Black sailor ‘under review’ after refusing to stand for national anthem

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A sailor with the Navy Reserve is under review after she refused to stand for the national anthem.

On Sept. 19, Intelligence Specialist 2nd Class Janaye Ervin, a reservist on active duty within U.S. Pacific Fleet, didn’t rise to salute the flag during a flag-raising ceremony.

“I have been proudly serving in the US Navy Reserve Force since November 2008. I have pledged to support and defend the Constitution of the United States and to spread freedom and democracy around the world. I will never waver from that pledge,” she wrote in a Facebook post explaining her decision.

“I feel like a hypocrite singing about the ‘land of the free’ when I know that only applies to some Americans,” she continued. “I will gladly stand again, when ALL AMERICANS are afforded the same freedom.”

However, this is against Navy protocol, which states that sailors in uniform must salute and face the flag during the anthem, or face toward the music if the flag is not visible.

According to U.S. Pacific Fleet spokesman Senior Chief Petty Officer Joel Cesar, it is up to her commander to decide whether she will be punished for her actions, but Ervin suggested on Facebook that she has already been slapped with a punishment for her actions.

“The Navy has decided to punish me for defending the Constitution and has taken away my equipment I need to do my Naval job,” she wrote. “It was my pleasure serving my country, I love it dearly, that is why I must do this for you. I will keep you all posted on what happens next!”

Ervin’s actions come shortly after another sailor at the Naval Air Technical Training Center in Pensacola, Florida, filmed herself refusing to stand for the anthem. That sailor was allowed to remain at her command but was subject to administrative action.