HEIDI A. URBEN
Scholars of civil-military relations endlessly debate the durability of professional norms and the degree to which they reinforce the principle of civilian control of the armed forces. The most important norm that ensures the military upholds its oath to the Constitution and is subordinate to civilian authority is its norm of nonpartisanship—the commitment to keeping the military out of partisan politics. On June 10, that norm was dealt a setback at Fort Bragg.
Mounting a stage at the North Carolina base, the president and secretary of defense delivered partisan speeches before a large audience of uniformed soldiers. Others can judge the propriety of their remarks in such a setting, but it was the troops’ response that made the moment so troubling.
On cue, they roared their approval to partisan language about ridding the military of “woke garbage” and “political correctness.” They booed allusions to the previous president, the governor of California, and the mayor of Los Angeles. They applauded the president’s plan to revert yet more military bases to Confederate-derived names. In these and other ways, they behaved not as professional American service members, but as partisans at any other political rally.
Some observers are outraged because they believe the moment revealed an active-duty military that is fully aligned with the MAGA movement, perhaps a worrying thought as the president expands the use of the military on American soil. This is misguided for several reasons. First, the U.S. military is a diverse force that reflects the American public—for good or for worse—which means it also reflects America’s political divisions. The crowd at Fort Bragg may or may not be representative of the entire military, but that is beside the point. The personal politics of individual service members, no matter in which direction they lean, are unimportant as long as they are kept private.
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