Are you kidding?

I just came across an article from the Seattle Times in which a veteran of the U.S. Air Force is "outraged" that her daughter is being asked to say the Pledge of Allegiance at the start of each school day at John Stanford International School.  The school promotes multiculturalism which is what Haley Sides has tried to instill in her daughter, who is half-Jamaican.  Sides' husband was a Jamaican-born U.S Navy serviceman who died seven months after obtaining U.S. citizenship.  Ms. Sides said, "It pains me that a school that emphasizes thinking globally would institute something that makes our children think that this country alone is where their allegiance lies."  Even though reciting the pledge at the beginning of each school day is district policy, it has traditionally not been observed at John Stanford.  Stanford's former principal, Kelly Armaki, stated that the school would let each teacher decide whether or not to have their class say the pledge.  Her replacement, Jesely Alvarez, decided to change that policy, saying it was time to "move forward" in "following state law."
Now what has me so fired up is not that the school isn't following district policy, that's the district's problem.  Nor is it that the school gave each teacher the option of whether to say the pledge or not, although for me that decision is a no-brainer.  My problem lies with what Ms. Sides had said.  It infuriates me that a veteran of our armed services would be upset at a school that thinks a citizen's allegiance should be to the very nation that they are a citizen of.  Serving in our armed forces is the ultimate pledge of allegiance!  You're volunteering to put your life on the line in defense of our nation, our Constitution, our flag, and all the things that this nation stands for.  Don't get me wrong.  I'm all for free speech.  I respect Ms. Sides' right to say what she said, and I will go to my grave defending her right to say it.  I just find it incredulous that a veteran of our military is the one who said it.  If you are teaching your child to have a multicultural/global point of view, you must first have those views and beliefs yourself.  And if you have those beliefs, how can you take an oath to defend one nation over all others?  It makes no sense to me.  In my opinion, serving in any branch of the United States military is the ultimate expression of American exceptionalism.  I know, I did it.  There seems to be a real erosion of pride in our country nowadays and it makes me sad.  With all the freedoms and opportunity that this nation, and this nation alone, gives each and every one of us, how can pledging loyalty and allegiance to this nation be a bad thing?