I have been quite comfortable functioning within the confines of my research bubble while examining Democratic chances in the upcoming elections. I will again retreat to the sanity of analytics in due course. However, as a side project, I started to update my ever-growing list of grievances with the current administration.
My original list from only nine months ago is now almost quaint and the massive additions were seriously depressing me. I thus sought to narrow my list to include only those issues of utmost importance – the ones inflicting the most damage to our democracy and the ones that will be the most difficult to remedy. My list is now a bit smaller, but still daunting. I’ll perhaps dive into each issue at some point.
However, it is clear that the single most pressing issue I have with this administration was encapsulated by the first bullet of my original grievance list:
- the treatment of our military as Trump’s personal toys
I’ve previously noted on this blog that my father was a decorated, career Army officer. I grew up on Army bases, fully engulfed within the military community and culture. Since I take support for our troops personally, a dedicated blog post seems appropriate – even if only for my own satisfaction.
In short, I find the Trump administration’s misuse of the United States military to be inexcusable, dangerous, ignorant, disrespectful, and treasonous. I’ll add a final adjective later, but I’ll first examine just a few aspects of the quagmire into which Trump is dragging our military.
Iran War Failure
The Iran War has been an unmitigated disaster. Trump unilaterally began the war six months ago. While he didn’t even inform our NATO allies prior to the attack, he later threatened to pull the U.S. out of NATO when they didn’t come rushing to his aid. Trump declared victory on day four and has repeated that spurious claim almost daily. The war not only continues but has escalated into a regional conflict, shipping remains disrupted in the Strait of Hormuz (through which about 20% of the world’s oil passes), and Iran still has its uranium. The region is indisputably less stable than it was before the war started. Chaos reigns.
At least 18 U.S. military lives have been lost and over 750 U.S. military personnel have been wounded. Thousands of Iranian civilians have been killed, including dozens of children in an airstrike on a girl’s school. Beyond the cost in human lives, the DoD itself puts the cost of the war at $37.5 billion thus far. Independent estimates, which include a broader range of indirect costs, put the cost at over $100 billion.
History will record the total absence of competent political leadership regarding this military debacle.
Neglect of Military Readiness
While they have little to show for it in Iran, Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have been chewing through America’s arsenal without any concern for continued military readiness both there and elsewhere in the world. Our military’s munitions stores are severely depleted, particularly with respect to long-range guided missiles, air-defense interceptors, and drones. A shortage of Patriot missiles is perhaps the most concerning, as they are our defense against Russia’s high-speed ballistic missiles.
Even if replacements for the diminished stockpiles were ordered today, a military think-tank has estimated that it could take well over a decade to the fulfill the requests.
Furthermore, Trump’s constant deployments of America’s military to stroke his ego in unacceptable. Military personnel aren’t his personal pawns. They require proper training; they deserve time with their families; they need to be ready if there’s a REAL need.
There are basic concepts of warfare that the idiots in this administration simply don’t comprehend.
Misuse of the Military
The Posse Comitatus Act prohibits the use of federal troops inside the U.S. to conduct law enforcement. In theory, only an act of Congress can allow an exception.
Nevertheless, Trump is still unilaterally claiming that there is a “crime emergency” in Washington, D.C., necessitating a major National Guard deployment in the city. That’s just crap. D.C. crime rates had been falling for two years before Trump took office and were already at their lowest point in decades. The Guard’s presence has had no impact on crime rates and has only served to make our nation’s capital look like an occupied territory.
While initial National Guard deployments in other major U.S. cities (all with Democratic leadership) have been scaled back due to legal challenges, the administration has pointedly maintained the right to redeploy troops whenever and wherever they wish, purely at Trump’s whim, even over the objections of state and city governments. I fully expect this administration to try again to use the military to advance its political agenda in Democratic-run states.
For the moment, though, Trump does seem to have shifted toward the use of ICE instead of the military as his administration’s muscle on U.S. soil. While that’s not much better – and is likely just a temporary change of tactics – career military personnel are undoubtedly thrilled to avoid civil deployments for as long as they possibly can.
[Of course, Trump’s use of untrained, undisciplined, and unaccountable ICE agents as his personal para-military force is still despicable at best. In this regard, ICE seems eerily reminiscent of Hitler’s Schutzstaffel (SS) – the Nazi para-military group. The SS was separate from the German military and was held in very low regard by career German military officers. As a side note, I do feel compelled to point out that even the SS didn’t wear masks.]
Interference in Military Decisions
The U.S. military does, of course, report to civilian authorities. The military accepts the fact that changes in political leadership will impact the military’s goals. This includes modified budget priorities and modified force deployments to reflect the policies of whatever party is in power. The cultural acceptance of such regularly shifting goals within an apolitical military is quite impressive.
On the other hand, it has always been accepted by everyone that career military personnel should be responsible for the implementation of said policies. While give-and-take is to be expected between political and military leadership, it is a hallmark of our democracy that both sets of leaders have largely kept in their lanes under all administrations of both parties.
But not in THIS administration.
To an extent not seen in my lifetime, Trump and his political appointees have been making military implementation decisions way beyond their levels of expertise. This sub-topic deserves much more attention, but here’s a quick sample of items gleaned from Trump’s $1.5 trillion defense budget request for FY2027:
- Trump wants to build a new $275 billion fleet of 15 “Trump-class” battleships and the first one is included in this budget. This is no more than an incredibly expensive vanity project that would attempt to revive a type of warship that the Navy abandoned decades ago. The operational concept that might have once justified battleships is woefully outdated. Although aircraft carriers and long-range missiles are much more effective for naval warfare, battleships do look cool and Trump really wants his name on a class of them.
- Trump has demanded arbitrary, impractical, and expensive alterations to the Ford-class aircraft carrier. First, he wants to revert to steam-powered catapults to launch aircraft, scrapping the newer, much more efficient electromagnetic catapults preferred by the Navy. Could no one explain to him how magnets work? Second, he wants to reposition the command towers from the rear of the vessel to the middle. Despite the fact that such a change would be quite costly, would reduce the carrier’s landing area, and would negatively impact the ship’s buoyancy, Trump prefers the look of WWII aircraft carriers. Seriously. That’s his actual reason.
- Over the objections of military leadership, Hegseth decided to shelve the U.S. Army’s drone technology unit as part of his “back-to-basics” approach to warfare. Cost-effective drones have more than proven their worth in both Ukraine and the Middle East while minimizing battlefield exposure for troops. Nevertheless, our Defense Secretary would apparently prefer his Army to carry spears on horseback. And, by the way, the general who created the drone unit? He was ousted back in April.
Politicization of the Military
The U.S. military is proudly apolitical. While I suspect that my father rarely, if ever, voted for a Democrat, he bristled at any attempt by either political party to involve the military in anything that even looked political. He had opinions and voted like any U.S. citizen, but his politics didn’t impact his duty. The same would be true of the vast majority of career military personnel. It’s part of the training; it’s part of the culture. They swear an oath to the Constitution, not to a party, and certainly not to an individual.
Unfortunately, this administration doesn’t understand any of that and has gone out of its way to politicize our armed forces.
While it is an administration’s prerogative to elevate their own choices to lead the services, Trump and Hegseth continue to conduct an unprecedented overhaul of high-level military leadership, having already dismissed dozens of generals and flag officers. The stated claim that these officers don’t align with the administration’s “vision” is an obvious attempt to rid the military of anyone they even suspect of being a Democrat, anyone who might dare to voice their own opinions, and anyone not explicitly loyal to Donald Trump himself.
Flushing that volume of senior military experience and expertise is insane. Considering a military officer’s perceived politics is insulting. Demanding personal loyalty is treasonous.
Hegseth’s unprecedented, short-notice summoning of roughly 800 of our military’s top generals and admirals from around the world was truly offensive. The “meeting” was just a self-aggrandizing political photo-op where a pompous Hegseth lectured our country’s highest ranking military officers about fitness, grooming, and culture. I suspect a giant thought bubble with a lone middle finger hovered over the auditorium.
The politicization further extends to the DoD’s interactions with Congress and its constitutional role regarding the military. Only Congress can declare war but, of course, no one seems to care that we’re in an ongoing undeclared war. Congress also has the power of the purse and is responsible for oversight of the Department of Defense. As such, Congress must be kept fully informed with regards to military matters. That’s what the Constitution requires. Hegseth, however, has decided that he only needs to keep Republicans informed and has completely shut Democrats out of classified military briefings. Even Republicans have urged Hegseth to reconsider this unprecedented, puerile move.
The press is also not immune to the extraordinary DoD politicization. After courts struck down Hegseth’s demand for the press at the Pentagon to get DoD approval for their stories, Hegseth simply shut down the Correspondents’ Corridor inside the Pentagon – effectively ending physical access for reporters who have covered the military headquarters for decades. So much for transparency.
The administration also recently fired the publisher and editor-in-chief of the Stars and Stripes – a military-focused newspaper with a 160-year history of independence – for publishing stories that Trump and Hegseth deemed to be negative. Military personnel around the world rely on the Stars and Stripes to provide information relevant to their missions. It has always been a dedicated cheerleader for the military but it is not the DoD’s PR agency. So much for free speech.
Disrespect for Military Personnel
Beyond the politicization and cultural interference, this administration has further proven they have little respect for military personnel. Among the numerous examples:
- Sailors aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln endured a record-setting 250 uninterrupted days at sea in support of Trump’s Iran War. They did so without adequate supplies of food and hygiene products and with deteriorating ship conditions, including plumbing problems. Apparently, no one cared about the sailors’ health and well-being until family members of the crew went public. When asked whether the aircraft carrier’s deployment had gone on too long, Trump replied, “No, not nearly enough.”
- Despite having a valid work permit, a man in Florida was arrested by ICE agents while his son was serving aboard the USS Lincoln.
- The USS Benfold spent four days adrift in the heat of the South China Sea, without power, working toilets, galley services, or air conditioning. While such engineering issues happen, it is inexcusable that it took four days before the Navy towed the guided-missile destroyer and its crew to the Philippines.
- The Navy is seriously considering renaming an aircraft carrier currently under construction. It was set to be named the USS Doris Miller, honoring a Black sailor hailed for his heroic actions during the attack on Pearl Harbor. The new name being considered? The USS Donald Trump.
- Hegseth declared that troops older than 30 will be provided with testosterone to create “The High-T Department of War.” Although this certainly looks like an SNL skit, it is sadly real. Hegseth is apparently trying to convince himself that everyone has his deficiencies.
- Hegseth personally removed dozens of officers from promotion lists across the armed services, most of whom were women and/or non-white. In addition to being racist and sexist, such interventions break a long-standing tradition of military promotion boards being independent of political appointees.
Sen. Mark Kelly
This is a very specific – and very irritating – example of the general disrespect noted above.
Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) is a retired Navy Captain who has flown numerous combat missions, has been awarded numerous service medals, and became a NASA astronaut. Despite his stellar military service, the administration has claimed that Kelly violated the terms of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), based on a video in which Kelly and others reminded service members being deployed into U.S. cities that they are not required to obey illegal orders.
The military operates under a very strict set of rules. The chain of command is taken very seriously and service members are absolutely required to obey all lawful orders. However, service members also have a duty to refuse a manifestly illegal order. In fact, obeying an illegal order can expose a service member to criminal liability where the Nuremberg defense of “I was just following orders” is unacceptable. Orders to target civilians, abuse detainees, falsify official documents, and commit crimes are obviously illegal and should never be followed by any service member. The duty to disobey would also apply to orders that would interfere with an American citizen’s constitutional rights, including free speech, peaceful assembly, due process, and freedom of the press. As noted above, the military is not a civilian police force.
Which brings me back to Sen. Kelly.
Since Kelly is retired from the military, his free-speech rights as a civilian aren’t at all restricted. As a US Senator, Kelly’s right to provide political commentary is further protected under the Constitutional separation of powers. Most importantly, though, it is categorically never illegal to tell someone not to do something illegal! That painfully obvious statement includes reminding military personnel of their duty to disobey illegal orders.
Nevertheless, Hegseth alleged Kelly’s speech was seditious, issued a formal censure, and initiated proceedings to lower Kelly’s retired Naval rank and pension. Kelly sued in federal court and U.S. District Judge Richard Leon (a Republican appointee) issued a scathing injunction chastising the Trump administration and blocking any punishment. The administration appealed to US Court of Appeals (DC). Oral arguments were completed back in May but a judgment is still pending. Why? I have no clue. Attempting to use the UCMJ for a petty political attack on a decorated military veteran is disgusting.
Disrespect for Military Allies
Almost as troublesome as Trump’s disrespect for our military personnel is his disrespect for our allies. Trump continues to rant about pulling the U.S. out of NATO and annexing Greenland while directly and personally insulting many leaders of NATO countries. He substantially scaled back long-planned joint military exercises with South Korea. He openly mocks leaders of our closest neighbors, Canada and Mexico.
Trump fully expects the leaders of democratic countries to bow before him and, when they don’t, he responds like a petulant child. Countries that have been steadfast allies for decades no longer feel that they can count on America in a crisis. Unfortunately, they’re probably right.
Meanwhile, Trump lavishes praise on dictators that he deems to be “strong” – including Kim Jong Un, Vladimir Putin, and Xi Jinping. These are his friends. Great.
Our allies deserve to be treated with respect. Unfortunately, we might not have any allies left by the time this nightmare of an administration is through.
My final adjective describing the Trump administration’s misuse of the United States military?
Impeachable.
If Democrats retake the House, I’d hope they first try to shed light on all of the above through oversight hearings and budget negotiations. If (when) that doesn’t work, Democrats can and should impeach Trump for his misuse of the military. No President of either party has ever shown such utter disdain for our armed forces. While there’s little chance that the Senate would actually remove him from office, a trial could at least begin to explain to the American people that Trump’s actions as Commander in Chief are not normal and cannot be tolerated.
Until then, the best we can do is try to win elections in November.
I guess I’ll get back to my election analytics now.