2 soldiers appeared in a DNC speech in their combat uniforms, and the US Army says they may have broken rules about partisanship

• The US Army is investigating the presence of two uniformed soliders at the virtual Democratic National Convention as a potential policy violation.
• The two Army soldiers appeared during the roll call vote by party delegates from American Samoa.
• Participation in political events breaks Defense Department protocol of employees maintaining nonpartisanship.
• "Wearing a uniform to a partisan political event like this is prohibited," a US Army spokesperson said.
• The DNC called its decision to present troops an "oversight."

The Army is investigating two soliders who appeared in a clip during the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday evening as a potential violation of its rules on partisanship.

The uniformed Army soldiers are seen standing behind party delegates of American Samoa during a virtual roll call Tuesday night, when representatives from all 57 states and U.S. territories formally nominated Joe Biden as the 2020 Democratic presidential candidate.

Members of the Army are barred from displaying any sort of approval, sponsorship, or endorsement toward political parties, candidates, and causes in order to maintain nonpartisanship, per a long-standing Department of Defense policy.

"Wearing a uniform to a partisan political event like this is prohibited," Army spokesman Lt. Col. Emmanuel Ortiz-Cruz told Insider on Wednesday. "Examples of prohibited political activities [for Army soldiers] include campaigning for a candidate, soliciting contributions, marching in a partisan parade and wearing the uniform to a partisan event."

The spokesman confirmed the Army is looking into the two soldiers assigned to the 9th Mission Support Command.

The DNC described the inclusion of troops in the segment as mistake on its part.

"Each state was asked to highlight issues and values that matter most and the American Samoa delegation wanted to highlight their commitment to military service when they filmed their segment," a DNC official told Insider. "The composition of that shot was an oversight."

Home to roughly 60,000 people, American Samoa had the highest rate of military enlistment of any U.S. state or territory in 2014.