The United States Army and the Military Academy at West Point are mired in a scandal because of a newly minted officer named 2nd Lt. Spenser Rapone, who apparently revealed himself to be a communist in a pair of tweets recently. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida, is not amused. He has sent a letter to Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy with some awkward questions about how the military could have nourished such a person in its bosom. The senator has some ideas about what should be done to Rapone and how to assure that no one like him would be allowed to put on the uniform.
Who is Spenser Rapone?
According to the Military Times, Rapone enlisted in the Army as an infantryman in 2010 and served in the 75th Ranger Regiment in Afghanistan. He was subsequently “removed for standards.” The phrase could encompass a number of things including medical conditions or conduct. Later Rapone was nominated to West Point by then Rep. Jason Altmire of Pennsylvania, a Democrat. Altmire has since disavowed Rapone.
Rapone came to the attention of the media because of a series of tweets. One showed him in an Army cadet uniform holding a hat that had the words: “Communism will win.” Another tweet showed him wearing a Che Guevara t-shirt inside his uniform. Rapone has also cursed Secretary of Defense James Matthis and has opined that he would dance on the grave of Sen.
John. McCain, R-Arizona. Rapone is currently serving with the 10th Mountain Division.
What does Marco Rubio want?
Rubio would like Lt. Rapone kicked out of the military, his degree from West Point revoked, and be made to pay back the cost of his education. More importantly, he wants to know why a person with such an extreme ideology with apparent contempt for his superiors was allowed to attend West Point to start with.
How could the Army not be aware that it had a cadet and then an officer in its ranks that harbored communist views and if it was aware why didn’t deal with him with dispatch?
One thing is sure about Rapone. If he intended to infiltrate The United States Army and have someone do harm to the country because of his communist views, he has achieved an epic fail by burbling into cyberspace.
Rapone would not be the first person to have been tripped up by social media posts about something untoward, whether it is a crime or some off-putting belief. His dismissal from the military along with some appropriate legal action should be automatic. On the other hand, one cannot but imagine that the ACLU will have something to say about denying a young man a military commission over ideological grounds.
