Military

National Guard Officer Takes Heat For Endorsing Biden In Uniform

Twitter/Bo Erickson/@BoKnowsNews

Virginia Kruta Associate Editor
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South Carolina National Guard Major Ginger Tate faced criticism after she endorsed former Vice President Joe Biden while in uniform.

“When I saw on the news last night that you were coming, I just had to be here. Thank you so much for your guidance as I took 130 soldiers over. I brought them back and I’m so honored to have served under your administration and your leadership, and I hope and pray that you will be our next President of the United States,” Tate told Biden as she presented him with a challenge coin. (RELATED: ‘President … My Boss’: Biden Appears To Forget Obama’s Name)

It wasn’t long before critics pointed out that Biden should not have allowed a service member in uniform to be highlighted at a political event.

Others suggested that Tate should not have attended the event in uniform in the first place, saying that she was helping to blur the lines that keep the military apolitical. (RELATED: ‘I Just Won’t Do It’: General Dunford Rebuffs CNN Reporter Who Asks Him About Trump)

Todd Breasseale, former DHS Assistant Secretary under Obama, noted the potential fallout but cheered Tate for doing it. “I love her for doing this. I wish – for the likely unhinged manner with which she’ll be dealt on social media and potentially from her chain of command – that she hadn’t,” he tweeted.

South Carolina National Guard Spokeswoman CPT Jessica Donnelly told the Washington Post’s Dan Lamothe that Tate’s command “is aware of the video” but did not offer comments on any disciplinary actions against her.

The issue at hand is governed under DOD Directive 1344.10, which, according to Army.mil,  “applies to members of the armed forces, whether they serve on active duty, as members of the reserve components not on active duty, as National Guard members in a non-federal status and military retirees.”

The directive charges those groups to refrain from the types of political activities that could constitute or even imply an official endorsement or sponsorship because “actual or perceived partisanship could undermine the legitimacy of the military profession and department.”