For 75 minutes, Maj. Joe Amoroso quizzed his students in SS202, American Politics, about civilian leadership of the military, the trust between the armed forces and the public, and how the military must not become a partisan tool.
There was one answer, he said, that would always be acceptable in his class filled with second-year students at the U.S. Military Academy. Hesitantly, one cadet offered a response: “The Constitution.”
“Yes,” Amoroso said emphatically.
His message to the students, known as yearlings, was simple: Their loyalty is “not about particular candidates. It’s not a particular person or personality that occupies these positions. It’s about the Constitution.”
The emphasis for the next generation of military officers that their loyalty must be focused on the nation’s democratic underpinnings rather than on any individual is a reflection of how the armed forces are being forced to deal with America’s deep political polarization at a time when trust in traditional institutions is eroding.
The role of the military in particular has come under scrutiny as former President Donald Trump runs to reclaim the White House and has laid out an aggressive agenda should he win. It includes potentially using the military in ways other presidents have not. That could mean invoking the Insurrection Act to send units to the border or patrol the streets of predominantly Democratic cities.
Trump tried judicial and legislative coups. A military coup has gotta be the next logical step were he to get back in power. There’s evidence he looked to this possibility while still in office. While there are safeguards here, like appointments having to pass through congress, this will be the most important thing to focus on if he gets back in office. If Trump starts getting his goons into military leadership, it’s go time for mass protests and civil disobedience before it’s too late.
I’m hoping they’ll remember who held them up after Biden promoted them.