Photo: taurusgio (Getty Images)
A woman in the Tennessee National Guard is facing a wave of backlash after a video of her re-enlistment oath went viral. The reason everyone is up in arms about it? You guessed it – she had a dinosaur puppet on her right hand.
According to HuffPost, the video of Master Sgt. Robin Brown and her puppet has been viewed almost three million times, and while it was just an effort by Brown “to create something her younger children would enjoy,” it didn’t sit well with her superior officers and others who had served in the National Guard before her.
“Many of you have seen and commented to me about the recent Facebook post of an Airman in our beloved Air National Guard, taking the re-enlistment oath while using a dinosaur hand puppet. I understand your outrage and frustration,” Director of the Air National Guard Lt. Gen. L. Scott Rice said. “This single act does not reflect the selfless dedication and professionalism shown everyday by the outstanding Airmen of our Air National Guard in their service to our great nation.”
Even though the video wasn’t Brown’s actual re-enlistment oath, she was still removed from her post at the Tennessee Guard’s joint public affairs office yesterday, and she could apparently still be facing more discipline for it. The colonel in the video with her was “immediately demoted to lieutenant colonel and retired,” and the dude recording the video was “removed from his position as a unit first sergeant and officially reprimanded but will stay in the Tennessee Air National Guard.”
And speaking of puppets: Twitter User Makes Bizarre Realization About Big Bird’s Name And Freaks Everyone Out
Tough break for Brown, but it really comes down to her forgetting the number one rule of comedy: Know your audience. In this case, this wasn’t a TGI Friday’s waiter’s 25th birthday party. It was the National Guard.
