I don't get the idea some of you have about this being some life-long oath.
It, apparently, was something you had to say to get into the military, right?
I recall some officer stepping into the room in Miami, saying "Raise your right hands! Repeat after me! I-state your name..."
He blew through the rest of it so quick, I didn't hear it clearly. Then he said, "Now, you're getting paid for it," and walked out of the room.
All any of us knew was that we were now in the Army. It was neither a dramatic nor a memorable moment.
I took the same oath years later (I think it was the same, anyway) when I joined the Naval Reserve while in Law School and it was administered in the same fast, bored manner, except, to a man, we all responded "I, State Your Name,.... when the guy giving the oath said "I-state your name." Everyone, including the oath-giver was laughing. All of us were prior service, all of us knew the oath was required to "get in" and all of us knew about the Constitution (more or less) and knew we had to obey the orders of those above us even if they were wrong. And, I believe, all of us knew we would obey those orders.
Further, I feel no obligation to follow any orders of the President of the United States, don't have any officers appointed over me, and don't think the UCMJ has any power over me, either. I'd be more inclined to disobey any order that the President gave me, in the unlikely event of my ever having any contact with him.
The part about the Constitution? Well, I suppose, we all ought to feel that way, having been in the military or not.
But my feelings about the Constitution have zero to do with a miserable 3 years, 9 months in the Army with way over half of that time being spent in that beautiful SE Asian paradise.
Maybe for you, at the time you took the oath, it was a beautiful, unforgettable experience.
For me, it was less than 30 seconds of that 3 years, 9 months and is only memorable to me because of the lack of interest of everyone there, and the fact that it was the beginning of that 3 years, 9 months.
I took a very similar oath as a young police officer and it was administered in a much more formal and solemn manner.
The Oath taken to enter the Florida Bar as an Attorney and administered by a Judge was, again, far more solemn and serious than my oath to enter the Army.
I guess I must be the only one here, but my overall impression of the entry process to the United States Army in February of 1965 was simply one of "Hurry up, get this done, gotta get them to the train for Ft. Jackson."
Maybe I was shortchanged.
Bob
