Quoted Text

Remember October 10th, 1995 - Army spc Michael New - An American Patriot!

Tomorrow marks the 17th Anniversary of Army spc Michael New's Act of Patriotism!!

One Soldier's Story -- Every Soldier's Nightmare: When orders conflict with the Oath of Allegiance.

The story of Army Spc. Michael New is a story that should inspire every American to take notice of the times and impending changes that are taking place in our political and economic climate; changes that threaten the very fabric of our American society.
___________________________________

Meet Michael New. In February of 1993, 20 year old Michael New enlisted in the United States Army and took an oath to defend the constitution of the United States. His Army Recruiter, in Conroe, Texas, never mentioned UN command, foreign officers, or wearing the UN uniform; instead he was told he was signing up for the US military.

Michael was and is just like every other young man with hopes and dreams of the future. He never dreamed at the young age of 23 his name would be mentioned in the halls of congress and all the way to the White House and Office of the President of the United States himself.

What happened that would make this shy young man the focus of news stories around the Nation and aboard? 21 August 1995 Michael is informed that his unit will be required to wear a blue UN helmet, or beret and a UN armband or patch. Michael was told the order to wear the UN uniform was lawful because,"The President says so, therefore it is." But nobody provided a legitimate, legal or rational basis for the order. Eventually, a battalion briefing about the deployment offered the justification that, "We wear the U.N. uniform because it looks fabulous."

10 October 1995, the day his unit was supposed to be in formation in the U.N. uniforms, Michael showed up in his regulation U.S. Army uniform." However, some 549 U.S. Army soldiers did show up in formation, wearing a United Nations emblem on their baby-blue caps and U.N. patches on their right shoulders! Michael was immediately removed from the parade ground, where he was informed that he would be facing a court-martial. He was read his rights. And this began the chain of events that continues sending shock waves around the country and the world.

Since that time Michael received a Bad Conduct Discharge (BCD) from the Military, in January 1996, and has begun a life as a private citizen. But that was not the end; it was only the beginning, as the case continues to this day. There have been briefs and counter briefs, appeals and appeals of the appeals. As the case slowly makes its way through the courts, Michael New will not back down. And he has the United States government in something of a quandary. If they let him off, then they'll have to let anyone off who refuses to serve the United Nations. If they hammer him, they have to admit in public that Americans are no longer free to serve their own country exclusively - an admission they do not want to make. No doubt, if he had it to do over again, Michael New would do the same thing. But the Army would also no doubt give him the transfer he requested in the first place.

Quoted Text

Much of the initial anger over Mr. New's case was directed at President Clinton, who ordered that American forces take part in the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Macedonia. However, Mr. Kincaid and others fault President Bush for leaving the same procedures in place. "U.S. troops deployed on U.S. missions under Bush still wear U.N. markings on their uniforms, including a U.N. shoulder patch and beret. And even though they serve under a foreign U.N. commander, he insists they are still somehow under U.S. command," Mr. Kincaid said. "It doesn't add up."