Read on Twitter
<Thread> Would civ-mil relations have been better off if the CNO had resigned in protest last week? MG (Ret) Dennis Laich & COL (Ret) Lawrence Wilkerson think so. I don't agree.
Civilians need to hold civilian leaders to account, not the military. 1/ https://thehill.com/opinion/national-security/491708-when-duty-goes-awol-military-leaders-must-take-a-stand-on-civil?utm_source=&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=28884&utm_term=Editorial%20-%20Military%20-%20Early%20Bird%20Brief
Civilians need to hold civilian leaders to account, not the military. 1/ https://thehill.com/opinion/national-security/491708-when-duty-goes-awol-military-leaders-must-take-a-stand-on-civil?utm_source=&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=28884&utm_term=Editorial%20-%20Military%20-%20Early%20Bird%20Brief
Resignation is the most-discussed, and least exercised, issue in US civ-mil relations.
But we'd be better off if we spent more time discussing how other civilians should respond when a civilian misbehaves in the civ-mil relationship. 2/
But we'd be better off if we spent more time discussing how other civilians should respond when a civilian misbehaves in the civ-mil relationship. 2/
To be clear, I thought former acting Secretary Modly acted inappropriately by removing CAPT Crozier w/out first conducting a formal inquiry and reportedly against the advice of the CNO and CJCS. 3/ https://twitter.com/jimgolby/status/1246792863956062208
But there were real issues of discipline and OPSEC at stake, and Modly had undisputed legal authority to remove Crozier.
The CNO, ADM Mike Gilday, explained he was offered a chance to express his advice & said he supported Modly (but not the decision). 4/ https://twitter.com/USNavyCNO/status/1245817097646678016?s=20
The CNO, ADM Mike Gilday, explained he was offered a chance to express his advice & said he supported Modly (but not the decision). 4/ https://twitter.com/USNavyCNO/status/1245817097646678016?s=20
This is the point at which Laich & Wilkerson would have had Gilday resign.
But that is the wrong approach & critics should stop advocating for it, in this or any other admin.
(I wrote about this based on my experiences during the Obama admin below.) 5/
https://www.airuniversity.af.edu/Portals/10/SSQ/documents/Volume-09_Issue-3/Golby.pdf
But that is the wrong approach & critics should stop advocating for it, in this or any other admin.
(I wrote about this based on my experiences during the Obama admin below.) 5/
https://www.airuniversity.af.edu/Portals/10/SSQ/documents/Volume-09_Issue-3/Golby.pdf
It's easy to make assert that everything is okay in this case because Modly resigned, but he didn't resign because he fired Crozier; he was forced to resign because he criticized him in a terrible speech to the crew of the TR after the fact. 6/ https://www.foxnews.com/politics/navy-thomas-modly-resignation-uss-theodore-roosevelt-crozier
What if Modly hadn't resigned? The outcome would've been difficult & messy, and it would have been political.
But that isn't necessarily bad: POLITICS IS THE WAY AMERICANS SETTLE DISPUTES OVER VALUES & POLICIES!
Hyper-partisanship can be bad, but politics don't have to be. 7/
But that isn't necessarily bad: POLITICS IS THE WAY AMERICANS SETTLE DISPUTES OVER VALUES & POLICIES!
Hyper-partisanship can be bad, but politics don't have to be. 7/
Instead of asking for officers to resign over breaches in civil-military relations -- especially those that are clearly legal -- let's think harder about the role that civilians must play in enforcing civil-military norms.
Hint: it's not urging officers to resign in an op-ed. 8/
Hint: it's not urging officers to resign in an op-ed. 8/
It needs to start with real oversight, especially in "friendly" media and in intra-party relations in Congress.
There is no dearth of coverage of civ-mil flare-ups these days, but the coverage widely varies--usually along partisan lines. Fox & MSNBC don't tell the same story. 9/
There is no dearth of coverage of civ-mil flare-ups these days, but the coverage widely varies--usually along partisan lines. Fox & MSNBC don't tell the same story. 9/
If members of the media look to protect civilians with which they are ideologically-aligned instead of holding them accountable for SHARED values & norms that are key to healthy civ-mil relations, functional democratic accountability will end. It's already become quite weak. 10/
The same also goes for Congress. Although there were some signs that the HASC intended to investigate the USS TR firing, there were no such indications in the Senate.
But we can't only count on legislative oversight when there is divided government. 11/ https://armedservices.house.gov/2020/4/hasc-leadership-joint-statement-on-the-dismissal-of-u-s-s-theodore-roosevelt-captain
But we can't only count on legislative oversight when there is divided government. 11/ https://armedservices.house.gov/2020/4/hasc-leadership-joint-statement-on-the-dismissal-of-u-s-s-theodore-roosevelt-captain
Partisan protection has always existed to some degree, but -- even in recent years -- it remained relatively strong on most (not all) civ-mil norms.
When President Obama decided to fire McChrystal, for example, Republicans defended the decision. 12/ https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704853404575322800914018876
When President Obama decided to fire McChrystal, for example, Republicans defended the decision. 12/ https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704853404575322800914018876
Even in the Modly resignation, reports suggest that Modly was asked to step down only after Republicans in Congress turned on him. 13/ https://www.nbcnews.com/news/military/acting-navy-secretary-resigns-amid-flap-over-coronavirus-hit-ship-n1178576
This doesn't mean that co-partisan in Congress or the media always must oppose those accused of civ-mil wrong-doing, and they need not have done so over Modly's initial decision to fire Crozier.
But they do have a responsibility to investigate & oversee the Executive branch. 14/
But they do have a responsibility to investigate & oversee the Executive branch. 14/
So the next time a civilian commits (or may have committed) a civ-mil misstep, we shouldn't look for senior officers to throw their stars on the table -- which likely won't have the intended effect anyway. 15/
We should ask -- or rather demand -- that our media, our Congress, and our civilian leaders take ownership of the civil-military relationship & our SHARED norms.
Healthy civil-military relations rely on civilians, not military officers, holding other civilians to account. 16/16
Healthy civil-military relations rely on civilians, not military officers, holding other civilians to account. 16/16
