A group of Midwest-based U.S. Army Reserve legal offices (LODs) engaged in a mandatory weekend drill was thrust into a contentious political scenario that has since drawn sharp criticism and allegations of federal law violations.
Earlier this month, the remote exercise conducted over Microsoft Teams took an unexpected turn when LOD commanders were handed a last-minute politically biased scenario and ordered to use this scenario to engage with their Reserve legal officers (JAGs).
High-ranking officials from the Pentagon issued the drill fact pattern and were reportedly monitoring the call.
An individual familiar with the situation, who requested anonymity, shared this with The Gateway Pundit concerning this matter:
On Saturday, 3 February a group of mid-west-based U.S. Army Reserve legal offices (referred to as LODs) took part in a weekend Drill, conducted remotely over Microsoft Teams. Just prior to the Drill commanders of these units were passed a legal scenario they were told to war-game with their Reserve legal officers (JAGs).
It was an unscheduled interruption, last minute, and not pre-planned or released. The leadership felt blind-sided by it. During the Teams call there were (what appeared to be) high ranking personnel from the Pentagon issuing the new Drill fact scenario and monitoring the Teams call in the background.
The scenario passed out in last minute fashion involved (as a fact pattern) the Biden Administration nationalizing the Texas National Guard members sent by Gov. Greg Abbot to the Texas southern border with Mexico.
The facts provided involved “Governor Abbot being responsible for allowing migrants to drown,” or words to that effect, in the Rio Grande after setting up barriers and “not lending any aid to these dying migrants.”
In one part of the given fact pattern a U.S. Army Reserve sergeant was sitting in a vehicle watching the migrants cross the Rio Grande (after taking over), and a TX National Guard member steps up behind the vehicle and begin shooting and killing a family of migrants swimming across the river, all the while yelling, “America First!”.
Army drills, per training standards, are to be fictional, a-political scenarios involving fictional countries/enemies and people. American citizens are never mentioned in these scenarios. In this case all these rules were broken.
The scenario was blatantly and openly political – naming the “Biden Administration” as the heroic protectors of human rights, and listing an evil “Gov. Greg Abbot” by name, as well as an out-of-control criminal TX National Guard soldier who yells “America First” while shooting defenseless Mexicans swimming across the Rio Grande.
Looking on-line at the Trump Campaign site, under the topic of the “MAGA Movement,” “America First” is clearly embedded as language used in Trump’s campaign materials.
The fact that campaign material is inserted into a biased, derogatory fact pattern handed to Soldiers is a blatant and criminal Hatch Act violation.
Under the Hatch Act and the DoD Directive on point, Soldiers and Pentagon personnel are absolutely prohibited from using campaign materials in official spaces in any way, shape or form.
This scenario, sent down last minute by some un-hinged novice/lunatic in the Pentagon for training violated all the rules and was a criminal act as it violated Hatch Act prohibitions.
It is probably worth mentioning that one of the five LODs participating apparently refused to participate and dropped off the Teams call as it progressed.
Attached is an image depicting the scenario in question. This was a fictional affidavit included for the purpose of the exercise:
Excerpt from the fictional sworn statement :
I started my shift like any other day, not knowing the horrific terrors that were about to occur. It was the final day of working for the ICE Department, and I had recently just bought a boat and was daydreaming about the coming years of what new adventures I was going to embork on.
I had a haunting suspension that my co-workers were going to be planning a surprise going away party for me. As I sat on my patrol car facing the hot Mexicon vistas, I saw a family cresting the river’s edge. It consisted of a middle-aged man, woman, and girl (no older that ten years old).
Then I saw an individual approach from behind the rear of my vehicle. It was a male and looked like he was in his twenties. He was carrying something with his left hand and near his side. I feared the worse.
As I began calling in on my radio the situation, that’s when I my realization came to life. The man from the back yelled “America First” and a filthy expletive and then began firing on the family coming from Mexico.
This wasn’t anything that I wanted to see, especially on the last day of work. I jumped out of my patrol car and yelled for him [?] stop. When he saw me with my handgun drawn, he dropped the weapon. I approached him and handcuffed him. But [?] when I heard the gentleman begin yelling for help. My teammates came as fast as they could and helped the family. [?]
The use of such material in an official capacity raises serious questions about compliance with the Hatch Act.
The Hatch Act prohibits federal employees from engaging in political activity while on duty, in a federal room or building, wearing an official uniform, or using a government vehicle.
Political activity is defined “as an activity directed toward the success or failure of a political party, candidate for partisan political office, or partisan political group.”
The scenario described by our source, involving a training exercise that explicitly references current political figures (the Biden regime against Governor Greg Abbot) and uses of America First associated with the political campaign by Trump, could be seen as engaging in political activity that is not allowed under the Hatch Act.
The inclusion of America First could be interpreted as using campaign material in an official capacity, which is prohibited under the Hatch Act and DoD directives.
The Pentagon has not yet responded to our email.
This story originally appeared on TheGateWayPundit
