murder Suspect, Other Mistakes Made, Nevada Isn't Blue, It's a Battleground for the Senate in 2024, Former Republican Congressman From Michigan Declares 'Michigan GOP Is Dead'. Many of you have lost loved ones fighting the same totalitarian philosophy that long-haired leftist Rapone so arrogantly promotes. Deciding he could no longer stomach the immorality of US imperialism, he spoke out against the reprehensible actions of the military in September 2017. Although its not illegal to be a communist in the military, there are other ways to formulate their arguments to repress you. Getting out of the military is daunting, especially as an officer. You served under both Obama and Trump. DOMESTIC VIOLENCE MEANS NOTHING TO THE UNITED STATES ARMY! The opening I saw was the one-year anniversary of Colin Kaepernicks protest of police brutality. Rapone also explained that his time inAfghanistan as an assistant machine-gunner in the volatile Khost province in 2011 spurred an interest in radical social change, starting with the military. What , VADM John Disher got the job as Chief of Naval Education and Training Command (CNET) after Airman Recruit (AR) Lee Mirecki, 19, of Appleton, Wisconsin, was drowned by Navy swim , Captain Robert J. Naughton, served his country, and suffered for his country when he was held captive for years in Hanoi during the Vietnam War. U.S. government destroying the dollars value through inflation. Can Floridas gay teachers show photos? Some multi-tour combat veterans and Mustang officers, like our 70 year-old editor-in-chief, a disabled vet and cancer survivor, is itching to get in the ring with this rat and kick his sorry ass from one turnbuckle to the other. None of that really matters because it is obvious that Rapone and the faculty thought Rapone was immune from any kind of serious disciplinary action. John Nettleton was found guilty of obstructing justice, concealing information, falsifying records and making false statements in connection with the death of Christopher Tur. The Viet Cong and the Afghan resistance that people in these countries are resisting is the only similarity I can see between the Vietnam era and the current global war on terror. For example, its illegal to have union meetings in the military now. He was drawn to the writings of Stan Goff, an antiwar socialist and fellow Special Forces veteran who taught at West Point, he said. Why this rough, tough Army Infantry officer (he was called behind his back the chairBORNE Ranger) never even went overseas during three decades drawing a fat paycheck. 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. THERE IS NO QUESTION THAT MAJOR ANDERSON WAS RAILROADED INTO PRISON. All rights reserved. 149: The 'DeSantis Show of Strength, Renfield, and Hollywood: Perfect Capitalism' Edition, MSNBC Show Host Mocking Conservative Justices Speaks Right to Alito's Point, ABC News: LGBTQ+ lawmakers finding themselves fighting literally just 'to exist', WATCH: Biden's Latest Alzheimer's Moment Is Actually Very Sad, California - Do Not Sell My Personal Information. He explained that he took the offending selfies at his May 2016 West Point graduation ceremony and kept them to himself until last September, when he tweeted them in solidarity with NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who was taking heat for kneeling for the national anthem to raise awareness of racism. During the interview, he expressed patriotism and looked just like a top-notch candidate. Were in Chicago. Rapone previously served as an enlisted infantryman before enrolling at West Point in 2012. We had hundreds of incidents where soldiers were fragging and killing their officers. The 25 year-old butter bar lieutenant prefers an enemy regime to our own democracy. - But you can explain what their material relation to violence and power will be as a soldier and the harsh reality of what that means. But his interview with the AP shed light on how he went from a graduate of one of the most exclusive and traditional institutions on Earth to a pariah within the ranks before being mustered out. He was an honors student, an athlete, a model citizen who volunteered in the community, recalled Altmire, a Democrat. Everyone who is sworn into the American military has to take an oath of office which includes they wont advocate the overthrow of the Government. The narrative that a conscription army is the only thing that will produce war resisters is flawed and ahistorical. Comparisons of claims against the evidence. It appears he didnt. What if several divisions of fighting Americans were taking orders from Brigadier General Rapone? ALL HE WANTS IS A FAIR JUDICIAL PROCESS. Raponereceived an other than honorable discharge, the AP reported, an administrative separation reserved for misconduct. Alex Jones challenged me to a boxing match. One of six children growing up in New Castle, Pennsylvania, Rapone said he applied to West Point, which is tuition-free, because he couldnt afford college. Spenser Rapone was accepted to West Point in 2012, graduated in 2016 and received an other than honorable discharge in June. This article was published more than4 years ago. Initially, after the invasion of Iraq, there was a substantial antiwar movement, but five years later, with the election of Barack Obama, a lot of that dissipated. He told the AP he tweeted the photos in solidarity with Colin Kaepernick, the former NFL quarterback who knelt during the national anthem in protest of police brutality, which itself drew intense criticism from President Trump for perceived slights against the military. Less than a year after Rapones images drew a firestorm of vitriol and even death threats, the second lieutenant who became known as the commie cadet is officially out of the U.S. Army with an other-than-honorable discharge. The question hanging fire, though, has remained how did this guy get through four years at a very rigorous institution without his TAC officer and other active duty officers knowing about it. Another West Point Graduate Heading to Prison. And those views only hardened during his studies of history as one of Spenser Rapone, U.S. Army. He was nominated out of high school by then-US Rep. Jason Altmire in 2010. Trump says North Korea is no longer a nuclear threat. pic.twitter.com/PP5lvIR8Pp. Robert E. Lee is practically a fixture on campus. I was still idealistic, he said. I figured maybe I could change things from inside.. His expulsion came after a viral tweet showing him clad in uniform, fist raised displaying a hat reading, COMMUNISM WILL WIN. I was always told growing up that the US military [], A journal of theory and strategy published by Jacobin, We Were Terrorizing Some of the Most Exploited People on Earth, Taking Back Left Parties From the Brahmins, Worth Fighting For: An Army Ranger's Journey Out of the Military and Across America, Having America Care About You Is Not Necessarily a Good Thing. There were fumes of idealism still left, he said, and he accepted one of the few prized slots to the academy reserved for enlisted soldiers. He enlisted as an infantryman out of high school in 2010, and deployed to Afghanistan in 2011. Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than twenty years, or both, and shall be ineligible for employment by the United States or any department or agency thereof, for the five years next following his conviction. Finally, Heffington gets tired and tries to end the conversation: The conversation continued for approximately fiveminutes, and every single statement or question I had for CDT Rapone was met with a ready and very disrespectful retort. Taking to Twitter, Rapone and his socialist allies confirmed he would be speaking at a socialist event in July after he was finished being pushed out of the Army this month with an other than honorable discharge. No one likes being in the military, in the moment. I told him that he may have to wait, but he certainly did notneed to lie down across the hallway so his legs block the way for everyone else. Believe it or not, there are laws against those who advocate the overthrow of the Government. Mr. Rapone used the social media platform on Wednesday to promote an upcoming Socialism 2018 talk in Chicago titled War Resister in the Ranks., At Socialism 2018 Ill be sitting down with with[sic] 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, Rory Fanning, also an ex-Ranger, tweeted Wednesday. Less than a year after Rapones images drew a firestorm of vitriol and even death threats, the second lieutenant who became known as the commie cadet is officially out of the U.S. Army with an other-than-honorable discharge. But when you talk to these kids who are signed up, they can tell you very little about the last seventeen years of the war, much less the history of US imperialism around the world. Former Army Ranger and Afghanistan veteran Spenser Rapone received an other than honorable discharge after he posted images taken at his 2016 graduation from the United States Military Academy at West Point. I was deployed for most of the summer of 2011. It is not clear if he had the ability to attend Ranger school while serving in the Army Rangers or if he attended and failed. Copyright 2023 The Washington Times, LLC. One officer told me that he had had serious misgivings about CDT Rapone for a long time, and he proceeded to show me CDT Rapones Facebook page. Playing the denouncement game toward those soldiers isnt politically viable, nor does it make much sense. Prior to West Point, the New Castle, PA native enlisted in the Army where he was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 54th Infantry Regiment at Fort Benning for basic training and infantry training in 2010. Join the Truthdig Newsletter for our latest publications. During the interview, he expressed patriotism and looked just like a top-notch candidate. We were bullies in one of the poorest countries on Earth, Rapone said. As such we weve done it before), is being led into battle by a Captain or Major Rapone. While Trump himself may be more of a parody-fascist than a fascist, it was as if that election was releasing the forces of a new kind of fascism. To bookmark your favorite articles and follow your favorite authors, upgrade to, Eugenics in the Twenty-First Century: New Names, Old Ideas, West Point Cant Hide Its Reverence for the Confederacy, The West Point Soldier Who Called It as He Saw It. The Army kicked him out. Toward the end of his deployment, he learned West Point fulfills a certain quota of enlisted soldiers every year. (Courtesy of Spenser Rapone via AP), Connect with the definitive source for global and local news. In case there was any lingering doubt, hasta la victoria siempre pic.twitter.com/0XrW38wcCk, Commie Bebop? Apparently not. But as bad as that is, theres something very different about taking a human life yourself, let alone if you dont understand what cause its serving. In addition to classic socialist theorists such as Karl Marx, Rapone says he found inspiration in the writings of Stan Goff, a retired Special Forces master sergeant who became a socialist anti-war activist. He was nominated out of high school by then-U.S. Rep. Jason Altmire in 2010. On Monday, the Armys 10th Mountain Division accepted the resignation of 2nd Lt. Raponeless than a year after he posted photos of himself at his 2016 graduation, posing in a Che Guevara shirt under his uniform, along with a fist salute to underline a message written in his cap: Communism will win., The photos, which Raponeposted to social media last September, created a fierce backlash, sparked death threats and drew calls from Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) to investigate Rapones online writing last fall. The next time I see you in thisbuilding, youd better be wearing a uniform. Spenser Rapone tells how he discovered that the military he joined wasn't what Hollywood and commercials had made it out to be. All rights reserved. While Rubio and others have repudiated Rapones desiretodismantle the countrys social orderand support a radical revolution, he wouldnt be the first West Pointer to have done so. Officially, the Army said in a statement only that it conducted a full investigation and appropriate action was taken., An unrepentant Rapone summed up the fallout in yet another tweet Monday that showed him extending a middle finger at a sign at the entrance to Fort Drum, accompanied by the words, One final salute., I consider myself a revolutionary socialist, the 26-year-old Rapone told The Associated Press. Marine staff member suffers self-inflicted gunshot wound at Home of the Commandants. A LOT. A recently retired CIA officer remarked to SOFREP that right now our counter-intelligence is so bad that we are only catching the dumb ones, the people stupid enough to out themselves on social media or who mail classified documents to news outlets, Mr. Murphy continued. His time at the academy only deepened his socialist views. Can you start off by telling us about your background and why you decided to join the military? He can pay back the U.S. taxpayer for fraud, then grab the next space-available flight to Seoul, Korea. I proceeded to say Ijust asked a question and l want an answerwho else is yelling in here? At that point CDT Spenser Rapone (the only cadet wearingcivilian clothes), who was seated in the comer of the office, replied (while still seated) by saying, Were in a private conversationhere.. Copyright 2023 RedState.com/Salem Media. And even if youre not in combat, youre supplying the bullets, youre supplying the food, to aid in the war effort. And those views only hardened during his studies of history as one of the academys Long Gray Line.. But he wasnt accepted to West Point, so Rapone enlisted in the Army. The Chevron Doctrine: Will the Supreme Court's Ruling Protect Liberty? Bidens misleading deficit claim earns him a Bottomless Pinocchio, Fact-checking Trumps reaction to Bidens reelection announcement. His other than honorable discharge, which is highly unusual for a West Point graduate in a circumstance such as this, also may block him from many veterans benefits despite his years of service, including in combat. So I decided to enlist as an infantryman out of high school. Colpo had the benefit of a free college education (USMA Class of 1978) but made sure he never went into harms way during 30 years of active duty. Good riddance. If we reach them and can tell them that none of these people who sing your praises now really care about you outside of serving their own political interests, thats critical. I didnt expect it to go viral like it did, but I thought maybe I could influence other soldiers. Spenser Rapone was accepted to West Point in 2012, graduated in 2016 and received an other than honorable discharge in June. No one likes to deploy; no one likes to be separated from their friends and family to go inflict violence on human beings. WE PROVIDE AN UPDATE AND LESSONS LEARNED. A lot of guys were getting excited at the prospect that we might go into North Korea or possibly Iran. Rapone is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America and is serving as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Armys 10th Mountain Division, though he is currently at Ranger School. There are a lot of veterans both active duty and not that feel like I do., In this May 2016 photo provided by Spenser Rapone, Rapone raises his left fist while displaying a sign inside his hat that reads "Communism will win," after graduating from the United States Military Academy at West Point, N.Y. After Rapone, who was already a combat veteran after serving with the First Ranger Battalion in Afghanistan, posted the photos on Facebook, the Army dismissed him with an "other than honorable" discharge. From his various online rantings and posts, it appears that CDT Rapone is an avowed Marxist, which is completely out of line with the values of this nation and its Army. I was still idealistic, he said. I figured maybe I could change things from inside.. The content of this webpage may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written consent of Bright Mountain Media, Inc. which may be contacted atinfo@brightmountainmedia.com, tickerBMTM. You signed up and went to West Point, in part, for an education. This May Day, get a Jacobin subscriptionfor just $1 for an entire year. I said, Stand up when you speak to me. CDT Rapone stood up and, before I could say anything else, said, Sir you donthave the right to use my honor against me! in a loud and extremely disrespectful tone of voice. Thats why he richly deserves the nickname NO COMBAT Colpo. Despite his growing disillusionment about the military, he applied and got in. VOLUME IV: OIG NOW A CO-CONSPIRATOR AGAINST JANE DOE WHEN A CONGRESSIONAL STAFFER INQUIRES, OIGs OFFICE SAID JANE DOE NEVER SENT US A COMPLAINT A WEEK LATER OIG SUDDENLY FINDS MISSING COMPLAINT, BUT ALTERS THE DATE THE COMPLAINT WAS RECEIVED ALL ORCHESTRATED TO PROTECT CULPABLE ARMY OFFICERS TRANSFERRING OUT THE BACKDOOR, DONATIONS ARE WISELY APPLIED, AND DEEPLY APPRECIATED, SPENSER RAPONE RECEIVES OTHER-THAN-HONORABLE DISCHARGE FROM THE ARMY, LT. GEN. KURT SONNTAG LOWERS ARMY TRAINING STANDARDS TO RAISE GRADUATION RATES SOCIETAL DECLINE INSIDIOUSLY OOZES INTO MILITARY, WHICH IS SUBTLY ERODING AMERICAN MILITARY POWER, UNITED STATES NAVY CAPTAIN CHARGED WITH OBSTRUCTION, CONCEALING MATERIAL FACTS, FALSE OFFICIAL STATEMENTS, FALSIFYING OFFICIAL RECORDS NO CHARGES FOR ADULTERY AND CONDUCT UNBECOMING, VADM John S. Disher Abuse of Government Credit Cards & Converting Naval Aircraft into a Family Airline, Capt. Rapone graduated from West Point as a member of the class of 2016, but before entering the Academy he served for two years as an 11B Infantryman in the 75th Ranger Regiment, deploying to Afghanistan in that capacity. Spenser Rapone, who was previously enlisted with the Army Rangers and served in Afghanistan before his commissioning, told the AP he was reprimanded for conduct unbecoming of an officer. Spenser Rapone, the former second lieutenant whose Communism will win photos went viral in 2017, has received an other than honorable discharge from the Army. Rapone was branded the commie cadet, and his career as a newly minted officer never recovered after assignment to Fort Drum. I guess any country that appoints someone like John O. Brennan as the CIA Director, will ultimately have a percentage of its military officers as Communists mixed in with a few terrorists here and there. On the surface, it would seem that mere employment in the military would be incompatible with his political beliefs. That conditions you to think a certain way about the world, about whats morally right and ethical. We've received your submission. Despite his growing disillusionment with the military, he applied and got in. Note here. I tried to submit a conditional resignation, saying I wanted to leave, and asked for a general discharge. We cant say with absolute certainty Mikey would be a coward if he ever got on a battlefield, but his successful efforts to avoid any shooting area for three decades gives you a good idea of what kind of combat leader he might be. Looks like the Commie Cadet is well on his way to become the first Army General who advocates the overthrow of the He hears a loud argument coming from another office. It didnt take me long to realize that my experiences did not reflect that in the slightest.. Instead, he was sneering at something on my uniform. Id have to tell them the mission we were doing was right when I had firsthand experience as a teenager in Afghanistan that what we were doing was not right. I knew there could be repercussions, said Rapone, who is scheduled to speak at a socialism conference in Chicago next month. That didnt faze me too much, but my family was worried, and began to get alt-right trolls trying to dox me and find their information. MAJOR CLARENCE ANDERSON FILES MASSIVE FEDERAL LAWSUIT AGAINST THE UNITED STATES AIR FORCE. Pentagon suspends war games with South Korea after Trumps meeting with Kim. And those views only hardened during his studies of history as one of Operating under the twitter handle punkproletarian, Rapone supports various extreme left-wing ideologies, including more violent fringe groups such as Black Lives Matter and Antifa. So, despite that, Rapone was accepted at West Point where his faculty mentor was one Rasheed Hosein, a professor of Middle East history, according to PJ Media which reports that Hosein is on administrative leave and hes being investigated for something unrelated to Rapone, were told. As I said, this is a peculiarly West Point idea that puts the onus on the superior to not ask really uncomfortable questions. Or at the very least, Id be able to remove myself from the army and find a way to talk about my experiences in some type of antiwar movement. Right: Army Private First Class Spenser Rapone receiving his "Ranger Scrol" patch after completing Ranger Assessment and Selection Program in 2011. We also had the Viet Cong resisting. He was deployed to Afghanistan in 2011 and was assigned as an assistant machine gunner in Khost Province. An interview with Spenser Rapone the commie cadet that got kicked out of the military for standing against US imperialism. here for reprint permission. Spenser Rapone Template:TOCnestleft Spenser Rapone was a US Army officer and Democratic Socialists of America member. (@punkproletarian) September 25, 2017. The right-wing hysteria was quickly whipped up: publications like the Daily Caller and Infowars ran stories. HIS STORY IS A CLASSIC EXAMPLE OF GROSS MILITARY INJUSTICE. Officially, the Army said in a statement only that it conducted a full investigation and appropriate action was taken., An unrepentant Rapone summed up the fallout in yet another tweet Monday that showed him extending a middle finger at a sign at the entrance to Fort Drum, accompanied by the words, One final salute., I consider myself a revolutionary socialist, the 26-year-old Rapone told The Associated Press. Many other military personnel also tweeted in favor of Kaepernick, although most were supporting free speech, not communism. This is home to the largest concentration of JROTC students in any school district in the country. WE WANT ACCOUNTABILITY FOR THOSE WHO CONSPIRED TO WRONGFULLY IMPRISON THIS OUTSTANDING AIR FORCE OFFICER. He was deployed to Afghanistan in 2011 and was assigned as an assistant machine gunner in Khost Province. A glaring example of that is that many of the politicians who claim to be staunch patriots and support the troops want to privatize the VA. Aside from that, reaching active-duty soldiers? May 29, 2018 Admin. While in the 1st Ranger Battalion he completed at least one deployment and Air Assault School before going over to the United States Military Academy in New York. My attorney told me that the military would win in this situation because of the way the uniform code of military justice is structured. Rapone was an enlisted man who served briefly in 1st Ranger Battalion, was, according to reports, booted out of that unit, applied for a West Point appointment via the Military Academy Prep School from former Democrat Congressman Jason Altmire, graduated West Point and was commissioned in 2016. Civilians were detouring around his legs asthey tried to make it down the hallway. This May Day, consider getting (or gifting) a subscription at a discounted price of $1 for a yearlong digitalsubscription,and $10 for print. We do this by continually exposing a corrupt, multi-tiered judicial system, which allows officers to escape prosecution through retirement. You posted it with a hashtag, #VeteransforKaepernick. This was for a couple reasons. Whether youre on the front lines or not, youre still complicit in the killing of other human beings and the pursuit of US foreign policy. Who else is yelling? I got no response to my question. Right: Army Private First Class Spenser Rapone receiving his "Ranger Scrol" patch after completing Ranger Assessment and Selection Program in 2011. First, when youre talking to a teenager about this subject, theres no effective argument that says, Youre too smart for this, you could do better, etc. Thats usually condescending. After completing Airborne school at Fort Benning, he completed the rigorous Ranger Assessment and Selection Program and was assigned to the the 1st Ranger Battalion in Savannah, Georgia. On the other hand, many people reached out and showed me support. And those views only hardened during his studies of history as one of the academys Long Gray Line.. He explained that he took the offending selfies at his May 2016 West Point graduation ceremony and kept them to himself until last September, when he tweeted them in solidarity with NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who was taking heat for kneeling for the national anthem to raise awareness of racism. We have one of the most technologically advanced militaries of all time and all we were doing is brutalizing and invading and terrorizing a population that had nothing to do with what the United States claimed was a threat.. Who knows? Rapone said his journey to communism grew out of his experiences as an Army Ranger in Afghanistan before he was accepted into the U.S. Military Academy. If youre able to articulate what that will do to you as a human being, and how youll be forced to live with that and thats not scare-mongering, its speaking to what they will actually have to execute as a soldier in the US military that can at least plant the seed for them to grapple with these questions. But we need to find a way to bring them in, create spaces for them to name their experiences, and then use their knowledge and abilities at organizing and working on a team to support emancipatory movements and socialist politics. When I enlisted during the Obama era, one of the prevailing themes was the commander in chief doesnt understand what were doing. The casual racism you see in American society is intensified in the military because of the hyper-masculine environment, especially in combat arms. Plus, Colin Kaepernick risked his career to support a cause. The military website SOFREP reiterated on Thursday that Mr. Rapone was an advocate for the long march through the institutions of power., This [philosophy] entails burrowing inside the institutions of society, including the military, and subverting them from within and ultimately setting the conditions for a communist revolution, wrote Jack Murphy, a former Army Special Operations veteran.

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