It's guts ball time for an Army surgeon who has vowed not to deploy to Afghanistan with his unit unless President Obama provides evidence that he's a "natural born" citizen of the United States. In response to previously published statements by Lt. Col. Terrence Lakin, the Army presented an official letter of counseling that directs him to report to Fort Campbell, Ky., on April 12 to begin deployment preparations with his unit. In spite of the letter, Lakin has not yet yielded, although he ultimately might. When contacted by Military.com, he would not say whether he would report for duty as ordered. Instead, he referred inquiries to Margaret Hemenway, a spokeswoman for the Patriotic American Foundation, a group raising money to defend Lakin should he be prosecuted.
"Unless there is a breakthrough, unless there is a willingness to give [Lakin] the documentation he requests to show that the commander-in-chief is legally in the job … he won't be able to follow those orders" to report, said Hemenway. Lakin's refusal to deploy, Hemenway said, is in keeping with a vow not to obey any order he is given until he is satisfied that Obama was born in the United States.
Lakin is not the first servicemember to use the so-called "birther" argument to fight deployment orders. Last July, the Army yanked Afghanistan deployment orders for Maj. Stefan Cook when he challenged President Obama's legitimacy in court. Army Capt. Connie Rhodes, another doctor, went to federal court to stop her Iraq deployment for the same reason. Her case was tossed out in September.
The Patriotic American Foundation has established a Web site dedicated to Lakin's cause called Safeguard Our Constitution. The site has posted the letter of counseling, redacting the name of Lakin's commander at Headquarters Company, Medical Brigade, Walter Reed Army Medical Center, in Washington. Lakin, in a previously published statement, said he is the chief of primary care at the Pentagon's Tricare health clinic, and that he has been selected for promotion to colonel.
In the letter of counseling, Lakin is told that his deployment orders "are presumed to be valid and lawful orders issued by competent military authority" and he is warned there will be consequences to disobeying them.
"Failure to follow your reassignment and/or deployment orders may result in adverse action, including court-martial," the letter reads. "Should you fail to report to Fort Campbell in accordance with your orders and deploy, your actions may constitute a violation of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. These violations may include being absent without leave -- AWOL -- missing movement, willfully disobeying a lawful order and contempt toward officials."
Conviction of any of the charges at a court-martial could result in a dishonorable discharge, the letter states, as well as loss of all pay and allowances, and imprisonment.
It's also possible that the officer with 18 years of service could be let go with either a general but honorable discharge or a discharge under "other than honorable" conditions, according to the letter. Additionally, Lakin could lose his military retirement and veterans' benefits, and the letter advised him to seek legal counsel "before embarking on a course of conduct which you may quickly regret."
Lakin has deployed previously as the flight surgeon for 3rd Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment, in Afghanistan. He was named the Army Medical Department's Flight Surgeon of the Year for 2004.
The Army so far has downplayed Lakin's public comments and actions, saying he has not yet violated any direct orders.
Phil Cave, a retired Navy judge advocate general who now practices military law as a civilian, said that even if Lakin does decide to deploy as scheduled, the Army still may be able to prosecute him. Under Article 88, Cave said, a servicemember can be charged for making disrespectful comments or remarks about the president.
Cave believes that Lakin's supporters in the birther movement hope that a court-martial will give defense attorneys the authority to seek, through discovery, other documents to help make their case.
"They think that by using [servicemembers in a court-martial] they can get discovery like you could in any criminal prosecution," he said. "That ain't gonna happen. They're not going to have discovery where they're going to get the president to produce a birth certificate because, I'm reasonably certain, no military judge, no appellate court and no federal court, and no U.S. Supreme Court is going to say they have a right to get that as a matter of discovery."
