5 minute read
Raise Your Right Hand and Repeat After Me
By Kenneth P. Riege
This is the first statement we hear for all of us who have or are still wearing the uniform of our military.
There are two different types of “Oath’s of Enlistment.” The one that I, as an enlisted service member, took and the one that officers of the United States Military take. Each Oath is as follows:
For an Enlisted Member:
I [state your full name (and believe me some did say just that)] 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; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to the regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So, help me God.
For a Military Officer it’s a little different:
I (state your full 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.
There are also slight variations for those entering the National Guard as those are governed by the Governor of that state.
There are many traditions in the military that date back to many years ago. The first “Oaths” were given to those serving in the Continental Army in 1775. However, it was updated in September 1776 after the Declaration of Independence to swear to be “true to the United States of America, and to serve them honestly and faithfully against all their enemies, opposers whatsoever; and to observe and obey the orders of the Continental Congress and the orders of the Generals and officers set over by them.”
In 1789 it was changed again to place allegiance to the Constitution of the United States at the beginning of the “Oath.”
The “Oath” would remain relatively unchanged until the 1860s, when at that point, the reference to “them” was replaced with “it” to reflect both the realities of the states divided during the American Civil War, but also the shifting attitude of viewing the United States as one entity rather than a collection of smaller ones.
The “Oath” remained pretty much unchanged until 1959 when the “Officer Oath” was tweaked a bit to what remains in effect today.
The “Oath” currently used by all enlisted personnel was revised in 1960, taking effect in 1962 and has remained unchanged since then.
What is this “Oath” and what does it mean to those of us who have “raised our right hand?” The “Oath” is a major part of who we are in the military. It forms the bedrock of what we stand for and what we are willing to fight and die for.
I still remember, just like it was yesterday, standing in the MEPS (Military Entrance Processing Station) in Indianapolis, IN, with a room of about 40 other individuals “raising our right hand” and swearing an “Oath” to the United States. I also remember the pride that I felt after saying those words, and how as I have grown older, I have become more appreciative of my own military service. I remember each time I enlisted or reenlisted (each for a term of four years) that there was not an expiration date on that solemn “Oath” that I swore to my country. Ask any veteran and they will tell you the same thing; there is not an expiration date on the “Oath” of enlistment. After the “Oath” is when we receive our orders to our final duty station.
We will also tell you that while our uniforms may not quite fit the way they used too (well for me anyway) and we may not march in step as well as we used too, if asked we would put on that old uniform and take up arms to defend that “Oath” we all swore an allegiance to.
I guess that is why those of us who have worn or continue to wear the uniform of our country and have taken the “Oath” proudly refer to ourselves as the “Elite 1%.” I have made reference to this term in a prior story but do apologize for not properly explaining what this means. The “Elite 1%” means that
there is 1% (or less) of our nation’s population that has or is currently serving in the United States Armed Forces at any one time. We are a nation of a little over 320 million according to the 2018 census poll, and there are approximately a little over 2 million currently serving on active duty or in the reserves.
We owe these amazing men and women everything this great country stands for, and I am so proud to have had the extreme honor (and believe me, it is an extreme honor) to have “raised my right hand” and to have sworn an “Oath” of allegiance to this great country, and like my fellow veterans, I will continue to serve under that “Oath” until I too have received my orders to my final duty station. So, help me God.
While I don’t have a picture of myself when I first swore my “Oath” of enlistment, this is a photo of me during Basic Training at Lackland AFB in San Antonio, TX, shortly after arriving.
This month’s Medal of Honor Quote comes from the last surviving Medal of Honor Recipient from the battle of Iwo Jima and whom I have had the greatest honor of getting to know: United States Marine Corps (retired) Hershel W. “Woody” Williams:
This is MOH Recipient Hershel “Woody” Williams and me, Ken Riege, at the 2017 Medal of Honor Convention in Pueblo, CO. Woody had just presented me with a medal naming me as an “Honorary Board Member” of the Hershel “Woody” Williams Medal of Honor Foundation for Gold Star Families.
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