By a former infantry officer, CGSC grad and Army Operations Center alumnus
A short four years ago, we had one of those stories that foreshadowed the deep and pervasive rot inside the US military that has since played out in a more dynamic form with US destroyers playing bumper cars in the Western Pacific, a Navy admiral countermanding instructions given by the President of the United States, a Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman musing on how to manage his “white rage” before a Congressional committee, and, today, a re-enactment of Saigon 1975 in Kabul. The story was of a vocally communist cadet at West Point protected by the civilian faculty and the military leadership. How vocal was he?
See my coverage of Tovarisch Rapone:
This Army Officer Acted Like a Hipster Douche and the Army Is Not Happy
Why Is the Washington Examiner Defending the Commie West Point Grad?
Who Was Protecting the Commie West Point Graduate And Why?
Is West Point Beginning a Whitewash of the Commie Lieutenant Scandal?
Eventually, enough heat was directed upon the Army’s coddling of Rapone that it was shamed into doing the right thing, though for the wrong reasons. As a result, Rapone was removed from a troop leading position and eventually administratively discharged. READ: The Saga of the Commie Lieutenant Comes to an End.
Yes, Spenser “with an s” Rapone is now a Ph.D. candidate at that hotbed of communism, University of Texas-Austin. He is also a teaching assistant, which gives him a platform to inflict his twisted worldview upon students who might think that if they don’t go along, their grades could suffer. You can read his bio here or see his detailed curriculum vitae here. I’d just note that those links are to the UTA public site and are not the products of doxxing, hacking, or anything more sophisticated than using the UTA website’s “search” function.
This shoving of radicals, even violent ones, into academia has become a fashion in the US. Bill Ayers, a Weather Underground commissar in the late-60s and early-70s, was involved in the bombings of New York City Police Department headquarters (1970), the United States Capitol building (1971), and the Pentagon (1972), he never spent a day in prison. He never had media mouthbreathers calling him an insurrectionist and seditionist, even though that is exactly what he professed to be. Instead, he slid effortlessly from a life of violence to a career as a professor of education at the University of Illinois-Chicago. . . . (read the rest)
Also see:
‘Commie Cadet’ sends vulgar message on his way out of the Army (AP, 19 JUN 2018)
. . . . Top brass at Fort Drum accepted Rapone’s resignation Monday after an earlier reprimand for “conduct unbecoming of an officer.”
Rapone said an investigation found he went online to advocate for a socialist revolution and disparage high-ranking officers. Officially, the Army said in a statement only that it conducted a full investigation and “appropriate action was taken.”
An unrepentant Rapone summed up the fallout in yet another tweet Monday that showed him extending a middle finger at a sign at the entrance to Fort Drum, accompanied by the words, “One final salute.”
“I consider myself a revolutionary socialist,” the 26-year-old Rapone told The Associated Press. “I would encourage all soldiers who have a conscience to lay down their arms and join me and so many others who are willing to stop serving the agents of imperialism and join us in a revolutionary movement.” . . . . (read more)
Open Letter to West Point Graduates from Lt Col Robert Heffington, USA Ret. Written in 2017.
Before you read any further, please understand that the following paragraphs come from a place of intense devotion and loyalty to West Point. My experience as a cadet had a profound impact upon who I am and upon the course of my life, and I remain forever grateful that I have the opportunity to be a part of the Long Gray Line. I firmly believe West Point is a national treasure and that it can and should remain a vitally important source of well trained, disciplined, highly educated Army officers and civilian leaders.
However, during my time on the West Point faculty (2006–2009 and again from 2013–2017), I personally witnessed a series of fundamental changes at West Point that have eroded it to the point where I question whether the institution should even remain open.
The recent coverage of 2LT Spenser Rapone — an avowed Communist and sworn enemy of the United States — dramatically highlighted this disturbing trend. Given my recent tenure on the West Point faculty and my direct interactions with Rapone, his “mentors,” and with the Academy’s leadership, I believe I can shed light on how someone like Rapone could possibly graduate. . . . . . (read the letter)
Report: West Point Professor Found Communist Officer’s Social Media Posts ‘Extremely Disturbing’ (Task & Purpose, 7 Oct 2017)
A Fort Drum officer whose pro-communist and anti-Trump social media posts have spurred outrage and an Army investigation apparently raised concerns among his superiors in 2015 while studying at West Point.
In documents obtained by the Daily Caller, Lt. Col. Robert M. Heffington, a professor at West Point, said he found the social media posts by 2nd Lt. Spenser Rapone, then a cadet, “extremely disturbing.” He noted at the time that one of Rapone’s posts said “(F-Expletive) this country and its fake freedom,” and others praised communism, Marxism and Karl Marx.
“I cannot reconcile the image of a first class cadet at West Point with the things he has posted online for the world to see,” the Lieutenant Colonel said in a sworn statement. “To me, these are red flags that cannot be ignored, and I fail to see how this individual can possibly graduate and become a commissioned officer in six months.” . . . . (read more)
EXCLUSIVE: Communist West Point Grad Was Reported In 2015 For Anti-American Posts (Daily Caller, 4 Oct 2017)
The Army officer who outed himself as a radical Marxist had been reported back in 2015 for publishing inappropriate and outright anti-American views online, according to a scathing report obtained by The Daily Caller.
The report gave details on 2nd Lt. Spenser Rapone’s insubordination at the U.S. Military Academy and out-of-regulations online activity. Rapone graduated almost two years later in 2016.
Rapone made the news last week for his pro-communism tweets during the #VetsForKaepernick social media craze. . . . . (read the article)
Heffington Sworn Statement 18 Nov 2015 Signed
Heffington Sworn Statement … by Paul Conner
Rasheed Hosein, West Point Professor Who Mentored Antifa Soldier, on Administrative Leave (Breitbart, 28 Sep 2017)
The West Point mentor of a soldier now under investigation by the Army for engaging in political activity while in uniform is on administrative leave, Breitbart News has learned. The adviser is Rasheed Hosein, a professor of Middle East history, who was in charge of Second Lieutenant Spenser Rapone’s development at West Point. . . . .
. . . . At West Point, Hosein had mentored Rapone. The two apparently traveled together to India together in 2014 and maintained a close relationship until Rapone graduated in May 2016. Also during that time, Rapone’s Facebook posts grew increasingly radical and leftist. . . .
. . . .A review of Rapone’s Facebook page shows that over time, since 2014, his posts became increasingly anti-racism, anti-Israel, pro-Muslim, pro-Communist, anti-military, and anti-police. Sometime last year, he posted a picture on Instagram of an Antifa flag in his room next to a print of Che Guevara. “New room decor … until it’s flying proudly in the streets. #AntiFa,” he wrote, according to a picture obtained before he took down his account.
Rapone has also posted on Facebook a picture of himself holding up the Communist Manifesto, with his Army dress uniform hanging in the closet in the background. . . .
. . . . On January 5, 2015, he posted a Slate.com article calling for the abolishment of West Point. As a Facebook friend since 2014, Hosein would have been aware of Rapone’s Facebook postings between 2014 and when he graduated in 2016. A search of Rapone’s page shows they are still Facebook friends. . . . (read article)
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