2LT Spenser Rapone is a 2016 graduate of the United States Military Academy, West Point — a privileged appointee who was educated at an estimated cost to taxpayers of $400,000.

Last weekend, as a show of solidarity with the petulant NFL kneelers, Rapone posted photos of himself to social media under his handle, “Commie Bebop.” The photos were taken on graduation day in his USMA uniform, one displaying his cover with the message “communism will win” and another revealing a Che Guevara t-shirt under his uniform shirt.

When I first saw the photos, I assumed they must be fake — no cadet would be so brazenly stupid as to subscribe to such nonsense, much less post photos of himself promoting it while in uniform. But Rapone responded to questions about authenticity, “In case there was any lingering doubt, ‘hasta la victoria siempre’!”

“Until victory, always!” is a 1965 Cuban song written to honor Che’s communist revolutionary legacy.

Rapone, now assigned to the 10th Mountain Division in Fort Drum, New York, apparently missed a few classes while at West Point — particularly those on the Uniform Code of Military Justice. DoD Directive 1344.10 defines the Communist Party as a political entity. DoD Directive 1344.01 defines the regulations pertaining to military uniforms. Promoting a political party in uniform and on a military installation is a serious violation.

Turns out, Rapone is a self-styled taxpayer-sponsored communist revolutionary. He is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America and has posted photos of his uniform with his DSA membership name tag attached. The DSA confirms, “Spenser Rapone is our comrade and we fully support, defend, and encourage him to take whatever steps he sees necessary to express his political beliefs and continue to organize towards a socialist future. Let there be no doubt that we have unequivocal solidarity with and pride in Spenser.”

A month after his graduation, he posted a social media comment noting that SecDef James Mattis is “the most vile, evil f–k in the current administration.” He added, Vice President Mike Pence “is a f–king medieval, cold-blooded killer.”

According to UCMJ Article 88, “Any commissioned officer who uses contemptuous words against the President, the Vice President, Congress, the Secretary of Defense … shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.”

Last month, after Rapone’s socialist antifa friends fomented the riots in Charlottesville, he posted, “The Confederate Collaboration of West Point” to another media outlet.

West Point responded to Rapone’s contemptuous words with an official statement: “The U.S. Military Academy strives to develop leaders who internalize the academy’s motto of Duty, Honor, Country, and who live the Army values. Second Lieutenant Rapone’s actions in no way reflect the values of the U.S. Military Academy or the U.S. Army. As figures of public trust, members of the military must exhibit exemplary conduct, and are prohibited from engaging in certain expressions of political speech in uniform. Second Lieutenant Rapone’s chain of command is aware of his actions and is looking into the matter. The academy is prepared to assist the officer’s chain of command as required.”

The 10th Mountain’s Public Affairs Officer, LTC Tonya Stokes, declared, “When our soldiers are in uniform, politics must be set aside. Our uniform represents every corner of our nation and it cannot be used to promote any single ideology.”

Both of those statements imply that Rapon’s prior anti-American sentiments were unknown. However, it turns out that his Article 88 violations had been previously reported by a senior USMA officer.

In a sworn 2015 statement about then-cadet Rapone, now-retired Army Lieutenant Colonel Robert Heffington, an Academy history professor, declared: “From his various online rantings and posts, it appears that DCT Rapone is an avowed Marxist, which is completely out of line with the values of this nation and its Army. Moreover, CDT Rapone’s posts indicate that he hates West Point, the U.S. Army, and indeed this country. One post dated 16 November 2015 states, ‘F*ck this country and its false freedom.’ He also…even implicitly justifies the actions of ISIS and blames the United States for terrorist attacks.”

LTC Heffington was an infantry officer and known by those under his command, and by his USMA students, to be a tough and uncompromising man of superior integrity. In his affidavit he concluded, “I cannot reconcile the image of a first class cadet at West Point with the things he has posted online for the world to see. To me, these are red flags that cannot be ignored, and I fail to see how this individual can possibly graduate and become a commissioned officer in six months.”

In the good old days when being interviewed for security clearances, I was asked, “Have you ever been a member of, or supported the Communist Party?” Any evidence in the affirmative was a clearance killer. But neither West Point nor 10th Mountain have mentioned Rapone’s communist advocacy or Article 88 violations.

Heffington, in a followup letter to his fellow USMA ‘97 alumni, wrote, “First and foremost, standards at West Point are nonexistent. They exist on paper, but nowhere else. The senior administration at West Point inexplicably refuses to enforce West Point’s publicly touted high standards on cadets, and, having picked up on this, cadets refuse to enforce standards on each other. The Superintendent refuses to enforce admissions standards or the cadet Honor Code, the Dean refuses to enforce academic standards, and the Commandant refuses to enforce standards of conduct and discipline.”

Of course, the “problem” is not unique to the USMA. Bruce Fleming, a tenured professor at the Naval Academy, follow Heffington with his own [criticism of the USNA](http://thefederalist.com/2017/10/16/not-just-west-point-u-s-military-academies-become-disneyland-politicians/], noting, “The service academies are now the vanity projects of the military brass…”

That notwithstanding, the much more pressing question would be that raised by LTC Heffington — how is it that Rapone was allowed to graduate (or enter) the USMA? The question is rhetorical — the answer being that Barack Obama’s deep-state socialists extend well beyond civilian bureaucracies and into the ranks of American military leaders.

Responding to LTC Heffington, USMA Superintendent, LTG Robert Caslen, appointed by Obama in 2013, issued a formal statement, noting that he had been inundated with protests by USMA alumni, but could not say anything while investigations were being conducted. According to Caslen, “Responding to concerns raised about the quality of JSMA graduates takes time, which includes gathering all the facts and taking a hard look at whether USMA is doing everything it can to develop leaders of character…”

LTG Caslen’s rebuttal asserts that Rapone is the problem, but Rapone is NOT the problem, Obama’s deep-state sycophants are the problem. In the words of a wise old mentor, “When you find yourself in a hole, stop digging.”

As for Rapone, the 10th Mountain’s motto is “Climb to Glory.” The Army should provide this socialist sociopath a hard fall from grace. Of course, if Obama’s midnight pardon for Army traitor Bradley Manning is a precedent, his deep-state DoD bureaucrats will fast-track Rapone to replace the Army Chief of Staff, Gen. Mark Milley. (Just kidding, Rapone would have to be “transgendered” to get fast-tracked by an Obama deep-stater!)

(Updated)