Inaugural Oaths and Military Oaths

I am an officer in the United States Army National Guard, and one of the things that I have always found to resonate with people from different countries is our methodical, predictable, and most importantly peaceful transition of power every four years in our country.  This allows people to hold our leadership accountable for their actions, to reward those leaders who best represent our ideals with votes, and those votes determine who the new leader will be.

People in the military take the following oath, notice it has no bearing on the party of the President, but it supports his oath directly.

Officer Oath: I, ___., 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.


Most of my family voted for President Obama, Just FYI to the news media, I appreciate the historic perspective that goes along with electing a black man to the office of president.  I will point out that every single voter who voted for either candidate was an American Citizen.

When I look to my left or right in a formation or on a mission in a HMMWV, I do not see a German American, or a Hispanic American, or an African or Irish American.  I see an American who will save my ass if I get in trouble, regardless of what part of our nation he was born in.

Along with it being time to embrace our new President, I believe it is also time to embrace each other as Americans, and please hold the prefixes.

V/R

Keith