A Facebook group operated by right-wing military veterans mocked combat veterans who asked neighbors to be courteous when celebrating the Fourth of July holiday with fireworks.
The OAF Nation account posted an image Wednesday evening that showed a bearded veteran wearing a T-shirt reading “comfortable with violence” standing beside a placard distributed by a mental health advocacy group.
“Combat veteran lives here: Please be courteous with your fireworks,” read the signs, which were shipped for free to veterans by the group Military With PTSD.
OAF Nation and a related account, Operator as f*ck, each posted identical homophobic posts mocking veterans who display the signs.
“Well which one is it, sister?!” the posts read. “Are you ‘comfortable with violence’ or do you want people to cater to your fragility because you volunteered to be around sh*t that blows the f*ck up? Thank f*ck the Taliban and AQ don't have roman candles and firecrackers.”
“What do you guys think about these f*ggoty ass yard signs?” the account administrator asks group members, listing several hashtags intended to underscore the posts’ subtext.
[caption id="attachment_715789" align="alignnone" width="1114"]
Screen capture of post on OAF Nation Facebook account[/caption]
OAF Nation shared another post that showed a bearded veteran standing beside a similar sign with the caption, “The difference between POGs (people other than grunts) and INFANTRY,” which indicated that “American Grunts” should ask neighbors to “please feel free to go f*cking nuts with (their) fireworks.”
“It will remind me of being in battle and I really miss being in battle!” the post reads.
[caption id="attachment_715794" align="alignnone" width="720"]
Screen capture of post on OAF Nation Facebook account[/caption]
An Iraq War veteran was shot and killed by Wichita, Kansas, police last July 4 after family members said neighbors' fireworks apparently triggered his post-traumatic stress disorder and caused him to behave erratically.
OAF Nation removed both posts by Thursday morning, but the Operator as f*ck account had not yet removed its post.
[caption id="attachment_715908" align="alignnone" width="493"]
Screen capture of the Operator as f*ck Facebook account[/caption]
The Facebook account was set up as a community where veterans of the Global War on Terror could share captioned photos, inside jokes, and Internet memes using military slang and jargon.
The OAF Nation website shares insider news about military contractors and private security companies, and the group promotes some of the defining themes of the present-day militia movement – including state sovereignty, marijuana legalization, unfettered gun rights, and violence against Muslims.
“War is never going to be pretty, and anybody who tries to make it pretty is a complete moron," Nick Powers, a Marine veteran and OAF Nation contributor, told Fox News. "You have to get dirty, you have to exterminate this scum that is plaguing the entire planet.”
Another OAF Nation contributor spent time at the Bundy ranch during an armed standoff last year with federal agents, where he met with militia members from Arizona.
The community and affiliated websites act as a conduit between the veterans and organized militia and other right-wing extremist groups.
Correction: An earlier version of this article suggested a link between OAF Nation and the anti-Obama Operation American Freedom protests, as well as a possible connection to an Operation American Freedom protester who admitted to plotting to kill Muslims. Those links have been disputed and upon review were determined to be less strong than previously reported. We regret the error.
