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Col. Danny Nobles "needs to be removed from command immediately," said attorney Al Novotne, Fort McCoy's ethics counselor. "He's free to resign or retire and get involved in politics, but not while having troops under his command."
Novotne, a retired Army major and a former judge advocate general (JAG), said he's speaking out as a private citizen, not on behalf of the Army.
A group called Coulee Region Concerned Citizens filed a complaint with the Army about the involvement of soldiers in Bush's political rally May 7 at Copeland Park. The group also complained Nobles attended the rally in his Army uniform.
The group has also asked for an investigation into whether the fort's civilian executive officer, Al Fournier, attended the Bush rally on official time, which could be a violation of the Hatch Act.
The Army needs "to send the message that we don't endorse political candidates," Novotne said.
The complaints are under review by the U.S. Army Reserve Command, "so it's inappropriate to comment at this time," Fort McCoy spokeswoman Linda Fournier said Monday.
She said Nobles and Al Fournier would have no comment on the matter. The Fourniers are husband and wife.
Members of a Minnesota National Guard unit training at Fort McCoy and other fort personnel attended the campaign rally. The Tribune interviewed several soldiers at the rally.
The Veterans of Foreign Wars District 11 "sponsored" the trip and provided white T-shirts emblazoned with an American flag to 500 soldiers, according to the Wisconsin VFW News. The back of the shirts said, "I am an American soldier."
At Copeland Park, the troops were observed walking and running in formation. Novotne said soldiers have told him they were under the direction of senior non-commissioned officers and were not free to go off on their own.
Novotne said appearing at a campaign event in uniform is "strictly prohibited" by the Army. "When I was a JAG officer, I had a client who went to jail for that," he said.
"We are honored by Col. Nobles' support," said Merrill Hughes Smith, a spokeswoman for Bush-Cheney '04. She declined comment on the appropriateness of service members being at campaign events in uniform.
La Crosse County Republican Party Chairman Chris Muller has defended the attendance of the National Guard members at the rally.
He said that Fort McCoy soldiers contacted the Republican Party about getting tickets to attend.
"The Bush campaign provided those soldiers with tickets so they could show their support for their commander-in-chief before getting shipped out to fight the war on terrorism," Muller said. "They were not in uniform."
Novotne said it doesn't matter whether the soldiers were in uniform. "The T-shirt was a fig leaf, a stratagem," he said.
Paul Conrad, a retired Army JAG colonel who served as legal counsel to the Army Reserve command at the Pentagon from 2000 to 2002, said the military has a long history of prohibiting political involvement.
"We are a non-partisan military," said Conrad, who served as a JAG with Novotne. "We're sworn to uphold the Constitution, not the president.
"No military officer may campaign for or hold civil office," Conrad said, noting there are some exceptions for inactive National Guard members.
Members of the military "may still vote or participate in politics, but not in uniform, only in a private capacity," said Conrad, who also served as a law professor at the Army's JAG school.
Military personnel may attend events where the president is appearing as the president, "but not as a candidate," Conrad said. "They may not appear to be endorsing or be on the speaker's podium. They may not be on official time."
Conrad said military punishments for violating the rules against political involvement can range from letters of reprimand to court-martial, though a court-martial is rare.
Violations by a civilian employee can result in suspension or dismissal, Conrad said.
Reid Magney can be reached at rmagney@lacrossetribune.com or (608) 791-8211.
