Army Reserve issues reprimand to soldier who appeared in uniform at Ron Paul rally

The U.S. Army Reserve said Friday that it had officially reprimanded Jesse Thorsen, the soldier who endorsed Ron Paul in uniform during the Texas congressman's Election Night rally in Iowa. Members of the armed forces are banned from participating in political events while in uniform.

"The investigating officer found that Spc. Thorsen was in violation of DoD Directives and Instructions when, while in military uniform but not on any duty status, he participated in a partisan political rally and made a speech advocating for a partisan political candidate while in uniform, and received a reprimand that has been placed in Spc. Thorsen’s Official Military Personnel File," the Army Reserve said in a statement.

Paul has made support from the troops a selling point of his campaign, frequently noting that he has received donations from more members of the armed services than any other presidential candidate.

"Especially notable is that Paul raised about triple the amount Obama received and about six times that of all currently-competing Republicans — Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Buddy Roemer, and Rick Santorum — combined," the Paul campaign said in a statement last month. "Taken together, this means Dr. Paul raised approximately double the money from active military than all the candidates from both parties combined."

But Thorsen's in-uniform endorsement raised eyebrows among those familiar with military rules.

During the rally, the 28-year-old, stationed with a Des Moines-based unit, said meeting the Texas congressman was like "meeting a rock star."

"His foreign policy is, by far, hands down better than any other candidate's out there," Thorsen said.

Paul's campaign later said his appearance had not been planned. Thorsen was called to the stage by Paul during his address.

"I'm really excited about a lot of his ideas, especially when it comes to bringing the soldiers home," Thorsen told CNN. "I've been serving for 10 years now and all 10 years of those have been during wartime. I would like to see a little peace-time Army."

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