It’s well into a tense election season, and the Navy and Marine Corps are reminding their troops of what they can and cannot do when it comes to political activity.
Navy and Marine leaders have until Sept. 15 to bring troops up to speed on “permissible and impermissible” political activities, the services said in respective messages issued July 17 and Aug. 12.
Service members are held to a higher standard than the general public when it comes to expressing their political beliefs. Those standards are governed by policy and enforced by the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
“Yes, do vote. Yes, it’s OK for you to be a member of a political party. No, it’s not OK for you to wear your uniform to rallies, because it connotes that the military is supporting this candidate,” retired Lt. Col. Joe Plenzler, a former Marine infantryman and current volunteer election poll worker, told Military.com in an interview Wednesday.
“We don’t pick winners or losers as a service,” he said of the rules surrounding an apolitical military. “Everyone’s free to vote their conscience, but with civilian control of the military, it is absolutely important we maintain not just the perception of it, but the reality of it.”
Generally, the rules bar service members from appearing partisan while representing the military, including while in uniform, or directing “contemptuous” speech at elected officials, according to military regulations. Other regs prohibit using official authority to influence an election, marching or riding in a partisan political parade, or displaying partisan signs or banners at a residence on post.
“Active-duty members will not engage in partisan political activities, and all military personnel will avoid the inference that their political activities imply or appear to imply [Department of Defense] sponsorship, approval or endorsement of a political candidate, campaign or cause,” Pentagon policy states.
The Marine Corps’ latest force-wide directive, issued Aug. 12, comes in response to a July 17 message to troops from Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro on the merits — and pitfalls — of participating in the political process.
“The Department of the Navy celebrates democracy and is committed to continuing to support and defend the Constitution of the United States, as our sailors, Marines and civilian personnel have done for nearly 250 years,” the department-wide memo said. “Now that the 2024 election season is upon us, it is more important than ever for us to remember that the [Department of the Navy] is an apolitical body. … Public trust and confidence depend on this.”
Commanders across the department must ensure their subordinates are briefed on the do’s and don’ts by the deadline or — in case operational requirements get in the way — run a request for an extension up the chain of command, the memo said.
It’s unclear what the department will use to educate sailors and Marines on prohibited activity. The Marine Corps message notes that commanders may turn to alternative materials as long as they meet the military’s requirements.
The Corps noted that it is developing a course on permissible political activity for MarineNet, the service’s distance-learning platform. Once available, Marines can take the MarineNet course to satisfy the training requirement.
The Navy and Marine Corps are so far the only two branches of the armed forces to mandate such training this election cycle.
The Department of the Air Force, which also oversees the Space Force, began issuing its own warnings on political activity to airmen and Guardians in the spring. In an Aug. 2 memo obtained by Military.com, Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall doubled down on the message of caution while encouraging all members to exercise their right to vote.
“My expectation is that all personnel will comply with these requirements, but in particular, no one will: wear their uniform at political events; use their authority or position to attempt to influence how others vote; or engage in political activities in the workplace, on government time, or while utilizing government equipment,” Kendall said.
While the Air Force and Space Force have not mandated political activities training, Kendall pointed troops to their local legal offices for in-depth guidance.
The Army created a training video for soldiers and service civilians on restrictions around politicking, issued prompts on scenarios troops might face, and incorporated political issues into its annual ethics training, service spokesman Christopher Surridge said in an email Wednesday.
The service plans to issue further guidance on political activities for soldiers and civilian staff but does not require them to complete the training, Surridge said.
Spokespeople for the Marine Corps and Navy did not respond to a request for additional details on their election-year guidance by press time Wednesday.
The training aims to keep troops out of trouble as they navigate the often-confusing complexities of when they can and cannot express their political beliefs. Exceptions to the rules offer service members the ability to display a political bumper sticker on their personal vehicle, attend a political club while not in uniform, engage in voting activities, or donate money to a political organization (with limitations).
Sometimes, those regulations can seem murky if one is not intimately familiar with them. For example, service members can “write a letter to the editor of a newspaper expressing personal views on public issues or political candidates (if the letter identifies the member as on active duty, the letter should clearly state the views expressed are those of the individual and not those of the DoD or Marine Corps),” the Corps said in a separate memo on politics in February.
Plenzler pointed to social media as an environment where service members often get in trouble for breaking apolitical rules.
“While you’re in uniform on active duty, collecting a paycheck every 1st and 15th from the Department of Defense, it’s probably a great idea for you not to voice your opinions about elected officials on social media,” said Plenzler, who also served as a public affairs official for three Marine Corps commandants.
Reservists who are not on active-duty orders face similar restrictions, including a ban on using their military rank, title and photos in uniform as part of campaign literature to imply a military endorsement. The rules make an exception for those whose pictures aren’t the main graphic on a website or in an ad, and that come with a clear disclaimer that the armed forces don’t endorse a candidate.
Violations of those policies are punishable under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, including Article 92, for failure to obey a lawful order; Article 88, for contempt toward officials; or any applicable provision of military or federal law.
Federal employees’ partisan activities are also restricted by the Hatch Act, the 1939 law designed to prevent executive branch workers from using their office to push a campaign agenda.
Plenzler noted that some service members may be tempted to participate in the political mudslinging among elected officials or candidates. Those lines can further blur when military spouses or family members might think the rules that govern their service member’s political activity also apply to them.
“If you are a Marine or Navy spouse, teenage kid, adult dependent, it’s easy to assume that all of these rules also apply to you to its fullest extent,” Sarah Streyder, executive director of the Secure Families Initiative, a nonpartisan, nonprofit group that encourages military families to engage in civic activities such as voting, told Military.com. “They don’t, but the nuances can be tough to navigate.”
Troops’ family members may be concerned about their own political advocacy — which they are allowed to participate in — being perceived as an extension of their service member’s political views or activities, Streyder said. For instance, she said, spouses can solicit funds for a candidate, but if it comes from a social media account or email they share with their military spouse, it may give the appearance of military involvement.
“The problem isn’t that I’ve broken a rule,” said Streyder, who is a military spouse herself. “It’s that it might give the perception that my service member has broken a rule.”
On the other side of the restrictions and nuances lies encouragement for service members to thoroughly research candidates’ positions and to vote. Plenzler recalled telling his Marines to exercise their right to vote as a young voting assistance officer in Okinawa, Japan.
“You put your paw in there to support and defend this thing called the Constitution, and foremost among our rights is the ability of American citizens to choose our leaders,” he told Military.com. “We fought an entire war to get rid of a king who was trying to tell us what to do so we could govern ourselves. And you really, really, really, really, should vote.”
Service members and their families are allowed to vote using absentee ballots while stationed away from their home of record in the United States or overseas. According to the Federal Voting Assistance Program, which Plenzler recommended service members and their families use to learn about their potentially unique voting situation, three-quarters of active-duty troops are eligible to vote via absentee ballot because they are stationed away from their election residence.
“Helping them get the ballot is the most important thing — and turn it in on time,” Plenzler said. He encouraged service members and their families to register to vote, and to call their home of record’s county election board or visit sites such as vote.gov for information.
Service members are often thrust into the political eye during an election season, placing them — sometimes of their own volition — into precarious partisan positions. Two veterans, Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, and Gov. Tim Walz, D-Minn., have joined their respective parties’ tickets as vice presidential candidates this election, renewing discussions of the value of military service in politics ahead of Election Day on Nov. 5.
In April, uniformed Marines were photographed supporting a nonprofit event at former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, which went viral on social media and was criticized as a breach of apolitical norms by commenters, including former Illinois Republican congressman and veteran Adam Kinzinger.
The Marine Corps denied the claims and issued a statement defending the appearance, stating that “the event was neither a political fundraiser, nor was the 45th president of the United States in attendance.”
President Joe Biden also received criticism in 2022 for including Marines in the backdrop of a speech he made in Philadelphia that admonished “MAGA Republicans.”
Last year, Republicans criticized Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota, for cautioning its airmen from attending a local conservative rally. Base officials later walked back the message, saying that it was based “on incorrect data and sent outside of official base messaging platforms,” according to The Associated Press.
Streyder said service members and spouses should feel confident when casting their ballot, regardless of whether they temporarily live away from where they’re registered to vote.
“When you vote, you not only are reflecting your opinions, your values for yourself, but you are doing so for your family, for your neighbors, and for anyone who is affected by U.S. policy across the globe,” she said. “Your perspective is just so much more broad, and I see that as being such a precious gift that you give your community when you allow that to reflect how you vote at the ballot box.”
Related: Can Military Retirees Make Political Statements or Attend Protests?