For 75 minutes, Maj. Joe Amoroso quizzed his students in SS202, American Politics, about civilian leadership of the military, the trust between the armed forces and the public, and how the military must not become a partisan tool.
There was one answer, he said, that would always be acceptable in his class filled with second-year students at the U.S. Military Academy. Hesitantly, one cadet offered a response: “The Constitution.”
“Yes,” Amoroso said emphatically.
His message to the students, known as yearlings, was simple: Their loyalty is “not about particular candidates. It’s not a particular person or personality that occupies these positions. It’s about the Constitution.”
The emphasis for the next generation of military officers that their loyalty must be focused on the nation’s democratic underpinnings rather than on any individual is a reflection of how the armed forces are being forced to deal with America’s deep political polarization at a time when trust in traditional institutions is eroding.
The role of the military in particular has come under scrutiny as former President Donald Trump runs to reclaim the White House and has laid out an aggressive agenda should he win. It includes potentially using the military in ways other presidents have not. That could mean invoking the Insurrection Act to send units to the border or patrol the streets of predominantly Democratic cities.
Trump tried judicial and legislative coups. A military coup has gotta be the next logical step were he to get back in power. There’s evidence he looked to this possibility while still in office. While there are safeguards here, like appointments having to pass through congress, this will be the most important thing to focus on if he gets back in office. If Trump starts getting his goons into military leadership, it’s go time for mass protests and civil disobedience before it’s too late.
like appointments having to pass through congress
I’m hoping they’ll remember who held them up after Biden promoted them.
Just to be clear “the division” referred to innocuously in the headline are those military students who don’t want to defend the Constituion.
Mmkay? That’s “the division” that the leaders are “working with” to try and make sure - “hey everybody, let’s all actually live the oath that we take and defend the Constitution” because enough people are out loud talking about not doing it. That’s where they are. Now.
I didn’t see that part in the article
I am pleased to read that the military is educating itself about this. It is vitally important.
Great, but maybe pay more attention to the enlisteds fresh from Trumpistan that can barely read.
Interestingly, when you commission as an officer your oath only mentions the Constitution.
_I __, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.
When taking the oath of enlistment it does mention the President.
_I, ____, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.
Something something obeying illegal orders?
