WASHINGTON
With Americans passing through "a highly political time right now," the nation's top military officer reiterated Monday that he wants to make sure "that everybody in uniform stays out of politics."
Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, urged a group of Pentagon-detailed officers to avoid "getting pulled in, even inadvertently," to the presidential race and other political contests.
"That doesn't mean don't vote. Please do vote," he said. But "leaders need to understand what the rules are" and keep their political leanings to themselves.
Mullen's remarks at an "all hands call" of several hundred members of the Pentagon's Joint Staff were in line with warnings he first sounded in an essay last month and has underscored in recent speeches, including a commencement address at the U.S. Naval Academy, his alma mater.
"The U.S. military must remain apolitical at all times and in all ways," Mullen wrote in the essay for Joint Force Quarterly, a military journal. "It is and must always be a neutral instrument of the state, no matter which party holds sway...
"What the Nation expects is that military personnel will, in the execution of the mission assigned to them, put aside their partisan leanings. Political opinions have no place in cockpit or camp or conference room. We do not wear our politics on our sleeves."
Capt. John Kirby, a spokesman for Mullen, said the presidential contest and the extent to which troops can become involved in it "comes up very, very frequently" when the admiral appears before military groups.
At one appearance this spring, Mullen wrote in the Joint Force Quarterly essay, a Marine asked him, "Are you endorsing any of the candidates? And if so, which one and why?"
Since the Vietnam era, service members and military veterans have increasingly identified with the Republican Party. A survey last fall by the Military Times newspapers found that 49 percent of service members described themselves as Republicans while a little more than 14 percent called themselves Democrats.
The same survey, however, indicated a growing skepticism in the ranks about President Bush, a Republican. A little more than 40 percent said they approved of his handling of the war in Iraq, and 38 percent disapproved.
Presidential candidates Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama are sharply divided over the war.
Republican McCain is among the most prominent supporters of the "surge" strategy put in place by Bush last year. He argues that it has created security improvements that are giving Iraqi leaders a chance to create a stable, democratic state in the heart of the Middle East.
Democrat Obama opposed the surge and has called for a phased withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq.
Dale Eisman, (703) 913-9872, dale.eisman@pilotonline.com
Delicious
Digg
Reddit
Facebook
Google
Yahoo
the horse already left the barn
I'm so glad Mullen has said this... unfortunately he is at least 8-12 years late. We've been pushed to vote, especially under Rumsfeld, along with too many subtle suggestions that we vote Republican. A regular Pandora's Box, now that many are openly expressing frustration with that same party. I miss the days when the military was disinterested in politics... it made us so much better than most of the world where the military is a de facto political party with all the attendant ethical problems....
Stay out
I hope the pin heads in Congress stay out of the military's affiars. Congress if you are not the CINC then shut up!
For those who do not know...
Any member of the military who openly endorses a politician while in uniform (for purposes of non-official duty), or uses their military status to gain favor with a politician or political party, is in violation of military ethics. You can vote for who you like, and endorse who you like, but you cannot make mention of your military status or do so in uniform. When stationed overseas, soldiers, sailors and Marines have ethics drilled into them, and we're taught to avoid getting into those situations.
Google it if you want to, but Beandaddy, you just broke a few laws.
Hopefully Mullen wont...
... pull politically agnostic Rush Limbat from the taxpayer-funded Armed Services Radio. Where else would the soldiers go to learn that those with opposing political views are 'phony soldiers' who 'hate 'Merca first'? And based on prior troop polling, Mullen may want to put out a memo to clarify that Saddam wasnt involved in 911.
Mis-informed
Well, it is quite obvious to me that those in uniform that choose to vote Democrat don't remember or are too young to know that during the Clinton regime we couldn't buy parts to fix airplanes because he targeted that money to support his social agenda. We lost numerous army divisiosn and armament during that time too. For that matter, we couldn't even go to servmart to buy administrative supplies becuase there was no money.
There's the old saying, back in the day men were made of iron and sailed on wooden ships. The money service members make today is by far above and beyond form their civilian counterparts.
Concur
I concur with Adm. Mike Mullen, military personnel should not wear their politics on their sleeves. "It is and must always be a neutral instrument of the state, no matter which party holds sway..."What the Nation expects is that military personnel will, in the execution of the mission assigned to them, put aside their partisan leanings. Political opinions have no place in cockpit or camp or conference room."
For beandaddy-Who really cares who you support that is exactly what the Adm. is talking about!
Article accurate ... but
Actually, in recent history, far more servicemembers idetified themselves as Republican than Democrat. However, this IS starting to change. I've been on active duty for 15 years and have always voted Republican for national offices. I always said that I was defending my paycheck. Then, recently, I looked at the facts and saw that Bill clinton gave me the biggest raise I've ever had and that last year, the Democrat-controlled Congress gave me .5% more of a raise than our Republican President wanted to. I voted for Thelma Drake, but I won't be making that mistake again after seeing her fold when it came time to vote on the new GI Bill. In 2000, I would have voted for McCain anyday of the week and twice on Sunday, but this year, I seriously doubt that I will. This country needs to change direction and Bush v2.0 is not the answer. Of course, personally, protecting the 2nd Amendment is important to me so I'm not too sure about Obama either. I guess it will come down to VP choices or maybe it's time to give a 3rd party a shot.
I guess
That my husband and I, both active duty, are in the minority because we are Democrats and are behind Obama 100%..We had a lot of scrutiny from our cohorts in 2004 when we said we were voting for Kerry. Some even said vote Democrat and lose our pay raise!! HAHAHAHA..IN 2001, during the surplus, we received 2 pay raises..And we have watched it slow from 7.5% to less than half of that. We have 25 years active service between us.
There are a lot more Democrats in the military than this article will lead you to believe. We know many. And we know many who do not approve of Bush so poll numbers are just poll numbers to us.
OBAMA 2008!!!