A group of former Defense secretaries and Joint Chiefs of Staff chairs wrote an open letter on best practices for "healthy" civil-military relations.
The letter, posted on WarontheRocks.com Tuesday, came amid what the group called "an exceptionally challenging civil-military environment."
Factors contributing to the overall climate, the group said, included:
- "Geopolitically, the winding down of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the ramping up of great power conflict mean the U.S. military must simultaneously come to terms with wars that ended without all the goals satisfactorily accomplished while preparing for more daunting competition with near-peer rivals."
- "Socially, the pandemic and the economic dislocations have disrupted societal patterns and put enormous strain on individuals and families."
- "Politically, military professionals confront an extremely adverse environment characterized by the divisiveness of affective polarization that culminated in the first election in over a century when the peaceful transfer of political power was disrupted and in doubt."
"Looking ahead, all of these factors could well get worse before they get better," comments in the letter said. "In such an environment, it is helpful to review the core principles and best practices by which civilian and military professionals have conducted healthy American civil-military relations in the past — and can continue to do so, if vigilant and mindful."
The former officials listed 16 core principles and best practices. The principles included:
- Civilian control of the military is part of the bedrock foundation of American democracy, and it operates within a constitutional framework under the rule of law.
- Civilian control is enhanced by effective civil-military relations, which are comprised of a dynamic and iterative process that adjusts to suit the styles of civilian leaders.
- The military has an obligation to assist civilian leaders in the executive and legislative branches in the development of wise and ethical directives but must implement them provided that the directives are legal.
- There are significant limits on the public role of military personnel in partisan politics, as outlined in longstanding Defense Department policy and regulations.
The eight former Defense secretaries who signed the letter are Ash Carter, William Cohen, Mark Esper, Robert Gates, Chuck Hagel, Jim Mattis, Leon Panetta, and William Perry.
The five former chairs of the Joint Chiefs of Staff are retired Gen. Martin Dempsey, retired Gen. Joseph Dunford, retired Adm. Michael Mullen, retired Gen. Richard Myers, and retired Gen. Peter Pace.
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