The military and civilian worlds are very different. They need to be. After all, the military world isn't really a free society. While not every aspect of life in the armed forces is regulated and structured, there are profound limits as to what you can and can't do. Rights are limited in ways that they can't be if you want to reasonably consider your society free.
That's because the military has a particular function, and that structure and discipline is essential for the mission to be fulfilled.
But the discipline also requires the military to submit to the elected, civilian leadership. These are the people elected to lead our nation, and that is who the top generals or admirals must answer to.
Unfortunately, we have a problem with the military. They don't seem to think they answer to civilian leadership anymore.
The most recent example of that problem is Space Force Colonel Susan Meyers, who was just relieved of her command of the 821st Space Base Group at Pituffik Space Base in Greenland. Why was she relieved? Because she, in her official capacity as commander of this unit, disavowed the words of the Vice President of the United States.
Vice President JD Vance made remarks regarding Greenland getting the shaft from Denmark and leaving it vulnerable, and Meyers decided that she just had to counter those comments.
Now, she's been relieved of command.
Vice Admiral Shoshana Chatfield was also removed from her position as the US representative to NATO's military committee, which followed a series of actions, including her refusal to put up photos of President Donald Trump or Vance in the chain of command. It might not be the worst act of insubordination ever, but it's still insubordination.
Let's also not forget good old General Milley, who famously and publicly said, following Trump's first term, that if he'd been ordered to attack China, he'd have given the Chinese a phone call to let them know what was coming, first.
And it's not relegated to the higher-ranking officers, either. A couple of months ago, the Army's Sergeant Major Academy made waves when a photo surfaced of a cartoon of President Trump sitting where his photo should have been.
These are small acts, for the most part — Milley's wasn't, of course, but many would see the others as small — but the truth is that they're all reflective of a pattern. That pattern is a military that has no respect for who the United States citizens voted for to serve as commander-in-chief.
There's nothing inherently wrong with people in the military not caring for the civilian leadership. Believe me, I served during Clinton's presidency, and he wasn't popular with my fellow sailors.
But we did as instructed and didn't actively undermine our civilian leadership.
My concern here isn't that they don't like Trump. My concern is that if they'll engage in these acts of insubordination without even blinking, what's next? Where will the line be drawn?
Picture an insurrection for a moment.
I mean a real one. Not something like January 6, but a real case of a leftist uprising that crosses the line of vandalism and becomes violent, militant action with the intention of overthrowing the government.
This is something that the military can and should get involved in. This is the exception to Posse Comitatus.
But can we trust the military to do that? Can we actually trust that the United States Armed Forces will do as they're told by the president?
Sure, the rank and file troops would be willing, but the senior leadership? Right now, I just don't trust that they would.
Luckily, Trump and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth are cleaning house. As soon as they identify a problem, they're removing the problem. The downside is that there's no way this hasn't permeated the senior leadership to a profound degree. I fear that some will keep their heads down until they can really screw the president and, by extension, the American people over; just waiting for an opportunity to go rogue.
That should never be our concern.
So far, it's relatively small, relatively annoying.
It won't stay that way unless it's purged entirely from our military.
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