Two days before a scheduled march in San Antonio highlighting the controversial killings of black men across the country, 25th Air Force public affairs is reminding airmen who participate to stay out of uniform — and remember an arrest can impact a security clearance.
"For everyone's situational awareness. ...If military members plan to participate, they cannot wear their uniform or represent themselves by Service or military organization," stated an email sent to 25th Air Force personnel today.
The march, billed as a "social and economic justice" demonstration for "Marquis Jones, Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Tamir Rice, Eric Garner and many others," is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. at North Swiss and Center Streets downtown, according to San Antonio peaceCenter, the interfaith agency organizing the event.
Jones, 23, was shot by a uniformed, off-duty police officer in San Antonio in February, according to news reports. Police said Jones was armed.
Teenagers Brown, of Ferguson, Missouri, and Martin, of Sanford, Florida were unarmed when they were shot and killed -- Brown by a police officer in August and Martin by a neighborhood watch volunteer in February 2012. A jury acquitted Martin's killer of second-degree murder and manslaughter charges in the summer of 2013. A grand jury in Ferguson last month failed to return an indictment against the police officer who killed Brown, setting off protests and rioting.
Tamir Rice, 12, was wielding a toy gun when a police officer shot him within seconds of arriving on scene in a Cleveland, Ohio, park two days before the grand jury decision in Ferguson. The unarmed Garner died in Staten Island, New York, in July after a police officer put him a choke hold.
These cases and others have emerged for many as examples of unjust treatment of black men by police and have sparked marches and demonstrations around the country.
Participants in Saturday's march in San Antonio are instructed to wear black, according to the peaceCenter website.
Air Force instruction forbids airmen from using their uniform to advance the cause of an outside organization.
Airmen may not "participate, while in uniform, in any activity such as unofficial public speeches, interviews, picket lines, marches, rallies or any public demonstration which may imply Air Force sanction of the cause for which the demonstration or activity is conducted," according to AFI 51-902.
"For everyone, an arrest can also impact security clearances," according to the email from 25th Air Force public affairs.
