When I was an officer in the US military, I abstain from voting in national elections, one small way to maintain a nonpartisan armed force. Now, to preserve the same values and prevent the military from becoming a political tool, I believe that in November, everyone – civilians, service members, veterans, everybody – should vote for whoever has the best chance of keeping Donald Trump out of office.
This is not a political statement. It is a strategic judgment based on fitness to lead – both to defend the United States and to protect the civil-military balance that has made our nation the greatest in history.
The US military is now the most powerful weapon in the world, and in the wrong hands it can be a powerful political tool. This weapon should not be placed under an unworthy commander, as the former president showed himself during the previous administration and as he has promised to do so again if he regains power.
I am not a Democrat or a Republican, but an American who has fought in the forces that protect our country and our way of life, in the words of our military. Code of Ethics. I fought in Iraq, earned two Bronze Stars and taught military strategy at West Point. My commitment to military and nonpartisan values has not changed since I returned to civilian life. What has changed is the choice presented in American politics. Absolutely none, because one of the two major party presidential candidates is clearly, demonstrably, unfit to be the commander-in-chief.
Only one candidate has been suggested execution from the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Only one candidate called our war dead — specifically, the Marines who fell at Belleau Wood in France during World War I — “lose” and “lose”.
Only one candidate has been recommended NASCAR driver and college coach in critical positions of national security are now held by lifelong military professionals who are generals and admirals.
The whole thing was quite terrifying.
But what settles the question is the certainty that former President Trump will end the military’s basic contract with the American people: nonpartisanship. He tried one last time and came dangerously close.
Nonpartisanship is not just a good tradition. This is the two-factor authentication that has been at the core of our nation’s defense for decades. The former president even wanted a military leadership that mimicked the Nazi high command.
“You generals, why can’t you be like a German general?” Trump complained to his chief of staff, retired General John Kelly, in 2018. Trump made it clear that he wanted to generals who are “very loyal” and “yes-men,” like Nazi commanders in Adolf Hitler.
Since the founding of America, there has been tension between the military and the leaders of other countries. The monopoly of violence is necessary. But monopoly means placing great power in a small select group.
James Madison apprehensive that “the army remains under the pretext of defending, has enslaved people.” But the Revolution convinced George Washington that a competent military was necessary for the survival of the country.
Over time the bargain solidified. America allows a professional military, not loyal to a party or president, but to everyone through an oath to uphold the Constitution. The country even granted a certain autonomy in strategic matters. In exchange, the military would remain nonpartisan. It will be possible to gain the trust of the nation and subordinate itself to the civil leadership. Military leaders engage in “unequal dialogue” with their civilian superiors, according to scholar Eliot Cohen phrase. It preserves the best military advice while remaining deferential to American civilian leaders. Of course there is friction between the president and the generals – it is worth it to keep this pillar of national defense.
Trump wants to destroy that pillar. Given the second term, which will probably be. In its place, they will impose subservience that will end the American military’s ability to advise the best (or most) about peace and war. Trump will deploy the military as a political prop in the service of his own brand, just like him already try to do it. And he will reshape the military and the national security apparatus so that the Trumpists will step up and the others will not. His second term will be as an employee be prepared for “Review carefully all promotions of public officials and flags” based on pro-Trump partisan qualifications, as explained in the Project 2025 playbook.
This same mistake was a colossal Nazi failure: Hitler broke the German generals, so his decisions went unchecked and included some of the worst strategic moves in the history of warfare.
The immediate threat of modern commanders who choose the Nazi approach is the inappropriate use of military force in the American way (and maybe even in polling place). The longer-term threat to this recklessness is unknown but predictable: destroy what confidence remains in the military, disrupt the civil-military balance, end America’s centuries-old success story.
“It’s easy to destroy an organization,” write retired Admiral William McRaven, former commander of US Special Operations Command, “if you don’t respect what makes the organization great.” McRaven wrote those words five years ago, when the former president was first in office, and ended by suggesting that if nothing changed, someone else should be in command.
Nothing has changed about Trump. There is only one choice on November 5.
ML Cavanaugh recently retired after 25 years in the US Army. He founded the Modern Warfare Institute at West Point. @MLCavanaugh
