CAPT Eric Rathofer, a signal officer for the Army, not only fights to defend the constitution, but with the help of a cell phone application, he also keeps it in his pocket at all times.
"It's what makes us who we are as Americans," Eric said.
He says he's studied it for years but that now he feels the very rights he's willing to die for have been violated.
He's been reprimanded for "contempt toward officials" and "conduct unbecoming of an officer" due to a private Facebook post back in June.
"It was a basic interpretation of the constitution, nothing more and nothing less," said Eric.
The Army hasn't released a readable version of the post, which Eric has since deleted along with his profile.
He recalls it said something about having the right to choose our government, and that voting isn't the only way to do so.
That's something protected by free speech, according to his lawyer Brad Glendening.
"It was just a political editorial from a citizen of the U.S. who also happens to be wearing a uniform," said Glendening.
Eric's Facebook page was not set to public, but to friends only, meaning only his friends could view it, and the same article of military law under which Eric was reprimanded states, "...expressions of opinion made in a purely private conversation should not ordinarily be charged."
Regulations don't limit soldier's free speech, but rather say there is a time and a place for it.
Glendening says, "You still have first amendment rights, and a lot of times those first amendment rights trump any sort of military discipline that the Army may be concerned about."
Eric says he wants his story to be known, and he wants his situation corrected, so he can do the job he feels called to do.
"I feel it's something that needs to be done. If this is happening to me, the question is what else is happening to other soldiers out there."
Reporter: Sophia Stamas sstamas@kcentv.com
Photographer: Chris Buford cbuford@kcentv.com
