Retiring Gen. Mark Milley shows the real meaning of patriotism 

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I don’t know about you, but I can’t remember the names of most of America’s former Joint Chiefs of Staff. Serving not as leaders but as military advisors to POTUS, what they say or do seems to garner little attention from the American public.

Gen. Mark Milley is an exception. As a requirement of his patriotism, he stepped outside the bounds of his position. He will leave me indelibly impressed with his name, his courage and his patriotic sense of what it means to be an American.

While the septic tank collection truck continues to suck out the crap who assisted former President Donald Trump in his attempt to disavow his 2020 election defeat and ignore the will of the people, a few in DJT’s inner circle have chosen to do the right thing—standing not with the man, but with decency and principle. It’s reassuring to find that a few of his hand-picked darlings have the decency Donald so miserably lacked. Gen. Milley was one of them, calling the president out on his bad behavior and showing allegiance, above all, to the defense of his country.

In his recent retirement address, Milley offered this wisdom: “We are unique among the world’s militaries,” he said. “We don’t take an oath to a country, we don’t take an oath to a tribe, we don’t take an oath to a religion. We don’t take an oath to a king, or a queen, or a tyrant or a dictator” (He doubled down on that last one, pointedly punctuating his loathing of the man who had hired him).

Milley continued: “We don’t take an oath to a wannabe dictator. We take an oath to the Constitution and we take an oath to the idea that is America.” And he added, as a true, military man, “…we’re willing to die to protect it.”

Clearly, Milley understood the true meaning of loyalty, and his idealistic no-nonsense take on his responsibilities put him at odds with anyone who endangered our country. He had sworn an officers’ oath, including the words, "… I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic, that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same … so help me God."

Unlike the pathetic 60% of the Republican Party who still support Trump in a third bid for the Presidency, Milley had identified who Trump was—a domestic enemy of our nation and its Constitution.

As you may remember, Gen. Milley, in full uniform, was one of those who walked with then-President Trump and his entourage to the church near Lafayette Square, back during the George Floyd protests—yes, the one in which Trump held an upside-down Bible. Understanding that the military must not be involved in domestic politics, Milley later apologized for having been there. He understood that he was out of place, and that made Trump livid.

Later, it was Milley who—understanding that Trump was severely unhinged, delusional, and dangerous—called China’s Gen. Li Zuocheng to assure him that the U.S. was not considering an attack on China. Again, Trump was infuriated and has since characterized the call as a treasonous act. In retrospect, Milley did the right thing, understanding that saber-rattling with such a mammoth power was a very dangerous thing to be doing.

A Princeton and Columbia graduate, Milley has taken some debatable positions on matters like the Afghanistan withdrawal and the Ukraine war. One doesn’t have to agree with all his views to understand that he takes a moral and rational stand on all issues, regardless of the more popular, naïve, and simplistic points of view.

Recently, Trump has made statements saying that Milley should be hung as a traitor, suggesting that he would have aided and abetted the Chinese, had hostilities developed. Such irresponsible language raises the danger that one of DJT’s monkey-militiamen might be riled into action. This type of inciteful rhetoric is exactly what now endangers our nation the most, simply because there are a bunch of deluded Trump supporters who didn’t learn their lesson from the 2021 Capitol attack and still cling to their delusional leader.

The Trump-Milley war of verbal hand grenades should serve as a reason for all Trump supporters to ask the question: What will it take to make “America Great Again?” After all, there’s only one way to accomplish an honest “MAGA” goal, and that is ensuring that the principles of our democracy are respected, followed and preserved. Sadly, DJT has been the one to lead the onslaught to remove the word “democracy” from our American dream.

What a tragedy—when someone who should have been committed to the success of our great American experiment, almost single handedly, strove to destroy it.

We must consider how our young democracy is in a still-infant state, and there are obviously a bunch of issues that need to be clarified and worked out if it is to survive. The insurrection and Trump’s treasonous attempt at subverting our country toward a precipitous autocracy should make every American acutely aware of just how fragile a democracy we possess.

Gen. Milley, who just retired from his post as our military chief of staff, has been a stand-up leader in resisting Trump’s attempt to bury the principles of our democracy and turn loyalties into some form of cult worship. His no-nonsense positions—giving his allegiance to America’s best democratic principles—have been his crowning glory.

No, Gen. Milley should not be executed! Every American out there should be thrilled that someone was willing to take a stand for our country, its Constitution, and the principles that can make America truly great.

The author is a retired businessman, novelist, columnist and former Vietnam-era Army assistant public information officer. He resides in Riverton with his wife, Carol and the beloved ashes of their mongrel dog. comments@cityweekly.net