Reviving the Professional Military Debate: A Call for Open Discourse in the U.S. Military

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In the 1980s and 1990s, the Marine Corps Gazette became a vibrant forum for intellectual rigor and professional debate, led by figures like General Al Gray, the 29th Commandant of the Marine Corps, 

and reformers such as Colonel John Boyd, William S. Lind, Colonel Mike Wyly, Dr. (then Captain and Major) Bruce I Gudmundsson, (then Captain) John Schmitt and Colonel (then Captain) G.I. Wilson. This era of open discourse challenged entrenched military thinking, fostering innovation and shaping concepts like maneuver warfare.

Today, as the U.S. military faces complex global threats, the need to revive this culture of fearless, professional debate—free from retribution and open to all ranks and backgrounds—is more urgent than ever. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth,

alongside Service Secretaries and Service Chiefs, should champion this revival, encouraging well-researched, fact-based arguments, even when they critique established culture or approved solutions.