Veterans: The Oath We Swore

Regular Army, 1977-84
Sgt/E-5 (P),
Intelligence and Security Command (INSCOM)
EW; Ft. Devens, MA for AIT and BTC
USAFSA, West Germany

105th MI BN (CEWI)
5th Infantry Division (M)
"Scenic" Ft. Polk, LA

TDY to U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit, Ft. Benning, GA as a
Service Pistol shooter shortly before I ETS'ed -- sheer Heaven
for a shooter!!

Alabama National Guard, 1991-93 Member, ALNG Rifle Team

Once a soldier, always a soldier!

John
 
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Here is the oath I took when I began my work in a VA hospital which spanned 4 decades. I am in awe of the sacrifices and courage of the men and women I had the honor to serve. The last fifteen years I spent my time almost exclusively doing over 10,000 PTSD evaluations for veterans from WWI through 2002. America can never repay our veterans for what they have done and are doing for us.

The Oath of Office for Civil Service Employees


Federal employees take the same oath of office as Congress, by which they swear to support and defend the Constitution of the United States of America.


"I, [name], 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." 5 U.S.C. §3331
 
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US Air Force 1963-1967
Sgt/E4 at discharge
K.I.Sawyer AFB 1964-66
TanSonNhut AFB 1966-67
Beale AFB 6/1967-12/67

I often miss the service and the people I served with. One year in VietNam was enough for me though. I still consider myself an Oathkeeper and a III%er. The oath, once taken, should never be disobeyed!
 
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US Air Force 1983-1991 (extended for the first Gulf war). Security Police in the SAC the whole time.

Carswell AFB: 7th Security Police Squadron, and Griffiss AFB: 416th SPS.... I made it to E-5 Staff Sgt before my departure.

Bullzaye; I probably guarded some of the F-106 Aircraft you worked on at Griffiss, when they were on alert status there....
 
USAF 1984-2012.
- Enlisted in '84 in USAFR as a gunner on AC-130a's
- Aircraft Armament Systems Specialist on A-7d's
- Commissioned in 1988 as a Security Police Officer
- Retired in 2012 as a Mission Support Group Commander

Retired and teaching AFJROTC for a few more years until I know what I want to be when I grow up.
 
U.S. Army 1972-75 SP4/E-4
63B20 Mechanic
63F20 Recovery Specialist

C Battery 2/5 ADA, 2nd AD Ft Hood, Texas
23 Ord Co, USAEUR, Heilbraun, Germany.
With side trips to Aberdeen Proving Grounds, Ft. Bliss and White Sands Missle Range.

An oath is a promise and promises should be kept.
Politicians should remember this.
 
I took the same oath for USAF.Unfortunately it is now considered by certain groups to be politically incorrect and no longer applies due to "so help me God".These same forces think the Constitution is out of date and should be done away with.Our hard earned Freedom is at stake.It is time to rally all who love our Nation to state our resistance to these forces and return to the dream of our Founding Fathers,praying it is not too late.God Bless America and preserve the United States!
 
USAF 1980 - 1995
- Retired in 1995 under the Temporary Early Retirement Authority (TERA)
- MSgt (E-7) at retirement
- Communications Test and Acceptance Engineer
- Lackland AFB and Keesler AFB for training
- Tinker AFB, OK
- Osan AB, ROK
- Cheyenne Mountain Complex, CO
- Yokota AB, Japan
- RAF Uxbridge, UK

Temporary duty assignments in Alaska, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Okinawa, Philippines, Korea, Diego Garcia, India, Pakistan, Thailand, Oman, Belgium, and Germany.
 
The Oath for officers is a bit different then the one the OP posted.

I, _____, having been appointed an officer in the Army of the United States, as indicated above in the grade of _____ 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 reservations or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office upon which I am about to enter; So help me God." (DA Form 71, 1 August 1959, for officers.)

I took an oath ONLY to the Constitution. It's the last one I took and the one I honor.

US Army 1966-1969
1967 82nd Airborne Div
1967-68 2/502 Inf 101st Abn Div. RVN
68-69 67th MP Company Ft Devens Mass
69-72 USAR
73-78, Enlisted, AK ARNG
79-92 Commissioned AK ARNg
92- US Army Retired.

Just a side note: Next May my Grandson graduates from AR ROTC, I will have the pleasure of Pinning him with the same 2nd LT bar I was pinned with when I graduated from OCS. The same butter bar my minter was pinned with when he graduated OCS during the mid 60s and his minter was pinned with during the Korean War.

I can only hope his son follows.

Some of my proudest moments as an officer was to administer the oath when two of my sons and my wife re-enlisted, and administered the original oath to my youngest son when he enlisted.
 
U.S. Army, 1961 - 1963
Field Command, Defense Atomic Support Agency
Special Weapons training, logistics and security

Arizona Army National Guard 1963 - 1966
158th Infantry Regiment "Bushmasters"

Honorably discharged from service as 1st LT, Infantry, 1968.

Proud to have served, and ever loyal to my oath as a new officer, which was to the Constitution, NOT to the President:

"I, _____, having been appointed an officer in the Army of the United States, as indicated above in the grade of _____ 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 reservations or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office upon which I am about to enter; So help me God." (DA Form 71, 1 August 1959, for officers.)"

John
 
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Bullzaye; I probably guarded some of the F-106 Aircraft you worked on at Griffiss, when they were on alert status there....

I'm sure we crossed paths once or twice. Wanna check my "line badge"?

Did any of you guys ever notice that, when we had the radomes (nose cones) off of the jets, the radar dish would often track you guys around as you walked your "beats"? In case you ever did, and it gave you pause...in the winter, we could lock-on to you with the IR seeker head, and slave the radar dish to it, without transmitting. Alternatively, we could activate the drive switches and manually control the radar dish from the cockpit, again, without transmitting.

Are you like me...do you miss trudging around on the ice in 20-below temps. at 4 in the morning? Yeah...me neither. Ehhh, could'a been worse...could'a been Minot!

Tim
 
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