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With all the controversy over General Mark Milley’s direct contacts with senior Chinese military leaders, his apparently extensive contacts with journalists, and the confusion or contradictions over what advice he and others gave to President Biden about our endgame in Afghanistan, I decided to reach out to Mackubin T. Owens, decorated Vietnam War vet, long time friend of Power Line, professor at the Naval War College, and author of numerous articles on books on civilian-military relations.
Among his books that bear on this subject include US Civil-Military Relations After 9/11: Renegotiating the Civil Military Bargain, and What Military Officers Need to Know about Civil-Military Relations (with co-author Christopher Robertson). Also not to be missed is his 2015 article in Strategic Studies Quarterly, “Military Officers: Political without Partisanship.” And above all, see his brand new article in Strategic Studies Quarterly, “Maximum Toxicity: Civil-Military Relations in the Trump Era.”
Mack doesn’t mince words in this conversation, giving direct and blunt answers about Gen. Milley’s performance, as well as commenting on the case of Lt. Col. Stuart Scheller, currently in the brig awaiting court-martial.
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Obama fired many generals and admirals increasing the Wokification of the military. Some of Trump’s problems stemmed from that. And the IC and FIB opposed him by their questionable actions during the 2016 and 2020 campaigns.