President Trump's decision to fire senior military leaders is stupid and shame. It politicizes our professional military in dangerous and debilitating ways. What scares me even more is that the legal body in the highest-ranking uniform of the Ministry of Defense removed three judge advocates. Their removal is another element of the government's attack on the rule of law and a particularly disturbing part.
Let's start with senior officials. As the Biden administration’s Air Force Secretary, I was with Charles Q. Chief of Staff. In my entire 55 years of working in national security in multiple positions, I have never been more stable, smarter, and more stable than CQ Brown Professional, patriotic or glorious officers. Admiral James Slife and General Lisa Franchetti are also professional officers I know very well and admire. They have honored and admired in many governments and Differentiated service for decades.
It was a pain to see these good people being treated so unfairly, and it was the first time in my career that I had seen dedicated non-political military professionals being removed from office for no reason. I fear that political loyalty will become the standard for holding senior military positions. Currently, I believe our professional army has developed dozens of highly qualified senior officers who can hold positions of trust and responsibility, who can provide leadership in the Pentagon and provide reasonable military advice to our civilian leaders.
However, this optimism did not extend to the consequences of the removal of the military supreme judges advocated by the general, namely, senior military professionals who interpret and implement the Code of Unified Military Justice, which guided forces in the field. They have independent legal powers to tell any military commander or political appointment that the orders of the president or the minister of defense are illegal and cannot be given and should not be followed.
Of the three JAGs that were fired, I know that Lieutenant General Charles Plummer has worked with him for over three years. His legal advice is always reasonable, professional and well supported. It's hard to imagine any reason to remove him, except for the obvious one replaced by someone more loyal to Mr. Trump and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, and therefore prefers to explain the laws that align with their wishes. .
If the president and the government are one feature, it is a complete lack of respect for legal restrictions. Mr. Trump has a clear view of himself. In many instances, he recently wrote: “Those who save their own country will not violate any law.” From Mr. Hegses’ confirmation hearing, public appearances, writings and support for convicted war criminals can It is clear that he also doesn't think that Jag officials should limit war fighters – or presumably the Minister of Defense.
Mr. Trump and Mr. Heggs will now choose JAG leadership for all three military departments. One has to ask why JAG leadership was picked out for replacement. This is part of a model of disrespect, even disdain for the rule of law. We don't need JAG leaders who are suitable for this model.
One of the most admirable features of the U.S. military is that all service members are trained to understand that the U.S. representative is more than just a naked self-interest. Most importantly, it represents the constitution and the rule of law, including the laws of armed conflict and laws that restrict the use of the military against U.S. citizens. Destroying these core principles is a damage to men and women in uniforms, and to everything that America represents throughout its life. We are at risk when law limits how the president uses military forces, including within the United States, to be ignored or brushed.
My experience with JAG officials has been very positive. One is particularly prominent. A few years ago, I was an observer of human rights for nonprofits, starting with a legal process for a detention facility held at a Guantanamo Bay military facility. In a briefing to observers and the media, the Chief JAG defense attorney made a statement on the effect that anyone who established a prosecution system believes that a quick trial will be conducted, and no meaningful defense is given by designated JAG officials. These people don't know JAG lawyers. We will support the rule of law and defend their clients.
At that moment, I never became an American than that moment. We will see if the new JAG leadership meets this criteria.
Our country is in an unknown territory. We have a government that is launching a war against the rule of law. Evidence is everywhere. We do not yet know how far it will go if it tries to control, reinterpret, rewrite, ignore or violate legal constraints, including the Constitution itself. In this war, replacing military jacket leadership was a skirmish, but it is time for the American people to recognize what is going on in the political field. There is a rogue president and a rogue government in the United States, and we need to acknowledge this and respond.
