Military Personnel Swear Allegiance to the Constitution and Serve the American People, Not One Leader or Party
The Conversation | By Lee Robinson and Joseph G. Amoroso
Published April 04, 2024 at 9:35 am
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
In general, Americans don't trust their government institutions as much as they used to -- and that includes the military.
In part, that's because the military can be used as a tool to gain a partisan advantage rather than as a professional group that should be trusted by both parties. For instance, the day he was inaugurated as president, Donald Trump spoke at a luncheon and pointed to retired Marine four-star generals John Kelly and James Mattis, who were serving in his cabinet. "See my generals," he said. "Those generals are going to keep us so safe." This was the first of many times that he referred to top-ranking military officers, whether active-duty or retired, as "my generals" -- rather than as military leaders who serve the nation as a whole.
The former president's actions, while perhaps gaining the most attention, reflect a trend among recent presidential candidates, both Democrats and Republicans, who emphasize their connections to the military.
https://www.military.com/daily-news/opinions/2024/04/04/military-personnel-swear-allegiance-constitution-and-serve-american-people-not-one-leader-or-party.html
