Rochester Hills is located in the northern outskirts of Metropolitan Detroit.  Its Rochester Adams High School is part of the Rochester Community Schools district.  The school is catching flak for turning away Lieutenant Colonel Sherwood Baker, a 24-year Army veteran, because he wore his service uniform when he tried to meet his daughter at the school.

Say what?

Colonel Baker’s wife explains:

Before he was allowed in, the security guard stopped him and said sorry you're not allowed in the school. Security told him men and women in uniform weren't allowed because it may offend another student.

Evidently this bizarre decision by security guards didn’t sit too well with Rochester Schools superintendent Robert Shaner.  Himself a veteran, Shaner sprang into action and sent a letter to Fox 2, stating:

The district has apologized for any perception that individuals in uniform are not welcome in the school. The district does not have a policy excluding individuals in uniform and will be working with administration and the firm that handles our security to make sure district policies are understood and communicated accurately.

Well and good, but what on Earth would have persuaded someone that the sight of a U.S. military uniform might “offend” some high school students?  This is taking pacifism to an absurd extreme.  What’s going on here?

The security guards probably were just “following orders,” so my guess is that the high school principal is in for a lecture from his boss, possibly followed by a well-deserved pink slip.  Not to worry, though: there are plenty of school districts around the country where the PC police are more firmly entrenched that will be happy to hire someone so deeply committed to protecting the tender feelings of students.

Is what happened at Rochester High a symptom of a larger problem?  I think so.  It’s hardly news to anyone that the Obama administration has deliberately shied away from projecting this country’s awesome military power.  Many currently on active duty, including in the senior ranks, have found this situation deplorable, to say the least.  Politicians and pundits, not all of them on the right, have agreed.

So those overzealous security guards at Rochester High were just “following orders” in a broader sense.  Of course, Obama didn’t tell them to turn Colonel Baker away because he wore his uniform.  Just as Obama didn’t tell Lois Lerner to target conservative groups at the IRS. He didn’t have to.