My Constitution Paper

It's only fair that I post mine too. I didn't spend a lot of time on mine either, so I guess I will be humbled with this posting. I typed off the top of my head with zero research. I did some citation of my Constitutional references using the same short form annotation used by the US Supreme Court. I didn't access any resources because I still remember the Constitution well enough from WTMC Gov't class. Good ole TMC...

The Constitution of The United States of America and Its Relation to The Commissioned Army Officer

The Constitution of the United States of America is the single most important document protecting the American way of life. The Declaration of Independence, our sacred prelude to this hallowed document states the indelible truth that our country represents. That is, freedom is garnered from the inalienable rights of “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” (U.S. Const. pmbl). During the Oath of Enlistment an Army officer pledges to defend the aforementioned document. This is the antithesis of an oath to a specified leader, a sense of national sovereignty, or a particular political institution, and indeed an oath to the very rights that define freedom itself.
First and foremost, an Army officer protects Life. This is true from the basic METT-TC evaluations that reduce risk of accidents to the greater good served when the President calls for a military intervention somewhere far across the globe. When diplomacy fails, Life—American and foreign—is protected through American military might.
During World War Two, the Nazi regime was professional, disciplined, and adhered to a set of values much like our own Army values of loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity, and personal courage. However, the Nazi party proceeded to be one of the most vehement opponents to Life in recorded history. This was possible even in a value-based system because the Nazi party members, like the political and military wings of many countries, were loyal to the Fehurer (leader). American Army officers, however, are loyal to the Constitution. It is this loyalty that protects our nation's focus on Life, one of the defining parts of freedom.
Furthermore,  the Army officer core provides a layer of separation between the fighting force led by the non-commissioned officer (NCO) core, and civilian leadership (the President, the Secretary of Defense, and the Secretary of the Army). While the NCO core works closely with the soldiers and commands their closest loyalty, commissioned officers retain command of policy and strategy over them. However officers give their greatest respect, in turn, to civilians and treat them as the ultimate authority. The President, as the highest ranking civilian, is the Commander In Chief (U.S. Const. art. II, § 2). This is a tradition dating back to George Washington. When The Revolutionary War had just ended, Washington's unpaid soldiers were starving and frustrated. The cash-strapped fledgling government in Philidelphia was refusing to pay the soldiers and Washington's men were shouting that he should take what they needed by force. Washington's popularity was such that he would have likely been able to take an American throne as king. However, Washington refused these suggestions, stating that the Army should be subservient to civilian authority. It was this stance that became a model for all future law and tradition regarding respect and defense of Rule of Law in the United States Constitution.
Second, an Army officer protects Liberty. The many freedoms of choice—many defined by our Bill of Rights—are defended when the Army defends itself from foreign aggressors. It is this focus on Liberty that tempers potential imperialism when we must look outwards and shifts our efforts instead to preserving the Liberty and freedom of choice for other nations as well.
The Bill of Rights, while based to some degree off the Magna Carta, Petition of Right, and the ancient Code of Hammurabi, is an icon of American freedom and core to the defense of Liberty. Through the protection of the Constitution, the Army Officer Corps protects the freedoms of speech, press, religion, and petition (U.S. Const. am. 1). In legal proceedings, Americans enjoy regulated search and seizure, protection against self-incrimination, the right to a speedy trial, the right to trial by jury, and protection from excessive bail and cruelty (U.S. Const. am. 4-8). The Bill of Rights also protects the right to bear arms (U.S. Const. am 2) and includes the reservation of rights not regulated for the states and individual citizens.
Third, the pursuit of Happiness, or the right to seek betterment of oneself, is also defended through the actions of Army officers through the protection of the constitutional ideals that keep our economy free and fair. This Constitutional principal is critical to the American way of life and represents the many reasons that America is a “melting pot” of immigrants. It is the commitment of the Army Officer Corps to the protection of this principal that maintains our ability to strive for a better life than that of our fathers.
One way the Army Officer Corps protects the right to better oneself by upholding the Constitution is by allowing the Federal government to act as a single unit in defensive measures. The federalizing of the Army itself was crucial to this change. Of course, the National Guard (minutemen) of the American Revolutionary War were crucial in themselves to the eventual defeat of the British, but it was this decentralized, state-centric approach that kept the Continental Congress weak and unable to justify a comprehensive taxation system, superior armed force, or rapid reaction to foreign invasion. During the War of 1812 and the Civil War, the Federal government had little military power and was unable to react rapidly. Today, the Army of the United States is the world's most formidable army, and it stands as a warning against those who might attempt to attack the American economy and way of life.
Additionally, the Army Officer Corps benefits the American economy by indirectly centralizing trade laws. Before a centralized Army, the state militias allowed great stated-centric control of trade. This control paved the way for high tariffs and complex laws which reduced trade and transport of important goods. Centralization of enforcement power—the Army—also encouraged the centralization of trade control. The Commerce Clause of the Constitution of the United States protects the control of Congress over international and domestic trade (U.S. Const. art. I, § 8, cl. 3). Without the centralization of the Army Officer Corps and federalization of the Army, this control would have been fairly superficial since enforcement would have been left primarily to the individual states.
The Constitution of the United States of America focuses an Army officer on the rights that define freedom. Consequently, the task of protecting American freedom rests upon these people whenever they are called upon to defend Rule of Law. Through the preservation of this document's integrity, Army officers and leaders further the cause of freedom.