Preserving the sacred duty of the military

My long road to and through the U.S. Armed Forces began in Miami and, as I near my eighth decade, has led me here to Central Florida. In between, it took me from Vietnam to duty at the White House and NATO headquarters in Europe, and from Virginia to Texas to Washington, D.C.

After almost 30 years in uniform, and another four years as Assistant Secretary of the Navy, I have begun to wonder whether the military I will pass to future generations will be as strong as the one I had the opportunity to serve.

I believe it will be — provided its core message and sacred mission never wavers. The military’s job is to protect the U.S. Constitution and the American people, not the will of any individual leader. It is no prop, and anyone who tries to use it to show his personal strength does not understand its value or its ethos. It cannot — it must not — ever be trained on U.S. civilians, particularly not those exercising their First Amendment right to peaceful assembly.

Those who have served need not be reminded of these values. Unfortunately, those who have not must hear it constantly.

Threatening military force against overwhelmingly peaceful protesters — for any reason, let alone a photo op — runs counter to everything the U.S. military stands for.

You need not take my word for it. Take the words of four previous Chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, including Gen. Colin Powell, Adm. Mike Mullen, Gen. Richard Myers, and Adm. Martin Dempsey.

Take the word of some of the most important military leaders of our generation, like Gen. James Mattis, Gen. John Kelly, Gen. Michael Hayden, and Gen. Tony Thomas.

These condemnations, coupled with a letter signed by scores of former generals and admirals, show how people who truly understand the military know that using its overwhelming power against peaceful demonstrators undermines its core values.

The president’s attempts to conscript the military for his political purposes will undermine the military’s current and future strength.

It will undermine recruitment. If joining the military becomes a partisan issue, we effectively bar half our people from national service. Men and women of high moral character, the type on which our military relies, may also hesitate to join the military if they know their duties might include turning their weapons on their fellow citizens.

It will undermine retention. Members of the military are proud — they are no man’s prop. If they are being used, they will resign.

It will undermine our technological edge.

The top tech minds will cease working with our military if they no longer believe it is a force for good.

Yet at its core, the president’s use of the military is a moral issue. That moral failing is what puts the military I devoted my life to at greatest risk.

Thanks to the communal efforts of millions of dedicated men and women in uniform — and an investment in strength dating back to World War II — the U.S. military will always have the equipment necessary to be the strongest fighting force in world history.

Yet equipment does not define a military. People do. And, as Napoleon said, “a man does not have himself killed for a half pence a day or a petty distinction. You must speak to the soul in order to electrify him.”

Our military will only stay strong if it continues to speak to the soul. It will only stay strong if it continues to define the best of America, if it is serves the needs of people and the better angels of our nature, not whomever happens to be president.

I have devoted my life to building such a force. I pray that President Trump can, all too late, understand the real value of the U.S. military. If he cannot, I pray that those of us who have served — and those who serve today — will vote him out in November.