Every American in the armed forces, and every veteran who has served, hopes and prays for peace and stability under the new, recently re-elected Commander in Chief. Political leanings are not a factor here. We salute and serve because that is who we are – even if our oath may soon be tested as the next front line in the war for America’s soul.
Every member of the military takes an oath to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.” Enlisted service members also swear an oath to “obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed above me, in accordance with the regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice.” Given Donald Trump’s threats to use the military against his enemies, some are asking with horror: What will the military do if the president issues unconstitutional orders? While no one would ever want such a challenge, I have every confidence that Americans in uniform will honor the highest duty we have sworn to, which is to respect the Constitution.
My introduction to the department came at West Point, when a Vietnam War veteran and professor said to me: “Who do you want to be? An employee? Or a professional, self-deprecating servant of the nation?” It was a warning and a prediction that, decades later, he might be the North Star The most consistent I’ve ever known, I’ve fought with better men than me who died in Iraq, I’ve spent years and years overseas missing Christmas and every day with my little girls, and my last act in uniform was giving up my kidneys. At Walter Reed National Military Medical Center I would not have done these things if I had not meant the words said at my commissioning ceremony, where I pledged my “true faith and loyalty,” which means more to me than my next breath even now that I have retired from active duty.
I’m not alone. Millions of others place the same oath at the center of their lives. I liken it to baptism. Instead of joining a religious community, we pledge our lives to the ideals of the United States.
These are not just words. It’s a process; It is our common ground no matter where we come from or what political differences we may have. They build confidence in order to stick together to act amidst terrifying and violent conditions. These faiths in America’s national security are likely to be tested in the coming years.
During his first administration, Trump threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act (of 1807). At one point, he suggested that the army shoot protesters in the legs, something that was clearly illegal. More recently, he said he would invoke the Alien Enemies Act (of 1798) and might use the military to detain and deport noncitizens. If either were accomplished—the entry of the 1st Armored Division into Cincinnati or the landing of the 82nd Airborne Division in D.C.—it would immediately constitute a test that could not fail for the American Army.
What will the forces do? Should US military personnel blindly obey their commander-in-chief? Or should these individuals always challenge orders they consider unconstitutional?
Unfortunately, the answers are not clear.
America’s military oath calls for thoughtful loyalty, not thoughtless loyalty – and the law treats every soldier as responsible for making the right choice. There is no responsive president (“let the master answer”), and there is no defense based on the principle of “just following orders,” a principle that has been discredited since World War II when the international community held intermediaries and soldiers responsible for war crimes committed on the orders of Nazi leaders. Thus the first duty of the military is to obey lawful orders (and disobey unlawful orders). Our generals and military lawyers must lead the establishment through the ethical minefields ahead. They, and everyone who wears camouflage, must stand their moral ground with a courage indistinguishable from the battlefield. Because their oath expects them to be willing not only to die for them [their] country, but to be expelled for it,” as John Silber put it.
There is another fundamental obligation on military members, a principle that has made regular forces among the last remaining reliable institutions in the country. To keep American democracy intact, the armed forces must always remain politically neutral and not side with any politician or party. This is where things get messier.
If a president orders the military to shoot at protesters, or engage heavily in wholesale local arrests, what the military should do—comply or defy—largely depends on the details of the situation and any actual violent threat. Issuing a fatwa without this context would be tantamount to malpractice. The world is as gray and complex as our pure and simple division.
Because there may be constitutional conditions for military engagement on US soil. We cannot yet know whether the controversial orders will come, and if so what the situation will be.
What we can know is that the US Army is a house with good bones. It is an organization that has been prepared for difficult circumstances like this for some time. A century ago, a chaplain at West Point wrote “The Cadet Prayer,” which advises: “Make us choose the more difficult right rather than the easier wrong.”
Let us hope our next president does not attempt to abuse his authority as Commander-in-Chief. But if he does, Americans in uniform will choose the harder right — God help us.
Copy the story link
