In regards to my son Spenser Rapone, I disavow his political views and overall politics. One of six children growing up in New Castle, Pennsylvania, Rapone said he applied to West Point, which is tuition-free, because he couldn't afford college. We now consider the matter closed, Hill said. Menu. 4 0 obj Sign up to become a Sustainer before the deadline and take advantage of our best offer ever. Right: Army Private First Class Spenser Rapone receiving his "Ranger Scrol" patch after completing Ranger Assessment and Selection Program in 2011. . Ithink it shows some peoples priority. On March 23, 2014, Rapone posted about anti-corporatism and racism. Officials also confirmed that, following his commissioning, he had failed out of Ranger school before being assigned to 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division. U.S. Army spokesperson Valerie Mongello stressed this point to American Military News, noting, Both the Department of Defense and the Army have long-standing policies encouraging Soldiers to participate in the democratic process. One of six children growing up in New Castle, Pennsylvania, Rapone said he applied to West Point, which is tuition-free, because he couldn't afford college. Second Lieutenant Rapones actions in no way reflect the values of the U.S. Military Academy or the U.S. Army. Rapone, a former enlisted Ranger who had completed the US Military Academy Prep School and graduated from West Point, was made famous by his own social media posts showing him regaling communism and wearing a Che . As figures of public trust, members of the military must exhibit exemplary conduct, and are prohibited from engaging in certain expressions of political speech in uniform, it said. He was an idealistic teenager from the rural Rust Belt town of New Castle, Pennsylvania (literally the . Similar to me, after he did his training and found himself overseas, he realized the harsh reality of what the American military was and formed his own opinions. On Monday, the Army's 10th Mountain Division accepted the resignation of 2nd Lt. Rapone less than a year after he posted . Two weeks later, they issued me my discharge papers and Ileft. 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.. Sign up now to get our FREE breaking news coverage delivered right to your inbox. It Takes a Lifetime to Build Your Personal Brand and an - LinkedIn No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism It is against Army regulations to wear the uniform in connection with the furtherance of any political or commercial interests or when participating in public demonstrations unless authorized to do so. Mar 29 Damascus is under attack. You have permission to edit this article. So Istarted to think of what Icould do and then 10 months after Trump was elected, Colin Kaepernick lost his job essentially. "We Were Terrorizing Some of the Most Exploited People on Earth" Check out the details here. Episode 19: No War But The Class War w/ Spenser Rapone (Podcast Episode 2018) Parents Guide and Certifications from around the world. He has deployed to Afghanistan and received a combat infantryman badge (CIB). He was an idealistic teenager from the rural Rust Belt town of New Castle, Pennsylvania (literally the Fireworks Capital of America), who embraced patriotic jingoism and enlisted in the army straight out of highschool. Rapone, whose Twitter handle is punkproletarian, recently retweeted posts from Rory Fanning, an ex-Army Ranger who says he will be interviewing Rapone at the conference Socialism 2018., At Socialism 2018 Ill 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. |?RzNB*0t[%vTvRHhii\&4PGO>]~:.1b"* 97by7=w|i>edjR9@6$Ol~9U`: onj "8W(:!,w0e0eIvsRdR5y6odwq,lAQ6Az!F Xig'" aNJFNED$Z9CYOzjc!=;{21m%veb0Nf[,|lj{(/ 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. Take the story of Gas Turbine Systems Technician 3rd Class Peter Mims an E-4 whose disappearance sparked a massive man overboard search last year. It strikes me how much, as aculture, weve praised troops since 9/11. 2 0 obj I think theres acouple things that happened since. With all their political gamesmanship, lawmakers forget that real human lives are often on the line. Later that year, on August 19, 2014, Rapone posted a picture that showed them in a classroom with another soldier. "During the interview, he expressed patriotism and looked just like a top-notch candidate. hJHICB&Y'8erMr=31yfk|17~c}\T_* 9?V{9,'Y\%?MX}'ZI#B?9`V;&sI$nx6/ 2S&D#K2:3+5,YSa1a"7'+ZvvYnzlJScC)f$':AIR1>?"b (Chicago), Nazir Khan (Twin Cities). "I figured maybe I could change things from inside.". After the initial photo was posted and achieved some measure of viralityand elicited quite a bit of outrage and confusionRapone laid any confusion to rest and further incited his far-right critics by posting another photo of himself wearing aChe Guevarat-shirt underneath his half-buttoned uniform. Nearly a year ago, the story of Army Lieutenant Spenser Rapone was a big item. Yes, Spenser "with an s" Rapone is now a Ph.D. candidate at that hotbed of communism, University of Texas-Austin. Im probably going to take some time to decompress and process all Ive been through. All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. The Armys statement comes days after some media outlets reported that Rapone had received an other than honorable discharge from the Army. "Commie Cadet" Spenser Rapone On Why He Left the U.S. Military and He completed Airborne school and a rigorous Ranger Assessment and Selection Program and was assigned to the 1st Ranger Battalion in Savannah, Georgia. [image via Spenser Rapone with permission], Follow Colin Kalmbacher on Twitter: @colinkalmbacher, Have a tip we should know? Rapone was an infantry officer in the 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum, N.Y. You go to football games and they bring troops out on the field. Spenser Rapone: 'Communism' cap gets West Point grad booted from the There were no red flags of any kind.". A search of Rapones page shows they are still Facebook friends. West Point Commie May Have Been Radicalized by His Mentor at the Second Lieutenant Rapones chain of command is aware of his actions and is looking into the matter. Hes an exceptional soldier, the Twitter account, @DSAVeterans, wrote. Trump's latest attack addresses DeSantis' overseas trips to the U.K., Israel, Florida's Covid-19 record, and polling support for the 2024 Presidential race. 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. At West Point, Hosein had mentored Rapone. We were bullies in one of the poorest countries on Earth, Rapone said. Wed call them detainees, which is just aeuphemism for prisoner, and wed do this kind of thing every night, even sometimes without proper intelligence. Quite the contrary. Sign up to become a Sustainer before the deadline and take advantage of our best offer ever. [3], Members of the Democratic Socialists of America Veterans Working Group Closed Facebook Group, as of September 28, 2017, included Spenser Rapone under the name of Giuseppe Impastato.[4]. While I strongly support the rights of American citizens to express their opinions, the actions of 2nd Lieutenant Rapone are abhorrent and appear to be in clear violation of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, in addition to being inconsistent with the values of the United States Military Academy. The last 15years have shown otherwise. Then there was the move to an all-volunteer force and thats interesting because asubstantial number of Vietnam resisters were volunteers. When those three elements combine, thats what makes it sodifficult. Yeah. At the time, he was an outstanding, well-rounded student who came from a good family. According to photos on Rapones Facebook page, he became close to Hosein, a Ph.D. in Islamic history from the University of Chicago. Spenser Rapone was accepted to West Point in 2012, graduated in 2016 and received an "other than honorable discharge" in June. Prysner holds an American nationality and belongs to the white ethnicity. endobj The U.S. Military Academy strives to develop leaders who internalize the academys motto of Duty, Honor, Country, and who live the Army values,West Point said in a statement released Tuesday. And Marco Rubio said you advocate violence againstAmerica? Spenser R. Rapone Graduate Student, Department of History, University of Texas at Austin 128 Inner Campus Dr. B7000, GAR 1.104, Austin, Texas 78712-1739 p. (512) 471-3261 e. srrapone@utexas.edu Education University of Texas at Austin Austin, Texas The DSAs Veterans Working Group, of which Rapone is a member, also offered support to him in a statement. Back in 2018, images of Spenser Rapone at his West Point graduation went viral. Are there more restrictions against certain kinds of speech after 9/11? And those views only hardened during his studies of history as one of the academy's "Long Gray Line.". Spenser Rapone was a US Army officer and Democratic Socialists of America member. The idea of an avowed communist subverting important military units and functions from within has the potential to be catastrophic., SEE ALSO: Spenser Rapone, West Point alumnus, riles with pro-Kaepernick Communism Will Win photo. The former West Point cadet who called himself Commie Beebop on Twitter rejoined civilian life without an honorable discharge. When the U.S. invaded Iraq, there was an anti-war movement, but when Obama ran as anti-war candidate, his election took the wind out of the sails. Imean, he had acorrespondence with NoamChomsky. As a Facebook friend since 2014, Hosein would have been aware of Rapones Facebook postings between 2014 and when he graduated in 2016. Oops, this content can't be loadedbecause you're having connectivity problems, - The Washington Times - Friday, June 8, 2018. Keep it Clean. Mr. Rapone retweeted the message. This page was last edited on 28 August 2021, at 22:54. Due to privacy act restrictions, we are limited in what information we can provide, Lt. Col. Nina Hill, an Army spokeswoman, told reporters. Rapone is a former Army Ranger turned West Point Cadet who posted photos with his cap showing the phrase, "Communism will win," ultimately expressing his pro-communism views. On January 5, 2015, he posted a Slate.com article calling for the abolishment of West Point. Send us a note with the Letter to the Editor form. However, the Army has strict rules regarding the wear and appearance of Army uniforms.. Be Nice. Spenser Rapone is a former Army Ranger and Infantry Officer who resigned his commission in June 2018 due to his opposition to United States imperialism. He was in the army for 26years and was in special operations. Chris Hedges talks to Spenser Rapone, former combat veteran and US Army officer, about the Washington Post's series the 'Afghanistan Papers'.Drawing on thousands of pages of international government documents about the war in Afghanistan, the series exposes the lies, deceit, mismanagement, waste, corruption, fraud, and failed schemes that both Democratic and Republican administrations . 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. Rapones activism while in uniform appears to be much broader than those two photos. Latest news and commentary on Spenser Rapone including photos, videos, quotations, and a biography. The unit issued its own statement that focused on uniform regulations. For me, Icouldnt shake the fact that what we were doing was wrong and morallyreprehensible. On Monday, Rapone tweeted another picture of himself in his West Point uniform, exposing a Che Guevara T-shirt underneath with the caption In case there was any lingering doubt, hasta la victoria siempre.. I would encourage all soldiers who have a conscience to lay down their arms and join me and so many others who are willing to stop serving the agents of imperialism and join us in a revolutionary movement., 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. Applicants to West Point must receive a nomination for their applications to be considered. Its a program for Indigenous liberation, life, and landan affirmation that colonialism and capitalism must be overturned for this planet to be habitable for human and other-than-human relatives to live dignified lives. At the end of this Convention, the GNDCC will be tasked with initiating a more direct working relationship between DSA and The Red Nation. Hosein began teaching at West Point in July 2011. He posted January 18 on Facebook, May we all learn from her example of what integrity and strength of conviction truly entails.. The Navy, on the other hand, readily releases full investigations into rank-and-file sailors when their cases have become infamous. He was nominated out of high school by. He ultimately resigned his commission, and was separated from the Army in June 2018 with an Other Than Honorable discharge., Spenser Rapones bio on Socialism 2018 (Socialism 2018 Website), Fanning wrote that their conversation will be called Resisting Within the Ranks.. Even while still a cadet, Rapone's online postings alarmed a West Point history professor, who wrote Rapone up, saying his online postings were "red flags that cannot be ignored." 'Commie Cadet' Spenser Rapone Leaving Army with 'Less Than Honorable I started to think, If Iwere aguy in Afghanistan, how would Ifeel about this? Ithink its no secret that many people in America would take great umbrage if someone was walking through their homes. The United States Army is so impressed with Spenser Rapone, they decided to promote him to first lieutenant. SCOTUS Now Just Another Congressional Committee, Parents Allowed to Collect Sperm From Son Killed Skiing, 'Commie Cadet' Spenser Rapone Discharged From U.S. Army, West Point Marries First Active-Duty, Same-Sex Couple, Trump Ramps up Attacks on DeSantis: 'Dropping Like a Rock', Russian Strikes on Pavlohrad Aim to Hamper Ukraine's Counteroffensive, Greg Abbott Criticized for Response to Texas Shooting: 'A New Low', Democrat Sold First Republic Stock, Bought JP Morgan Before Collapse, Conservative Influencers Struggle With Countering Biden's Messaging. Rapone announced his return to social mediaand departure from the militaryby sharing a post fromRory Fanning, a former Army Ranger who will be interviewing Rapone during a talk titled, Resisting Within the Ranks.Fannings post notes: Spenser is being discharged from the military with an Other Than Honorable discharge this June, in part, because Marco Rubio penned a panic-stricken letter to acting Secretary of the Army Ryan McCarthy demanding the branch nullify Rapones military commission after seeing [the] photo.
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