After 26 years of active-duty service in the US military, I recently retired from serving as a Navy Chaplain, endorsed by Christian Reformed Church of North America. That service, from 1996-2022, took me from Washington DC to Iraq, Bahrain, Indonesia, and many places in between. 

I spent too many years deployed away from my family and served in combat zones where the threat of death was a daily occurrence. Because my family sacrificed so much and I spent  so much of my ministry serving in the military, service of which I am very proud, I am appalled by what is happening today.

** Loyalty to Law and Principles, Not a Person **

I have never heard a senior military leader talk about politics or who they would or would not vote for. To them it does not matter who is in charge. As long as they give lawful orders, they will be obeyed.

Every member of the military, from a recruit in boot camp to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff takes an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States of America.

Members of the military do not take an oath to be loyal to a particular president or political party. That is the kind of thing that happened in Nazi Germany and happens in North Korea. In the US military, our oath is to the foundational principles of our nation, not to any person.

The current President, however, has been very clear that what he expects of military leaders is absolute allegiance to him. In his world, loyalty comes before experience, education, and even basic standards of morality. Demanding that kind of personal loyalty is not only illegal but unamerican. Moreover, it places people whose ultimate allegiance should only be to God in an untenable position.   

** Losing Talented and Trained Professionals **

The current administration is attempting to remove “diversity, equity, and inclusion” from our military. Excellent military leaders, with proven track records, have been fired for no reason other than because they are women or people of color. This is dangerous, not to mention wrong.

Today’s military is having a difficult time recruiting service members. When the powers that be make it clear that people of color (35% of our population) and women (50% of our population) are considered less valuable and less capable than white males, a sizable percentage of our population is discouraged from considering military service. 

The way that many senior military leaders are being treated tells other excellent service members that they are no longer valued because of their gender, race, or ethnicity. The US military cannot afford to lose these well trained, talented, and proficient professionals.

Under its current leadership I would have a hard time recommending that anyone join the military, but especially not women or people of color. All the legal protections that have been put in place to protect them from discrimination are now being gleefully removed..

As a Christian and chaplain, I believe the most important reason this removal of DEI is wrong is because it devalues so many of our fellow citizens and violates the Christian understanding that we are all created in the Image of God.

In a country whose Declaration of Independence proclaims that “all men are created equal” (I realize it has taken a long time for us to make progress on this, and we still have a ways to go for this declaration to become somewhat real), telling millions of Americans that they are not good enough because of their gender or race is not only an embarrassment, it is wrong.

** Independent and Ethical Oversight **

The US military has, embedded in its structure, protections to ensure that military leaders act legally. It is vital to service members to know that their leaders are guided by established legal principles. All service members are charged with obeying “lawful” orders. These protections give them assurance that the orders they are given are indeed lawful.

One of the first actions by the Trump administration was to fire all the services’ Judge Advocate Generals and Inspector Generals. These are the people charged with independently making sure that our military adheres to national and global standards of warfare and conduct in conflict. 

The new Secretary of Defense has advocated and obtained pardons for members of the US military who were convicted, by the US military, of war crimes. These are service members who committed murder while representing the United States. This is a terrible  message to members of our military as well as the allied nations with whom we serve alongside.

Both our Commander in Chief (although not in the military) and Secretary of Defense (who did serve in the military) have publicly violated the Uniform Code of Military Justice, the legal and moral standard expected of all members of the military. When our nation’s leaders brazenly flout our standards what can we expect of those who serve under them?

Why would any victim of sexual assault or sexual harassment expect to be protected and cared for in today’s military? The programs designed to protect service members from sexual assault and harassment are being shut down throughout the services.

** Support Our Troops **

Sadly, I could add much more: Lying about established facts to appease the aggressor (Ukraine began the war with Russia?); voting against our traditional friends and allies in the United Nations. Our alliances have made the US stronger and the world safer. To turn our backs now and instead side with dictators makes the US weaker and the world a more dangerous place. I have sat in meetings with representatives from countries that this administration routinely insults. To say that those comments weaken the credibility of the US is an understatement.

Whenever I speak at schools and churches and civic groups, the question always arises, “How can we support our troops?” My answer is, when service members are sent in harm’s way, they deserve to know that we as a country are following the law, doing our absolute best to avoid unnecessary harm, and seeking the greater good for all of God’s children.  

This requires trust–not necessarily political agreement nor understanding of every detail–but trust that our civilian and military leaders are trying to do the right thing. If this vital trust is not gone already, it is fading quickly and it will take decades to rebuild. The loss of that trust weakens our national security and makes the world a more dangerous place.

The military speaks often of “Good Order and Discipline” as being foundational to effectiveness, cohesion, and military success. Sadly, with each passing day, both of these elements are becoming ever more rare.