The New American
May 15, 2021
He should have taken his own advice: General James Mattis, a former Secretary of Defense, disparaged President Trump in the media over his handling of the George Floyd riots. This was out of character for Mattis, as someone who has traditionally stayed out of politics and commanded his men to do the same.
Politicized generals who maligned President Trump in their efforts to undermine his policies and force him out of office can and should be held accountable under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ).
When does a law become not a law? When the lawbreaker has reached such a high level in our society, or government, that his friends in government decide simply to ignore that law, as if nothing has happened.
Can this happen in our American Republic, or is it limited to those third-world countries where the rule of law is not always followed?
Up until September 2020, I would have said, “Ranking U.S. military leaders would not flagrantly disregard the law; that cannot happen in America.” But all that has now changed, since, clearly, if you are or were in a position of power, you may be above the law.
Unfortunately, in America today, active-duty and retired military officers are violating the law and appear to be getting away with it. After bringing this to the attention of the appropriate governmental authorities to no avail, I am convinced that public pressure might be the only hope to get Congress to act to remedy this problem.
The law in question is extremely clear, and there is no doubt that it is being violated. Career members of the U.S. military, like all who have taken the oath in our Armed Forces, are subject to the jurisdiction of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), and that jurisdiction and certain duties continue, even once they retire and draw pay. As to who is subject to the Code, Article 2 of that Code specifically states that it includes “retired members of a regular component of the armed forces who are entitled to pay.” This places them under all laws in that Code for as long as they live.
As early as 1880, in the case of United States v. Tyler, the Supreme Court held that officers on the retired list still remained in the service. This situation has been before the Supreme Court a number of times, and in Parker v. Levy (1974) the court made its position crystal clear with this statement: “While the members of the military are not excluded from the protection granted by the First Amendment, the different character of the military community and of the military mission requires a different application of those protections. The fundamental necessity for obedience, and the consequent necessity for imposition of discipline, may render permissible within the military that which would be constitutionally impermissible outside it.”(Emphasis added.) And the court then “nailed it to the wall” in 1992 in Barker v. Kansas when it said, “Military retirees unquestionably remain in the service and are subject to restrictions and recall — as well as ongoing punishment by military court-martial.” (Emphasis added.)
As recently as February 2021, the Supreme Court refused to review, for the second time in two years, a case based on this principle — thereby reaffirming their earlier decisions! Some may not like that situation — and there are additional cases working their way through lower civil courts attempting to have this “retired recall for trial” issue reversed. There is no way to predict that outcome. But, unless and until this article of the UCMJ is reversed or revised, it remains the existing law of the land and must be enforced. Simply put, retired members of the U.S. military must comply with all laws included in the UCMJ, or face recall to duty and trial by court martial.
Because he understood the importance of obedience down the chain of command, George Washington ensured that the original “Articles of War” included a law and punishment for any “ill words” spoken publicly about both military or civil government leaders. This has been retained in all versions of U.S. military law since that time, and in 1947, when Congress wrote the original version of the current UCMJ, it was included as Article 88, “Contempt toward officials.” It remains as such in the latest (December 20, 2019) UCMJ revision. Article 88 states, “Any commissioned officer who uses contemptuous words against the President,the Vice President, Congress, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of a military department, the Secretary of Homeland Security, or the Governor or legislature of any State, Commonwealth, or possession in which he is on duty or present shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.” (Emphasis added.)
Congress has always considered this a very serious crime, providing punishment up to “Dismissal, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and confinement for 1 year.” For instance, a four-star general, retired on 40 years of service, would lose over $250,000 per year; and in 1958, a retired flag officer, Admiral Selden Hooper, USN, was recalled and tried and convicted by a general court-martial with that maximum penalty. More than 150 service members have been tried and convicted since the Articles of War first carried these penalties.
The UCMJ also requires, under Article 137, “Articles to be explained: (c) TRAINING FOR CERTAIN OFFICERS. — Under regulations prescribed by the Secretary concerned, officers with the authority to convene courts-martial or to impose non-judicial punishment shall receive periodic training regarding the purposes and administration of this chapter.” (Emphasis added.) All senior officers have been deeply involved in carrying out the UCMJ during the later years of their service, and cannot claim “no knowledge of the law.”
One would think that such clear wording in the UCMJ would prevent senior officers from disparaging our nation’s leaders. In the past, this certainly was the case. Things have changed, apparently. In 2006, four senior retired officers “tested the waters” by making some damning public comments regarding then-Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. Unfortunately, they were not charged, and escaped courtmartial.
Some high-ranking military officers seem to uphold the UCMJ, only to violate it when it suits them. Consider the case of General James Mattis, USMC (Ret.). On June 13, 2018, while serving as secretary of defense under President Trump, Mattis wrote a “Memorandum for Secretaries of the Military Departments, Chiefs of the Military Services and Commanders of the Combatant Commands,” in which he emphasized, “It is incumbent on our leaders to ensure that American Forces are always the most disciplined on the battlefield.” “Enforcing standards is a critical component of making our force more lethal,” the Mattis memo noted. “Leaders must uphold proven standards. They should know the difference between a mistake and a lack of discipline.” Mattis insisted, “We must not tolerate or ignore lapses in discipline.” “The military justice system is a powerful tool that preserves good order and discipline while protecting the civil rights of Service members,” the Mattis memo continued. “It is a commander’s duty to use it.” Mattis went on to admonish commanders against the trend to forgo the UCMJ for easier administrative procedures. “Leaders must be willing to choose the harder right over theeasier wrong,” he stated. “Administrative actions should not be the default method to address illicit conduct simply because it is less burdensome than the military justice system.” Finally, Mattis declared, “let nothing prevent us from becoming the most disciplined force this world has ever known.” (Emphasis in original.)
However, after resigning from his position as secretary of defense, General Mattis then ignored his own emphatic directive, and on June 3, 2020, issued an extraordinary criticism of President Trump’s leadership in a statement in The Atlantic magazine. “Donald Trump,” wrote Mattis, “is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people — does not even pretend to try. Instead he tries to divide us. We are witnessing the consequences of three years of this deliberate effort. We are witnessing the consequences of three years without mature leadership.” The Mattis attack was published one day after a similarly contemptuous article in the Atlantic by Admiral Mike Mullen, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, as part of a well-coordinated political attack.
Should current leaders follow General Mattis’ earlier advice and charge him with violating Article 88 of the UCMJ?
Another example: In June 1993, Air Force Chief of Staff General Merrill Anthony “Tony” McPeak moved swiftly to protect his friend, Major General H. N. Campbell, who called President Bill Clinton a “dope smoking,” “skirt chasing,” “draft dodging” commander-in-chief. Instead of receiving a court martial, the 53-year-old General Campbell was ordered to pay a fine of $7,000, take an immediate retirement, and have an official letter of reprimand placed in his file. “This is not a trivial matter,” General McPeak said at a Pentagon news conference. “There should be no doubt about the lesson learned. The chain of command has to be almost pollution-free.It runs from the President all the way down to the corporal who pulls the trigger.”
It may come as a surprise that the now-retired General McPeak, along with a significant number of other high-ranking retired military officers, affixed his signature to “An Open Letter to America” that spoke contemptuously of then-President Donald Trump during the 2020 presidential campaign. This letter, written by a group of 489 individuals calling themselves “National Security Leaders for Biden,” received favorable coverage in most of the major media. It declared that President Trump “has demonstrated he is not equal to the enormous responsibilities of his office; he cannot rise to meet challenges large or small. Thanks to his disdainful attitude and his failures, our allies no longer trust or respect us, and our enemies no longer fear us. Climate change continues unabated, as does North Korea’s nuclear program. The president has ceded influence to a Russian adversary who puts bounties on the heads of American military personnel, and his trade war against China has only harmed America’s farmers and manufacturers.” Had General McPeak totally forgotten about Article 88 of the UCMJ?
One might ask, “Do such statements have any impact on the outcome of elections?” I believe they do, especially in a close election! According to polls, the military as a profession has historically been highly respected by some 80 percent of the U.S. population, although recent polls have shown that number gradually sliding down to around 60 percent. When a number of high-ranking retired officers speak out in a partisan manner — not just as citizens, but using their military rank as part of their title — it certainly will have an impact on the members of the military, both active and retired, who perhaps knew, or served under, the officer making the damning statements. A few votes can swing an election one way or the other.
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