WTF - West Pointer sports Che shirt under uniform

[Snoopy47]

http://www.armytimes.com/news/your-army/2017/09/26/west-point-responds-to-tweets-of-cadet-with-che-guevara-tee-under-uniform/

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/sep/26/spenser-rapone-west-point-alumnus-riles-with-pro-k/

Am I wrong to be pissed off.

Seems like a pretty significant red flag, and certainly something to be looked into deeper when regarding his security clearance.

[packnrat]

he will be promated and be in charge of a number of our troups. who he will gladly " sacrifice" in the name of communism.

[shootsocal_dave]

They will UCMJ him for it. His command is probing.

[Abu Riyah]

When I was in basic, back in the dark ages, a guy in my company actually got caught wearing a Michael Jackson t-shirt under his BDUs...white t-shirt with purple collar and one of those rubbery, photo iron-ons with MJ in a moonwalk pose wearing the single glove and a hat. Unforgettable.

[Snoopy47]

Having applied to the academies when I was young, and getting rejected, and then enlisting 20 years later anyway as an E4 with a master's degree and eating crow for four years until I was able to finally commission it just infuriates me an Officer's career that started with a West Point education was pissed away with millennial ignorance and arrogance.

***

The joke is on him. He apparently served an honorable enlistment and deployment having taken enemy fire while in complete conflict of his personal morals.

[Bobby Ricigliano]

Since has the full on Tower of power with CIB on his cadet uniform, was he prior enlisted Army?

[Bobby Ricigliano]

When I was in basic, back in the dark ages, a guy in my company actually got caught wearing a Michael Jackson t-shirt under his BDUs...white t-shirt with purple collar and one of those rubbery, photo iron-ons with MJ in a moonwalk pose wearing the single glove and a hat. Unforgettable.

Not trying to one up you, but how about this:

When I attended Army BCT, our company barracks were very close to the edge of the post. A strip mall with a Wal Mart and McDonald's was clearly visible across a road from the gate.

One night, some hungry privates lost their minds and decided to make a covert OP to McDonald's after lights out. They also collected money and food orders from others who wanted food too.

They made it there, bought the food, and made it back it undetected, food in hand. Unfortunately, McD employees recognized them as BCT, and alerted the base.

The next morning, there was a full formation, with the Battalion Commander. They called out the offenders and publicly shamed and humiliated them. They also found the list of those who ordered food to be brought back.

They marched all of them off and we didn't see them again. I can't confirm this, but I was told the main offenders all got kicked out, and everyone on the food list got recycled. We were close to the end of BCT too.

Thank GOD I was not involved in that, in fact wasn't even asked to participate. I was racked out hard and slept through the whole incident.

[Abu Riyah]

Not trying to one up you, but how about this:

When I attended Army BCT, our company barracks were very close to the edge of the post. A strip mall with a Wal Mart and McDonald's was clearly visible across a road from the gate.

One night, some hungry privates lost their minds ****

Wow! That's a good one. The only thing even close to that for me was once I went to the main hospital for some scheduled follow up. I took a candy order and came back with several bags of M&Ms, gummy bears, and a Penthouse which I bought at the shoppette in the hospital. I distributed everything ASAP and no one ever got in trouble. I don't know about the candy, but I know the magazine got passed around a lot.

[Che762x39]

he will be promated and be in charge of a number of our troups. who he will gladly " sacrifice" in the name of communism.

Did you notice he already have the Combat Infantry Badge? From his medals he was a prior enlisted man so the troops will get him better than a 'butter bar' from Party U. Savvy?

[Che762x39]

...The joke is on him. He apparently served an honorable enlistment and deployment having taken enemy fire while in complete conflict of his personal morals.

Sounds like "Joker" from Full Metal Jacket. We all know his 'out of the box' thinking is what the Army needs in the 21st Century.

We all know Army leadership used WWII tactics in Vietnam. Vietnam tactics in Grenada, Panama and Desert Storm worked because we had no opposition. In Gulf II and Afghanistan we now have an enemy who wants to fight the infidels and between the previous White House and Army leadership were missing the point.

Everyone should watch "War Machine" on NetFlix.

[baekacaek]

I saw this the other day. Unbelievable.

Anyone have any update on this? Hoping he loses his commission and gets kicked out of the army

[sierra11b]

Did you notice he already have the Combat Infantry Badge? From his medals he was a prior enlisted man so the troops will get him better than a 'butter bar' from Party U. Savvy?

I saw that.

I have to wonder if this is some stunt, albeit in poor taste, especially with the Che shirt. I could see the writing in the hat as mocking but the undershirt is too much.

Seems to me he's one of these prior-enlisted barracks "intellectuals" that may or may not have fit in with the platoon entirely, but for one reason or another, got too absorbed into the prerequisite reading required of a IN PL. If you've ever read 'Guerrilla Warfare' (there on my bookshelf as I type -- as much as I'd to use it for some .41 target practice), it could be easily be persuasive enough for a sponge-brain snowflake to get overly pre-absorbed into the material, if he's of a weak mind.

I once was a TL (2/82d, 3/325AIR) of a true doogie howser SPC M.S. computer engineer (at 20) who went off the deep end despite me and another (weaps squad) TL's efforts in getting him to assimilate by taking him out and encouraging to have fun. He was strange cat to say the least. Refused technology despite his degrees (No T.V., even), read classic literature all day in his bunk with just a book light, treated the service as if the Army was a case study for him, and was a recluse. Only time you saw him outside of formation was when he was doing laundry or showering. As it turns out he pissed in water bottles (we found stashed) and only used the latrine for #2.

He ended-up going AWOL after Xmas leave and dug a massive fighting position in his Washington State hometown. Some of us, including myself, were interviewed by the Feds two months after. Crazy stuff... But every so often you get someone like this who is truly lost and motivated at the same time.

It'll be interesting to see where the cadet ends up... I must say that although Mikhail Sharov (not much on him now that the net has buried his articles but run a search and there's still some: https://www.ar15.com/forums/general/-/5-143165/0 ) was a peculiar case, one second you sign-out for leave and the next you've dug a fighting position worthy of an impact award with gas line schematics at your disposal, until it might be too late, then a month later you're scratching your head on OMFG what-f scenarios post 9/11 (which it was) when the feds come. The time to squash these dudes is ASAP IMHO.

[sigguy552]

Check out socnet for a huge thread on rapone. Word is this cat was prior enlisted and was LOM'd out of Ranger School 6-17 and also RFS'd from Rgmt. He graduated WP and is not at 10th mtn where they are well aware of his shennanigans.

[kevman0154]

Having applied to the academies when I was young, and getting rejected, and then enlisting 20 years later anyway as an E4 with a master's degree and eating crow for four years until I was able to finally commission it just infuriates me an Officer's career that started with a West Point education was pissed away with millennial ignorance and arrogance.

***

The joke is on him. He apparently served an honorable enlistment and deployment having taken enemy fire while in complete conflict of his personal morals.

You got that right... He is So lucky to have a West Point Education and here he goes acting like a dumbass. I hope he gets the meanest PSG possible in the *** backwoods of Ft. Polk. Better yet all the items on his hand receipt magically disappear...

[jcourson]

http://taskandpurpose.com/communist-west-point-grad-letter/

In an Oct. 11 letter to the members of the USMA community, Caslen stated that 2nd Lt. Spenser Rapone — the Afghanistan combat infantry veteran and West Point grad captured with a Che Guevara shirt under his dress uniform and a “Communism Will Win” sign under his cover — is currently subject to two ongoing investigations by both West Point and his commanders with the 10th Mountain Division for what Army Times characterized as “subversive political views.”