My friends, I’m troubled to be writing this to you on Veterans Day. For Lynn and I, this is a day we usually connect with comrades, renew old friendships, and try to mine nuggets of good out of bad memories. But as the day dawned, prior rumors of firings at the top of the Department of Defense and our intelligence community solidified into news. The Secretary of Defense, the Pentagon Policy Undersecretary, the DoD intelligence head, and the Sec Def’s chief of staff, among others, have all been fired or resigned and replaced by Trump toadies.
My own unease on our military-civilian relationship ramped up in March of 2019 when Trump claimed the support of cops, bikers, and the military, whom he intimated would make things “very bad, very bad” for his political enemies. It was an odd grouping but typical Trump.
As the killings of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd at the hands of police drove protesters to the streets and Trump ramped up his rhetoric, I was proud of JCS Chairman Mark Milley’s message to everyone wearing a uniform. The chairman reminded them that their first duty was to the Constitution. Unsaid, but clearly implied, was that, while they were obliged to follow orders from the President, that obligation only pertained to legal orders.
The chairman did add a caveat, reminding us that the National Guard was under the command of the states’ governors. But for those too dense to determine his intent, Milley added a handwritten note to the message, “We all committed our lives to the idea that is America-we will stay true to that oath and the American people.” The states’ guardsmen were under the same restraints of their oath not to violate the Constitution.
It has been said so often that it is trite that the military is a microcosm of our society, but it is true. Service members come from every corner of the republic, and in every sex, race, creed, color, and political stripe. They also bring with them the prejudices and perceptions of their upbringing. And while some have their inherent prejudice reinforced by their exposure to people outside their previous world, most are transformed. So my message to you today is, do not despair.
The young men and women who wear their nation’s uniform understand their roles and responsibilities. Because of training and constant reinforcement, they have a better understanding than most of their duty under the Constitution to protect the liberties enumerated therein.
They will not follow their Commander-in-Chief down a dark path. Their own ethos and those of their commanders will not allow it, of that I am sure. So, allow me, on Veterans Day, to extend to you best regards from one who has, “grown gray in war so that our country and its citizens might enjoy peace and security.”
Faithfully,
Mike Broihier, LtCol USMC (Ret’d)