Veterans and Military Families Caucus Official Statement on Politicization of the US Military

Veterans and Military Families Caucus Official Statement on Politicization of the US Military

The Veterans and Military Families Caucus of the Delaware Democratic Party finds the aggressive and ongoing politicization of the United States military to be entirely unacceptable. Efforts to replace the merit-based system of selecting politically nonpartisan experts with one founded solely on sycophantic loyalty to and acting on behalf of a single individual endangers the security of our country and violates our stated principles.

• The Secretary of Defense has arbitrarily removed every female officer of four-star rank from their positions. He has replaced the African American Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, an acknowledged leader with exceptional qualifications and expertise, with a far less qualified white officer who does not meet even the most minimal standards for the position, seemingly chosen due to a meeting that the officer claims never occurred.

• The administration is actively considering the use of the military to perform law enforcement actions within the continental United States, citing a nonexistent foreign invasion and a nonexistent crime wave as its justifications to waive the limitations of the Posse Comitatus Act.

• The current President and Secretary of Defense have both openly called for the use of the military against those they label as “enemies of the state” and have specifically included the media and political opponents in that category.

• The current Commander in Chief has openly threatened military action against our allies in Canada, Mexico, Panama, and Denmark to fulfill his personal fantasy of territorial expansion, which would be wildly illegal under US and international law.

• The senior legal officers of every military branch, who advise the service chiefs on the legal and ethical considerations of their orders, have been removed.

• Combatant commanders have been freed from having to consider the lethal impact of their decisions on civilian populations.

• Official libraries and websites were directed to scrub references to historical figures who overcame racial and gender discrimination to achieve greatness.

• Military facilities that had been renamed to remove their recognition of enemies of the United States are having those racist and treasonous names restored.

• The Commander in Chief has ordered the Pentagon to hold a military parade in his honor on the streets of Washington, D.C., for his birthday, akin to events in Russia and North Korea.

Our military's mission is to protect the country from all enemies, foreign and domestic. It is not intended to be the private militia of the person charged with its leadership nor a tool for enforcing political hegemony over American citizens, or for that matter, anyone else. It violates military law to consider partisan politics in any official action.

The military should also reflect the reality of the American population, offering opportunity to all members regardless of race or gender and relying on their expertise. Expertise and experience are not the sole province of straight white males.

The current President has proven his disdain for servicemembers and veterans on many occasions, and the Veterans and Military Families Caucus of the Delaware Democratic Party strongly opposes his leadership and the role he plays in corrupting the United States military.