Thread: Soldier flagrantly avoids flag salute, sets off online outrage

Soldier flagrantly avoids flag salute, sets off online outrage
Feb. 25, 2014 -


Pfc. Tariqka Sheffey is facing criticism online for this selfie, which shows her flagrantly avoiding issuing a salute to the American flag. (Instagram photo)

By Tony Lombardo

A soldier who hid in her car to avoid saluting the flag — and then flaunted it on Instagram — is the latest service member to come under attack via social media and be accused of dishonoring her service.

Pfc. Tariqka Sheffey, whose Instagram handle is “sheffeynation,” posted a selfie with a caption that reads:

“This is me laying back in my car hiding so I don’t have to salute the 1700 flag, KEEP ALL YOUR ‘THATS SO DISRESPECTFUL/HOWRUDE/ETC.’ COMMENTS TO YOURSELF cuz, right now, IDGAFFFF.”

The image was distributed via Facebook and also sent to Army Times. Angry service members, Gold Star mothers and spouses have called for the soldier’s removal from service.

“Any soldier who refuses to salute the flag is in the military for the wrong reason, and should be removed by dishonorable discharge with loss of all benefits,” one Facebook commenter said. “If they won’t salute it, they damn sure won’t fight for it.”

Sheffey is a member of the 59th Quartermaster Company, 43rd Sustainment Brigade, at Fort Carson, Colo., post spokesman Dee McNutt confirmed Tuesday.

When asked if an investigation was underway, McNutt said, “The chain of command is aware and looking into the situation. That’s really all I can say at this point.”

McNutt said Fort Carson learned of the photo after receiving a number of complaints.

The online outrage has quickly turned to hate, with a torrent of abusive comments, racial slurs and threats being made against the young soldier.
Sheffey responded with a video on Instagram on Tuesday and expressed regret. But she stopped short of apologizing for her actions:

“I seriously just want to say thank you to everybody who stood up to me today, like seriously. That s--- to me was not that serious. I am not a disrespectful soldier and I really appreciate you all.”

Attempts to reach Sheffey for comment via email were not immediately successful.

This marks the third time in less than two weeks in which a photo of service members has sparked controversy on social media. Several National Guard members have been suspended from funeral honors detail in light of a photo showing them comically posing around a flag-draped casket during training. An investigation is ongoing.

Air Force Staff Sgt. Cherish Byers is also the subject of an investigation, after a three-year-old photo of her tongue-kissing a Prisoner of War-Missing in Action symbol went viral.

Pfc. Tariqka Sheffey posted a video on Tuesday expressing some regret over the controversy her selfie has caused. (Instagram photo)



http://www.armytimes.com/article/20140225/NEWS/302250023/Soldier-flagrantly-avoids-flag-salute-sets-off-online-outrage

Air Force Staff Sgt. Cherish Byers is also the subject of an investigation, after a three-year-old photo of her tongue-kissing a Prisoner of War-Missing in Action symbol went viral.

Photo of airman kissing POW-MIA symbol causes uproar
Feb. 14, 2014 - 06:00AM

This photo, showing a woman wearing an Air Force uniform kissing a Prisoner of War-Missing in Action symbol, has been posted on several Facebook pages and has infuriated bloggers and veterans. (Facebook)

By Jeff Schogol
Staff Writer

A picture showing an airman tongue-kissing a Prisoner of War-Missing in Action symbol has gone viral, infuriating bloggers and veterans.
The airman has been identified as Staff Sgt. Cherish Byers, of the 92nd Security Forces Squadron at Fairchild Air Force Base in Spokane, Wash., said Staff Sgt. Alex Montes, a spokesman for the 92nd Air Refueling Wing.

Byers is the subject of a command-directed investigation that will determine if any disciplinary measures are warranted, Montes told Air Force Times on Friday. The picture was taken about three years ago but investigators don't yet know where it was taken.

Byers could not be reached for comment on Friday evening. In the picture, she is wearing a senior airman's rank insignia and a blue rope. There is no indication where she is.

Byers' behavior is certainly concerning to the Air Force, Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force James Cody said Friday in a statement to Air Force Times.

"It's a concern any time someone shows disrespect for prisoners of war and those missing in action," Cody said in the statement. "They deserve our utmost respect, and we must always remember their sacrifice and the legacy they've left for us as men and women serving our nation.

"I want to make it clear that this is not a reflection of airmen who wear this uniform; it is a case of poor judgment of one airman ... to say we are disappointed would be an understatement. We are gathering all the details and will take appropriate action at the appropriate level. Our airmen fully understand the significance of the POW/MIA flag and the sacrifice of the men and women it honors," Cody said.

The picture has been posted on several Facebook pages, prompting a barrage of angry responses online.

"Let me put this out there seeing as I'm an Air Force veteran ... no matter what uniform she was wearing this is disrespectful anyways," Tara Marie Murray wrote on the "Military Mind's Photos" Facebook page.

Marine Corps veteran Michael Kelley felt "blind fury and disgust" when he saw the picture, he said Friday in an inteview with Air Force Times.
"There's absolutely no reason to have done anything like that," Kelley said. "It goes completely against everything that we're taught in the military from Day 1. She failed herself; she's failed the Air Force and the military community as a whole by doing something that disrespectful and then having it get out to the world like that."

He said the picture reflects a wider "cultural problem" in the Air Force that is also evidenced by the cheating scandal involving Air Force missile officers at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Mont.

"It seems like one thing after another with this complete lack of respect for the basic principles of being in a military service," said Kelley, who left the Marine Corps in 2003 as a lance corporal.?

http://www.armytimes.com/article/201...-causes-uproar