Estrada campaigns for Sen. Barack Obama

[CommunityEditor]

Just eight months after taking off his uniform, the recently retired 15th sergeant major of the Marine Corps is jumping into the campaign fray, stumping for Sen. Barack Obama and echoing the Democratic candidate’s call for pulling troops out of Iraq.

“I stood up and I said I agree with him when he said we should pull out of Iraq. I think it’s time for the Iraqis to stand up and take charge of their own country,” retired Sgt. Maj. John Estrada said in a telephone interview Feb. 25.

“He’s not talking about snatching everybody out of there. He said he will do it over a 16-month period. He will deploy the troops to places where they’re needed, like Afghanistan. ... He’s a guy who will use force reasonably,” Estrada said.

Estrada, 52, was the highest-ranking enlisted Marine for nearly four years before retiring in June 2007 after 34 years.

He formally endorsed the Illinois senator for president of the United States during a rally at a high school gymnasium in Beaufort, S.C., on Jan. 24. Estrada served twice at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort and is well-known among the locals there.

He planned to campaign again for the senator in Texas on the weekend preceding the critical March 4 primary between Obama and New York Sen. Hillary Clinton.

“He has this — I want to call it a unifying force. I see him uniting our country more so than the others. Old, young, across all ethnicities,” Estrada said.

Estrada currently works for a defense contractor and lives near Orlando, Fla., with his two children. A native of Trinidad and Tobago, Estrada moved to Washington, D.C., when he was 14 to live with his mother, a health care worker. He joined the Corps in 1973 and later became a U.S. citizen in the 1980s.

Representatives from the Obama campaign contacted Estrada in January and asked him to attend a round-table discussion with other veterans in South Carolina shortly before the primary election there in January.

Estrada said he was impressed by Obama’s knowledge of issues such as traumatic brain injury and his apparent concern for veterans’ affairs and the Department of Veterans Affairs, which Estrada believes is woefully underfunded.

After meeting with Obama, campaign officials asked Estrada to introduce the candidate at a rally later that evening, and Estrada accepted. During the introduction, Estrada gave Obama his full endorsement.

Some scholars say Estrada is part of an alarming trend of political involvement among military leaders. Many say the trend began in 1992, when Bill Clinton — then the governor of Arkansas — rounded up a list of endorsements from retired general officers.

“This is a trend that a lot of us are not really happy with in terms of military officers getting out and throwing themselves into a campaign,” said Jim Currie, a professor of national security studies at the National Defense University in Washington, D.C.

“You don’t want an officer corps that is seen as a Democratic officer corps or a Republican officer corps.”

Peter D. Feaver, a political science professor at Duke University in North Carolina, agreed.

“It politicizes the military, even when that is not the intention of the former military person,” Feaver said. “Obama will love this until he becomes president — and then he starts to worry about the political leanings of the people serving under him in the military.”

Enlisted Marines, however, are not necessarily held to the same standard for political activity. Only commissioned officers are subject to Article 88 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, which threatens a court-martial against those who use “contemptuous words” against the president or defense secretary.

“With [commissioned] officers, it’s a much bigger issue,” said Michael Noonan, a captain in the Army Reserve and a research fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute in Philadelphia.

Estrada said he thought about all of that and nevertheless chose to speak out.

“This is the freedom we fight and die for,” Estrada said. “I know some people won’t like that I’m doing this, but I earned that right. I had people die to give me that right.”

He agrees that officers and noncommissioned officers should not talk about politics while in uniform.

“I used to tell my Marines, ‘We don’t discuss politics in work.’ I don’t think anyone knew how I felt about anything politically. I said, ‘You have a chance to express your opinion — on Election Day.’”

Estrada said he was not a citizen and could not vote when Ronald Reagan was elected in 1980. He voted for Bill Clinton in 1992. He said he liked John McCain’s candidacy in 2000, but ultimately voted for Al Gore because McCain lost the Republican primary to President Bush.

Estrada dismissed the notion that pulling U.S. troops out of Iraq will lead to more violence and chaos.

“We’re not going to just pull out and leave them hanging. But once they see that we’re serious about leaving, they are going to wean themselves and start standing up and it will force them to come together as a nation.”

Current troop levels in Iraq are making America less safe, Estrada said.

“We are stretched so badly — our equipment is worn out, our sailors and Marines are tired, some are in their fifth and six deployment. I think that puts us in a very vulnerable position.

“Suppose a couple other incidents break out in the other parts to the world. We may have trouble responding to them and dealing with them effectively.”

Nevertheless, Estrada does not expect all U.S. troops to leave anytime soon.

“I think there will be some kind of U.S. presence there for a long time, but I don’t think it needs to be what we have going on right now.”

Some Marines have already shunned Estrada. Shortly after making his initial endorsement, he was visiting Marine Corps Base Quantico and dropped by to see a senior officer whom he used to work for and considered a friend.

The officer refused to see him.

“It was a little disappointing,” Estrada said. “I will probably lose a few friends, but they need to remember — this is why we serve our country.”


Article: http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news...strada_030508/

SgtMaj Estrrada.....one of the worst Sgt's Maj of the Marine Corps ever in my opinion....

Originally Posted by Unregistered

SgtMaj Estrrada.....one of the worst Sgt's Maj of the Marine Corps ever in my opinion....

Why? You cant just post something and not put a reason why? What did he do? What makes him "one of the worst"?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

SgtMaj Estrrada.....one of the worst Sgt's Maj of the Marine Corps ever in my opinion....

We tell our servicemembers and citizens that you are free to voice your oppinon and support who you wish. Let's stop kidding ourselves. There's a backlash for expressing your political veiws!!!

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Why? You cant just post something and not put a reason why? What did he do? What makes him "one of the worst"?

Because he was very egotistical, only cared about himself and positioning himself for his future. I have been in the MC for almost 20yrs, and he seemed the most distant of all the SgtMajs. Not personal at all. Very few Marines cared for him

Originally Posted by Unregistered

SgtMaj Estrrada.....one of the worst Sgt's Maj of the Marine Corps ever in my opinion....

This comment section isn't for personal attacks - who cares what you think about Estrada. Stick to the subject - Obama's political campaign. I think he'll be good for the military - he wants to grow it but use it wisely.

[KrashKatz]

I met SgtMaj Estrada, and by met I mean shook his hand and got a "your doing great things devil dog", like the other 500 people who met him that day. I thought he was an okay guy.

But for the topic at hand, he's free to voice his opinion, and since he's not representing the Marine Corps anymore, he shouldn't be shunned for his political opinions.

Barack HUSSEIN Obama. Enough said. If he's elected, 3,500 people died in vain.

[fmrldylthrnk]

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Barack HUSSEIN Obama. Enough said. If he's elected, 3,500 people died in vain.

Oy.
Such an educated well researched post.

[TJMAC77SP]

Originally Posted by Unregistered

This comment section isn't for personal attacks - who cares what you think about Estrada. Stick to the subject - Obama's political campaign. I think he'll be good for the military - he wants to grow it but use it wisely.

Well, to be fair, opinions of Estrada are relevant in the context of his endorsement of Obama. For example, many are saying now that Bush’s endorsement of McCain may hurt him given the low opinion Bush held by so many

(Yeah Rasputin, we know….you hate Bush. See there, I saved you some effort. Sorry, back to my post)

Conversely you (if so inclined) can post responses as to why Estrada is a positive endorsement of Obama.

Also, when has Obama stated that he wants to see the military grow? I am not refuting the statement but can you point to a source because that is news to me.