Not-So-Retiring Retired Military Leaders | National Review

This article, being very informative brings up a very troubling aspect that Gen. Mattis did not address, and that this President has been attacked since he was elected by the other party every day, every single day and still has to defend his agenda and cabinet. How does that make him polarizing, by having to defend himself and his team daily/hourly? Is it not the other way around? There is no set rule for being an elected official and President Trump has definitely shown that, and that seems to be the bigger issue with a lot of people. As for the generals, I served long enough to see some of the most liberal thinking officers get appointed into the flag ranks that turned out to be just yes men rather than true outstanding leaders and I saw the truly patriotic leaders pushed out the door way too early. I don't pretend to know why Gen. Mattis and President Trump fell out of favor with one another, but, I am disappointed at how the general is now himself on a divisive smear campaign. As far as James Clapper, I would tell him to his face to shut the hell up! For any of them to suggest that our President is not for America, not for the military, not for the best interest of the American people first is ludicrous! Either they have blinders on or they themselves have been involved in Washington DC politics for too long. America first should be the goal of all presidents, not a one world order, that just makes us pawns in someone else's game of thrones which is how it has felt for far too many years now.

The author lost me in the very first sentence. The author's hyperbole, from the very start, indicated that he had an agenda with that article. I side with the professional military leaders who felt compelled to speak up about the troubling signs they're seeing with this CinC.

This is a very pertinent and through article. Here is my clinical take. Sociology indicates that we all enact multiple roles in our lifetime.Each role involves responsibilities, obligations, and duties to self and others (role set). It is inevitable that role conflicts will occur. Just for instance, my political affiliation is less than 1% of who I am. Being a father used to be a significant role; now being a grandfather is less so. I've been a clinical psychologist and professor for over 50 yrs. now. In the military I was an AF ER medic.

So I tend to see the world from a clinical biopsychosocial perspective. My military ID is about 10% of how I see the world. In the military our oath is to protect others from all foreign and domestic enemies. As you know we can potentially disobey an order when we believe it to be illegal/immoral. At the Mount where I primarily taught, one of our core tenets is : " a life lived well is one in service to others". These retired generals can share their concerns. As a clinician, and based on 3 yrs. of research, I consider this C-in-C to be a clear and present danger to our Constitution and Rule-of-Law. So I speak out on professional platforms.
Thanks so much for posting this article!
Rich