Active servicemen serving as delegates?

The following appears today in Eric Alterman's column online on msnbc.com. (For the entire column: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3449870/) Props to Michael Galletly for his vigilance! We at The Thinking Woman hesitate to call this a conspiracy (although the word has been muttered) but it certainly seems to be something the Republican Party itself would be anxious to clear up. The last thing they want is an appearance of inpropriety as they are the party of the sitting president:

Possible Actual News Alert: Is the Republican Party in violation of the US military’s rules on the participation in party politics by active duty military?

It sure looks that way. The RNC convention week is boasting that it has 144 active duty military delegates at the convention or three percent of the total. That information can be found here.

Meanwhile, according to DOD Directive 1344.10, which can be found here this is a violation of the code of military conduct.

It explicitly says:

"A member on active duty shall not ... Participate in partisan political management, campaigns, or conventions (unless attending a convention as a spectator when not in uniform)."

But the Republican Party itself is claiming that the active duty personnel are not spectators but delegates. What’s going on here? Why are the Republicans encouraging our soldiers to violate the Uniform Code of Military Justice and its stated rules of political engagement? And why for goodness sakes, aren’t these rules being enforced?

Hey MSNBC.com, can we put a reporter or two on this story please?

(Thanks to Altercation reader Michael Galletly of Norman, OK.)