Somebody help me out here. Granted I have been out of the service for a couple to three decades. However, unless the Military has adopted new posture for men in dress uniform, the posture exhibited in the 1 SEP 22 POTUS speech in Philadelphia is a non-compliant and undocumented one.

Here is how you execute Parade Rest ~ (MCO P5060.20 W CH 1_3)

Parade Rest:

Assume you are halted at attention and you receive the command, PARADE, REST. On the preparatory command PARADE, shift the weight of your body to the right leg without noticeable movement. On the command of execution REST and for the count of one, move the left foot smartly twelve inches to the left of the right foot (One). The twelve inches are measured from the inside of the right heel to the inside of the left heel. The heels remain on line. The legs remain straight without stiffness, allowing the body weight to rest equally on both legs. At the same time the left foot is moved, clasp the hands behind the back. The left hand is placed just below the belt, at the small of the back and the right hand is placed inside the left. The thumb of the right hand lightly grasps the thumb of the left hand. All the fingers are extended and joined and the palms are to the rear. The elbows will be in line with the body.

So what is the posture below?

Is there some new forward Parade rest we have never seen before or heard of?

Who cares?

You should care.

The use of the United States Military for political propaganda by POTUS is not only wrong, as POTUS is Commander & Chief of the United States Military. It is wrong because the military posture taken is not one known by a member of the Marines while in Dress uniform. It is made up, or can you show me the field manual that addresses this posture and its use?

What makes this worse is the language and imagery used by POTUS. It placed the United States Marine Corps in a position of submission. Submission to tradition. Submission of protocol. Submission to an illegal order. It placed them in a light of being enforcers of a political agenda.

I have my own thoughts on why.

One thing is clear. The message being sent should make the hairs on the back every red blooded Americans neck stand on end.

How long do people allow for the unmitigated destruction of out Armed forces with general directives that defy logic like the edict given to the Air Force to end pronoun usage because it makes them more lethal.

How long do we allow our troops to be used as political fodder and propaganda for an unAmerican agenda? The appearance is that if you do not like POTUS or do like his political opposition that the Marine Corp of the United States of America will be used to silence you.

You may say it is a small item. That having them staged in the shadows in a nonconforming posture is trite, but you would be wrong.

My guess, these are not Active Duty Marines. They are paramilitary actors. If they are active-duty Marines in a ceremonial role, then we are all in real trouble and need to take appropriate precautions.

The White House said in a statement on Friday that it was a gesture of “respect” for these service members. But that doesn’t really explain why they were at this specific event. Our in this specific posture, in Dress Blues. The speech itself provides clues. Biden focused in his remarks on identifying Trump and his most hardcore supporters as a danger to the republic, with their disregard for democratic rule and their propensity for political violence.

Prepare yourself accordingly.

~ Eric D. Miller – 2022