"Six weeks ago, Senator Mark Kelly — and five other members of Congress — released a reckless and seditious video that was clearly intended to undermine good order and military discipline...."

"[T]he Department of War... has initiated retirement grade determination proceedings under 10 U.S.C. § 1370(f), with reduction in his retired grade resulting in a corresponding reduction in retired pay."

Six weeks ago, Senator Mark Kelly — and five other members of Congress — released a reckless and seditious video that was clearly intended to undermine good order and military discipline. As a retired Navy Captain who is still receiving a military pension, Captain Kelly knows he…

— Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (@SecWar) January 5, 2026

"As their seventh month at sea begins, the sailors will get a rare treat of prime rib and lobster tails on Christmas Day."

"But neither the Navy nor the Pentagon has said when this deployment will end, nor whether there is another carrier being readied to take their place. At stake is whether Mr. Hegseth further extends the deployment to keep his military options open. If so, that decision will probably increase costs down the road by delaying crucial maintenance for the Ford and putting strain on the crew's morale."

From "Long Carrier Deployment Projects U.S. Strength, and Carries Costs/The U.S.S. Ford has been deployed for six months, now in the Caribbean as part of President Trump’s pressure campaign on Venezuela. Maintenance woes and strains on sailors will likely mount" (NYT).

The article quotes Senator Mark Kelly, who was deployed beyond 6 months during the 1991 Gulf War: "It kind of wears on you. And you start to see accidents start to happen — not just pilots crashing planes, necessarily, but accidents on the flight deck.... All kinds of stuff starts to happen when you’re out there for an extended period of time."

"[I]t is now clearly established that I cannot be prosecuted for saying, in this essay, 'Members of the military have not only the right, but the obligation, to refuse illegal orders.'"

"Nor could I be prosecuted for stating, as I also have, that the orders to kill suspected drug smugglers are illegal. The First Amendment protects all such statements. Indeed, it protects explicit calls for illegal conduct unless the speech is both intended and likely to incite imminent illegality, a standard rarely met, and one not even approached by Senator Kelly’s words...."

Writes David Cole, in "Mark Kelly Is Being Investigated for Telling the Truth" (NYT)(gift link, so you can read the whole thing, including the part that rejects the idea that Kelly has less free speech because he's a retired member of the military).

"Pentagon says it’s investigating Sen. Mark Kelly for video urging troops to defy ‘illegal orders.'"

AP reports.

In its statement, the Pentagon suggested that Kelly’s statements in the video interfered with the “loyalty, morale, or good order and discipline of the armed forces” by citing the federal law that prohibits such actions. “A thorough review of these allegations has been initiated to determine further actions, which may include recall to active duty for court-martial proceedings or administrative measures,” the statement said.

Here's the controversial video: 

"You are a traitor"/"Traitor? Elon, if you don’t understand that defending freedom is a basic tenet of what makes America great and keeps us safe, maybe you should leave it to those of us who do."

That's Elon Musk and Mark Kelly, quoted in "Elon Musk calls Sen. Mark Kelly a 'traitor' over his social media posts in support of Ukraine/Kelly, a former Navy combat pilot, responded to the tech billionaire’s remark by saying 'he’s not a serious guy' and should 'go back to building rockets'" (NBC News).

Musk's accusation was a reaction to this:

   

And this, tweeted by Kelly: "Donald Trump is trying to weaken Ukraine’s hand and we are owed an explanation. If Putin gains ground he won’t agree to a ceasefire and will eventually threaten a NATO ally and this puts American troops and the American people at risk."

There's the idea that Trump is mightily courageous. Mark Kelly begs to differ: Trump is terrified!

Last night, on CNN, commenting on Trump's performance at the National Association of Black Journalists convention, Mark Kelly — the potential VP candidate — had one idea to try to sell:

 

Asked to respond to Trump's statement that Kamala Harris only recently chose "to be known as black," Kelly said: 

Well, Kaitlan, my first reaction was, you know, this is the reaction of a desperate and scared old man. It was very obvious to me watching him and just what I've seen over the last wee while she's been, you know, across the country just kicking his butt that he's afraid, that he's probably afraid to debate her. He's certainly afraid to lose an election to her in November, and he's afraid about his own future....

Kaitlan Collins, mirroring Kelly, restating his idea in the form of a question: "So you think this is just a sign that he's essentially spooked by by her momentum?

Is that catching on, Trump the big chicken?