One of my life’s greatest regrets is that I didn’t join the Army sooner. I was commissioned at age 37, late for the military, and I didn’t exactly impress my officer basic course instructors with my physical prowess. But I made it through, and I spent eight years in the reserves, with active-duty deployments to Iraq and South Korea.
I love this country, I believed in our missions, and I felt great purpose playing my very small part as an Army judge advocate.
No one will call the Army perfect. Part of my role was military justice, and I saw many soldiers at their worst. Until you encounter an Army unit up close and under fire, though, you don’t truly appreciate the default character, courage and discipline of the average American soldier.
But the military I love is under threat — from its own commander in chief.
Much of the commentary surrounding President Donald Trump’s decision to deploy National Guard troops to Los Angeles and now Washington, D.C., has centered on its impact on American democracy. Do we want to live in a republic that puts military boots on city streets at the whim of a politician, rather than in response to an extraordinary need?