A patch worn by sailors on the USS Wasp imbued with the slogan “Make Aircrew Great Again” with a figure in the likeness of the president has caused outrage from political opponents of the president.
The patches were worn during President Donald Trump’s visit to the American army base at Yokosuka as part of his four-day state visit to Japan.
After photos of the patches surfaced on the internet, social media bloggers on the left of the political spectrum cried out, stating the patches were unlawful and that they violated the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) that demands from defense employees to refrain from political support while in uniform.
Social media was flooded by reactions from people about the display of zeal among troopers for the president.
“I defer to my colleagues who study civilian/military relations,” one professor of the University of Michigan said, “but I find this worrisome – the military must be loyal to civilian control and the Constitution, not part of a presidential personality cult.”
I defer to my colleagues who study civilian/military relations, but I find this worrisome – the military must be loyal to civilian control and the Constitution, not part of a presidential personality cult https://t.co/AgDwtKXT3x
— Brendan Nyhan (@BrendanNyhan on 🟦☁️) (@BrendanNyhan) May 28, 2019
Similar badges have been around, at least since September 2017, some Twitter users remarked.
The Navy is reportedly looking into it now to decide whether President Donald Trump-themed patches violate Navy rules.
“Navy leadership is aware of the incident and reviewing to ensure the patch doesn’t violate DoD policy or uniform regulations,” U.S. Navy spokesperson Lt. Sam Boyle told CNN.
The Department of Defense guidelines say, that “active duty personnel may not engage in partisan political activities and all military personnel should avoid the inference that their political activities imply or appear to imply DoD sponsorship, approval, or endorsement of a political candidate, campaign, or cause.”
It’s not uncommon that military personnel wears unofficial badges, often embellished with humorous texts on them and are seen as supportive of keeping up the morale. It’s up to the unit’s commanding officer to decide whether the item is politically or otherwise tainted, or offending, in which case he or she would have to ban the patch or logo.
Similar spontaneous expressions of support for the president by troops occurred at Christmas last year during the president’s visit to airbases in Iraq and at Ramstein, Germany, when many troopers wore a MAGA hat, intending to have it signed by the president.
#maga hat contingent at Ramstein waiting for President Trump pic.twitter.com/18wdP87vZK
— Jennifer Epstein (@jeneps) December 27, 2018
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