A U.S. Army major in the National Guard might have violated Defense Department guidelines in endorsing former Vice President Joe Biden's candidacy at a town hall Wednesday in South Carolina.
Maj. Ginger Tate, of the 228th Theater Tactical Signal Brigade based in nearby Spartanburg, was among as many as 500 people at Biden's outdoor meeting at Limestone College in Gaffney, South Carolina, according to news reports.
Tate, who told Biden that she led 130 troops in Afghanistan in 2013, presented him with a coin that her first sergeant had made listing all the cities they visited on deployment, according to video tweeted by CBS News reporter Bo Erickson.
"I've been saving these coins for six years to meet you and [former] President [Barack] Obama so if that I ever met you, I would give it to you," Tate said, tearing up at one moment.
"Thank you so much for your guidance," she continued. "I'm so honored to have served under your administration and your leadership — and I hope and pray that you will be our next president."
Biden, whose late son, Beau, served in the Delaware Army National Guard, then gave Tate a coin he carried from Afghanistan before they hugged.
With her endorsement, Tate might have violated the Defense Department's Uniform Code of Military Justice, which bars active-duty service-members from attending partisan rallies and making political endorsements while in uniform.
Capt. Jessica Donnelly, a spokeswoman for the South Carolina National Guard, said Thursday: "The South Carolina National Guard follows the Department of Defense guidance for military personnel that states service members are not to engage in political activities that imply or appear to imply sponsorship, approval, or endorsement of a political candidate, while in uniform."
Donnelly also told Task & Force that Tate's "chain of command and leadership are aware of the incident.
"However, due to the Privacy Act's protection of the records of individuals, the South Carolina National Guard is not able to release the specific personnel actions that are being taken," she said.
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