With that said, however, Soldiers understand limitation of our rights is one of the sacrifices we make upon entering the service. Upon entering active duty, every Soldier swears to “…obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice…” I say this as a Soldier currently on active duty. Uncle Sam’s dime, Uncle Sam’s rules….

There are options, however. First, Soldiers retain the right to unencumbered contact with their elected officials. If I was stationed in USARAK, that is what I would have done the first day this regulation was published — I would have written to my representatives, senators, and (for good measure) the Governor of Alaska. Alternatively, if I got no satisfaction through that route (or if it was taking too long), I would have requested a change of station out of USARAK. If worse came to worse, I could always volunteer to deploy to Iraq or Afghanistan as an individual augmentee or replacement — safer than DC, Chicago, and most areas of Los Angeles.