Air Force Reserve Investigating Incident of Retiree Forcibly Removed From Ceremony


While delivering a statement honoring the flag, to honor the retirement of an unidentified master sergeant from the 749th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, retired Senior Master Sgt. Oscar Rodriguez was forcibly removed from the ceremony by three uniformed airmen.  According to a source, Rodriguez appearance had been cleared through the proper chain of command and had been asked for by the man who was retiring.

The incident was caught on video and has spurred an investigation an official in the Air Force Reserve said.

The incident occurred at Travis Air Force Base, near Sacramento on April 3, at the retirement of an unidentified master sergeant from the 749th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron. Retired Senior Master Sgt. Oscar Rodriguez, in civilian clothing, is shown attempting to read a statement before three uniformed airmen forcibly remove him.

A spokesman from the reserve said that the confrontation stemmed from “an unplanned participation” at the event.

“Rodriguez ignored numerous requests to respect the Air Force prescribed ceremony and unfortunately was forcibly removed,” a Travis official said in a statement to FoxNews.com. “We will continue to investigate the situation fully.”

The officiating officer at the ceremony, Stephan Sila,  a 28-year Air Force veteran, wrote a Facebook post which was published on JQPublicBlog.com military blog, “that Rodriguez simply planned to read a statement honoring the flag and that his appearance had been cleared through the proper chain of command.”

“Why do you think people are leaving (the Air Force) in droves?” Sila wrote. “Because the guys in the trenches are subjected to nonstop stupidity from commanders who don’t deserve the rank, respect, or support of the people ther’re in charge of.”

In a statement, the Air Force Reserve responded that it, “respects and defends the right to free speech and religious expression.”

Update: An investigation by Travis Security provides more info:

The retired master sergeant said Roberson had heard about a March retirement ceremony during which Rodriquez had done his narration in uniform and asked Rodriquez to do the narration at his retirement ceremony.

Rodriquez said he was told before Roberson’s retirement ceremony by a senior commander not to show up. He did not identify the senior commander. Rodriquez said he was invited and that it was cleared through proper channels.

Attempts by the Daily Republic to reach Roberson were not successful.

Rodriquez said he showed up for the ceremony in civilian clothes and after he took his place on the stage. Rodriquez said he was told he was not invited to the ceremony and was told by a technical sergeant to get off the stage. He refused and was hustled off the stage and out of the room by a group that grew to six noncommissioned officers, Rodriquez said.

“They treated me like a perp,” Rodriquez said.

A statement from the 349th Air Mobility Wing said, “the Air Force Reserve respects and defends the right to free speech and religious expression.”
“The disruption of a recent retirement ceremony at Travis Air Force Base by retired Senior Master Sgt. Oscar Rodriguez stemmed from an unplanned participation during the flag-folding ceremony portion of the event,” the statement from 349th Public Affairs chief Lt. Col. Robert Couse-Baker said.

“The narrative associated with the ceremony is determined by Air Force Instructions and was not the version initiated by the retiree. Rodriguez ignored numerous requests to respect the Air Force-prescribed ceremony and unfortunately was forcibly removed,” Couse-Baker wrote.

Rodriquez said he has since contacted the base to file assault allegations and said he has also contacted the base’s legal office.

“I want to get resolution for what happened, for what they did to me,” Rodriquez said.

Source: DailyRepublic

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ciUN0ziZ4nQ

Source: Fox News



Share

11 Comments

Leave a Reply

Pin It on Pinterest