However, Mark became severely infected with a potentially lethal
disease which affects almost everyone who goes to Washington despite their best
intentions. That disease isn’t anything like COVID, TB, or cancer, which can,
at least, be treated. No, instead this disease is worse in that it impairs one’s
ability to think clearly and rationally. That disease is commonly known “partisanship”.
Normally, most people run for political office with the best
of intentions. They or someone they’ve known, had experienced some form of perceived
injustice. Of course, this “injustice”
isn’t on the same order as what affects most us (typically more hoops to jump, gas
prices, or another tax hike), which certainly distances their concerns from the
average voter they allegedly represent.
However, the way the system is set up, it quickly purges
itself from anyone who hopes to reform the system or actually serve the voters.
It’s not that the system is broken or
anything. Quite the contrary, it functions exactly as intended, which us to represent
those with very deep pocket while giving lip service to the masses.
Congress is, after
all, for millionaires despite their annual salary of $174,000 plus bonuses
depending on committee assignments and/or positions which can substantially increase
their official income. As a rule, if you’re not a millionaire going in (which
is rare), you will be coming out. For instance, let’s take a look at Senator
Kelly’s income since this article is about him.
Senator Kelly also serves on some powerful and influential committees
such as Energy and Natural Resources (think oil, gas, and coal) as will as
Environment and Public Works. However, perhaps the most powerful committee he
sits on is the Armed Services Committee which deals with national defense and
the military. It is this committee which we are most concerned with given what
Senator Kelly said, but before we do that, it’s important to briefly look at
his background in order to grasp the gravity of his remarks.
Senator Mark Kelly was
born in 1961 in Orange City, New Jersey. His parents, Richard and Patricia, are
both retired police officers. He has a twin brother by the name of Scott. Mark graduated
from Mountain High School in 1982. In 1986, he graduated with a Bachelor of
Science degree from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy with the highest honors in
the areas of marine engineering and nautical science. In 1994, he obtained a
Master of Science degree in aeronautical engineering from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate
School.
From 1987 through 2011, Mark served as a fighter pilot in
the U.S. Navy and served on the aircraft carrier, USS Midway. During Operation
Desert Storm, he flew 39 combat missions over Iraq. After the war, Kelly then
attended the U.S. Navy Test Pilot School where he logged in over 5000 flight
hours in more than 50 different types of aircraft and performed 375 carrier
based landings. He ultimately rose to the rank of Captain.
After retiring from NASA in 2011, Kelly went to work as a
consultant in the Aerospace Industry, serving mainly as a consultant and
strategic advisor. He was also a co-founder of “World View”, which developed
high altitude balloons. The Chinese company Tencent was one of their largest
investors. He was also an advisor for Space X, founded by Elon Musk.
Meanwhile, from 2011 through 2016, Mark Kelly became a paid speaker
in the U.S. and China, speaking on behalf of Shaklee, a nutritional supplement manufacturer
and distributor. He also spoke at Goldman Sachs, the Mortgage Bankers
Association, and AmerisourceBergen, a drug manufacturer.
Beginning in 2013,
Kelly began testing the political waters be getting involved with various groups
looking to curtail gun violence (his wife, former Congresswoman Gabby Gifford,
had been the victim of gun violence). Kelly is a strong advocate of stricter background
checks and efforts to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and the mentally ill.
Finally, in 2020 Mark Kelly ran for the seat formerly held
by ex-Navy pilot, Senator John McCain in a special election and won. He publicly
refused corporate PAC money but did accept money from corporate executives and
lobbyists. He was reelected in 2022.
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The U.S. Department of Defense issued a statement on
November 24th that the matter would be investigated for “serious allegations
of misconduct” and possible violations of the Uniform Code of Military Justice
(commonly known as the “UCMJ”), which covers the conduct all active and retired
members of the military. Accordingly, Kelly and the other six Democrats who had
previously served in the military could be recalled to face serious disciplinary
action up to and including court martial.
President Trump responded
on social media by saying that those individuals who made the video (including
Kelly) should be charged with sedition and “hanged”, which seems rather extreme. It should be noted that
Kelly voted in February 2021 for Trump to be convicted of inciting an
insurrection in his second impeachment trial. Kelly has also been a vocal
critic of Trump and his policies. Obviously,
there’s no love lost on either side.
As someone who served in the military (U.S. Navy), I am
quite familiar with the UCMJ and consequences of disobeying a direct order from
a senior officer (I served on command staff). The military functions on order, discipline, and that include
following the chain of command and carrying out your orders. The military is
not a democracy or union .You don't get to pick and chose which orders to follow or not.
As I was repeatedly reminded throughout my time in the
military, you are to carry out the orders of your superiors to the best of your
ability. It isn’t your job or responsibility to question an order. If you have
an objections or question, you are free to bring it to the attention of your
ranking officer, but only after having followed through with the order.
At the very minimum, Senator Kelly’s remarks, as well as
that of the other Democrats in the video, were unwarranted and potentially harmful. If they
had made those same remarks during a time of war, the consequences could be
serious. As it is, it’s possible these individuals could be receive an official
reprimand, which would tarnish an otherwise stellar record in Kelly’s case.
That seems, at least to me, to be rather extreme and ill-advised on his part
just over partisan politics and the irrationality it causes or his personal distain for the Commander-in-Chief.
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