The truth being once the military begins to decide on its own which orders it will obey and which it won’t, or which President they prefer, you cease to have civilian control over the military, and you no longer have a Republic. All readers should say this aloud.

Steve Ewell

November 24 at 9:48 AM ·

Duty, Honor, Country. This is not political for me, I’m not crazy about either side; it’s a question of survival of our Republic.

Sounds rather dramatic, but true. Congressmen Slotkin, Kelly, Deluzo, Goodlander, Houlahan and Crow, this so-called “Gang of Six,” deliberately chose to sow seeds of discontent and doubt within the military by attempting to erode the trust and command of the civilian leadership of the United States military by inferring orders given by the civilian leadership are illegal, and not to be followed. All done to undermine the current administration.

I spent over 30 years in our nation’s Navy. From combat operations, Intel operations, to foreign nation engagement, my 51 years of military and government service highlight what prior generations from WWI & II, Korea, Viet Nam discovered… “you cannot politicize the military.” The truth being once the military begins to decide on its own which orders it will obey and which it won’t, or which President they prefer, you cease to have civilian control over the military, and you no longer have a Republic. All readers should say this aloud.

Civilian Control of the military was the focal point of our political/military training of African and Middle East nations I oversaw at the end of my career. To this day it remains the centerpiece of our mil-to-mil engagements.

The sad truth… competing factions within an armed institution is exactly how many African and Middle East countries collapsed from within, starting corresponding civil wars. For those that say this can never happen in the United States, all I will say, it’s a slippery path once it starts… I have seen it first-hand. No country is immune. Externally countries appear strong, all countries internally, including our great nation, are fragile by nature.

For me, I am incredulous. We are willing to sacrifice our quality of life and our country for the hate of one man… that was legally elected as our President. Yes, we have our problems, but we are extremely lucky to be Americans… and to live in this country. For the “uninformed” that take issue with my proud to be an American sentiment, go live in another country, under their laws and taxes as a resident for a couple of years. I lived in Europe for 17 years. Until you do that, you don’t get to compare the U.S. to another country, you have no meaningful yard stick.

A side note, there were many Presidents I did not like over my 51-year government career, no matter, I still pledged my life to support the elected President and the Constitution. Why does the Gang of 6 think things should be different now? Especially since they are all ex-military. Pure political theater, at the expense of the country.

If the “Gang of 6” is so concerned over the powers given to the Commander and Chief under our Constitution, introduce legislation to change the Constitution. While hard, not impossible. My guess, none are willing to do this because it would be political suicide. So, the easy… and cowards’ way out… sew dissention in our military for political gain, at the expense of the country.

A couple of points for the readers and our illustrious “Gang of 6:”

1. No combat operation ever occurs without thorough legal review at multiple levels

2. Combat operations are fast paced. There is no room for debate over any order

3. The public should read a military operations order- nothing is left to interpretation

4. Target lists are thoroughly vetted by the Intel and legal community
5. Combat Rules of Engagement are black and white, decided ahead of time, with legal review

6. As a Carrier Air Wing Strike leader, our military lawyers had the final say on strike plans, ensuring international law was followed. Back in the day, we all hated the lawyers

7. All levels of the military are trained in ethics, as well as what constitutes legal/unlawful orders

8. Legal orders are based on fact, not opinion
9. Just because you don’t like an order does not make it an illegal order. This statement is directed to the Press, Politicians, Public. Our Military members know the difference

10. When asked by the press, not one of the “Gang of 6” could identify an illegal order given by the President, or any other civilian leader in the Military Chain of Command. Why?

11. I invite our esteemed Gang of 6 (not their staffers) to visit any number of failed countries, take time to study a bit of history on why nations fail… after which they should all offer a full retraction

12. “We have your back” says the Gang of 6. I assure you, if any military member, is naïve enough to follow through on their request to ignore orders, they will face the full wrath of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, and there is nothing this Gang of 6 can do to stop it. Again, these politicians are using military service members as political pawns in a game of chess we can only lose

13. For clarification, our Congressman and Senators are not leaders, they are elected representatives. This country only elects 51 leaders (50 governors and 1 President)

14. The ballot box is the place for ironing out differences, not sewing distrust and attempting to create factions inside our military.

… but the Gang of 6 already knows all of this…

Past and present generations cling and fight for their families, friends, values, freedom, and love of country. These concepts remain the only important things in life… and they are worth dying for. Leave our military out of the Politics…

R** S*******