It's Time To Write The Joint Chiefs of Staff
They may be what stands between us and dictatorship
It is time for every American to write the Joint Chiefs of Staff and remind them that their oaths are to the Constitution of the United States first and to the President second.
And at no time do they take an oath to the person of Donald Trump.
I am sure that every person in uniform is aware of that. But sometimes people need a reminder of what is true and what is important.
Why do I say this?
I am expecting to see blood in the streets.
Others have said this as well, among them journalist, attorney, and best selling author Seth Abramson.
Abramson has written on Bluesky of his fear that Trump will put troops in streets, and thinks Der Trumpenfuhrer is merely looking for a pretext to do so. Something like the George Floyd disturbances. We know that in his first term Trump asked about the possibility of shooting protestors in the legs. That from Mike Esper, Trump’s Secretary of Defense at the time.
According to Esper, Trump asked “Can’t you just shoot them? Just shoot them in the legs or something?”
You know he’s capable of ordering it.
Would the military follow Trump’s order?
I have my doubts that military leaders would obey an order from Trump to shoot down their fellow citizens.
I have known quite a few military people. Most tend to be much more conservative than I am (although not all). But I find it hard to imagine them shooting peaceful protesters, even loud and rowdy ones damaging property.
Shooting down lines of people chanting about immigrant rights or firing into crowds gathering to protest Musk’s seizure of power? I don’t think so. I think it would take protestors firing on troops for them to use deadly force.
I am even less inclined to believe that the higher ups, the kind of experienced officers who have probably seen that happen in other countries and who have thought about such things happening here, would obey the order. I have written about that before.
Will Trump Face A Military Coup?
This is the scenario.medium.com
But I am not positive that they would refuse, Especially with Hegseth now in charge and given the purge of the military that seems to be underway.
Disobeying the President would be a major step. One that could lead to court-martial.
So I think those honorable service members need some encouragement.
The Letter
Here is what my letter is going to say.
It’s going to be a letter on paper mailed in a real envelope with a signature, like in the old days.
Dear Joint Chiefs of Staff
I wanted to write to you as honorable members of our armed forces to remind you of something of which I know you do not need to be reminded. But our democracy is facing perilous times.
I am reminding you of your oath.
Please do not take this as any indication that I believe you would not honor your oath. Instead, take it as an indication that I understand the tremendous pressure that you and every other service member is currently under given the constitutional crisis that we seem to face.
As I understand it, you take an oath to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic”.
I know that part of the oath has you swear or affirm that you “will obey the orders of the President of the United States”.
As I see it you first swear fealty to the Constitution and secondly to the President. So your first duty is to the Constitution.
I would also suggest that in obeying the orders of the President you are bound only by those orders that would be considered constitutional. Orders issued outside of the powers and meaning of the Constitution would be considered the orders of the individual who happens to hold the office, not orders of the President himself. I am sure that if you ever received such orders you would think deeply about your duty.
Please do not regard this as a civilian lecturing a service member about their oath. I am fully aware that you are more knowledgeable about the oath than am I and I am sure that you have thought deeply about its meaning. But we are passing through perilous days and all Americans must do what we can to safeguard our republic, even it it is only to write a letter.
I thank you for your time and your service.
I intend to write a few postcards as well to the heads of various military bases. The message on them will be short.
In these perilous times I would like to remind you that your oath of service binds you first to the Constitution and secondly to the President. I am sure you will make the right decision were you to encounter any contradiction between those principles.
Will this get me in shit?
Maybe.
With Trump in office who knows if I would be accused of suggesting that members of the services disregard their oath to obey the President. But the time may come when they are all that stand between us and dictatorship. If I am going to expect them to risk arrest and court-martial, the least I can do is write a letter.
I hope many of you will do the same.
Public Contact
To mail Joint Staff Public Affairs, use the following address:
Joint Staff Public Affairs
9999 Joint Staff Pentagon, Room 2D932
Washington DC, 20318–9999
Official Website of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
The official website of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, U.S. Department of Defensewww.jcs.mil
https://installations.militaryonesource.mil/view-all
§502. Enlistment oath: who may administer
(a) Enlistment Oath. — Each person enlisting in an armed force shall take the following oath:
“I, ____________________, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.