Eight months after his communist social media postings and conduct caused a conservative media firestorm, 2nd Lieutenant Spenser Rapone (better known as “the commie cadet”) is reportedly being processed out of the Army with the most severe type of military administrative discharge — an “other than honorable discharge.”
Rapone, you may recall, is the avowed Marxist and Antifa supporter who posted pictures of himself on social media promoting pro-communist messages and expressing an intention to infiltrate the U.S. military.
Senator @marcorubio calls for @USArmy to revoke Lt. Spenser Rapone's commission and discipline him under the UCMJ: https://t.co/o5D533Kps7 pic.twitter.com/8YXGsy6Lea
— Victims of Communism (@VoCommunism) October 6, 2017
He graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in May of 2016, and had been serving in the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum in New York.
According to GIJobs.com, some actions that could lead to an other than honorable discharge “include security violations, use of violence, conviction by a civilian court with a sentence including prison time, or being found guilty of adultery in a divorce hearing (this list is not a definitive list; these are only examples).”
In most cases, veterans who receive an other-than-honorable discharge cannot re-enlist in the Armed Forces or reserves, except under very rare circumstances. Veterans benefits are not usually available to those discharged through this type of discharge.
Rapone is scheduled to speak in July at a Socialism 2018 conference in Chicago, where he and fellow far-lefty Rory Fanning, an ex-Army ranger, will appear together in a “War Resister in the Ranks” discussion.
https://twitter.com/RTFanning/status/1004090721798905857
Deciding he could no longer stomach the immorality of US imperialism, he spoke out against the reprehensible actions of the military in September 2017. He ultimately resigned his commission, and was separated from the Army in June 2018 with an Other Than Honorable discharge.
Last October, Senator Marco Rubio called on the U.S. Army to “immediately nullify” Rapone’s commission and recommended that West Point revoke his degree, saying Rapone “clearly was and is a national security threat.”
Rubio pointed out in his letter to acting Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy that Rapone’s case was not just a matter of law, but also a matter of “common sense.” He added that the second lieutenant’s “unchecked behavior is an extreme embarrassment for the United States Army and the United States Military Academy.”
SOFREP, a military news site run by Special Ops veterans, first reported the news that the “commie cadet” was finally being drummed out of the Army. For some time, the website had been trying to get an update on Rapone’s status, to no avail.
SOFREP had a series of somewhat surreal e-mails with the Department of Defense about his status. An Army public affairs officer simply told us, “Privacy restrictions preclude us from discussing what, if any, actions may be taken against 2LT Rapone as a result of the administrative investigation, as well as the findings and recommendations of the investigation.”
We pressed them regarding DOD policies regarding communists serving in the ranks. The public affairs officer said they would research this and get back to us. In a few days they replied that according to AR 600-20, members of the armed forces may not belong to extremist groups. We than asked how DOD accounts for service members who may not be members of extremist organizations but may follow decentralized strategies such as Dutschke’s “long march through the institutions” or Abu Mu’sab al-Suri’s “Open Front” strategy? Curiously, we received no reply.
SOFREP said that his “other than honorable discharge” was “likely the harshest punishment the Army could give Rapone unless they decided to charge him with something like sedition.”
The “other than honorable discharge” means that Rapone will not be entitled to VA benefits or the GI Bill and may even have trouble finding a job.
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