Soldier may Face Punishment for Paul Endorsement

An Army Reserve corporal could face disciplinary action after he publicly endorsed Rep. Ron Paul for president while wearing his uniform on Tuesday night during the Iowa caucus.

Cpl. Jesse Thorsen, of the Illinois-based 416th Theater Engineer Command, spoke out for the Texas congressman first in an interview with CNN and then before a gathering of Paul supporters. His endorsement violates a longstanding Defense Department policy that bars servicemembers from engaging in political activities while in uniform.

"The chain of command of that soldier is involved," Army spokeswoman Maj. Angel Wallace told Military.com on Wednesday. "They will determine what kind of action may be taken."

Thorsen appeared at the caucus and endorsed Paul in his uniform, though Wallace said he is not now on active duty.

The prohibition on endorsing a candidate while in uniform is a lawful general regulation punishable under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, specifically for failure to obey an order or regulation, according to DoD directive.

In an interview with CNN reporter Dana Bash at Paul's Ankeny, Iowa, headquarters, Thorsen said he supports Paul's non-interventionist foreign policy and his plans to bring home troops assigned to overseas bases.

"I've been serving for 10 years now, and all 10 years have been during wartime. I would like to see a little peace-time Army," Thorsen said. He said he is about to go on his third deployment to Afghanistan.

In response to Bash's observation that other GOP candidates believe Paul's plan is dangerous, Thorsen said:

"I think it would be even more dangerous to start nit-picking wars with other countries, someone like Iran." Thorsen then started to say that "Israel is more than capable" of defending itself when the screen went blank.

Some Paul supporters claimed CNN deliberately ditched the interview because of what Thorsen said, but CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer said at the time the signal was lost.

Thorsen also addressed supporters gathered at the Paul headquarters, where the corporal exhorted the group to keep working to make sure Paul was the next president.

"It was incredible. It was like meeting a rock star," Thorsen said afterwards of meeting Paul. "I've been supporting Ron Paul a long time, and I'm just really happy to be up there and to meet him."