Partisan attacks on military hurt force readiness, top senator warns

An increasing number of political attacks on military members is hurting both troops’ morale and force readiness, the Senate’s top defense Democrat warned during a speech at the annual Defense News Conference on Wednesday.

“There is a long tradition within the American military of being apolitical, which is essential for our democracy and civilian control of the military,” Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Jack Reed , D-R.I., said during a wide-ranging speech at the event.

“Yet some have chosen to publicly disparage our military leaders for political purposes by generating a sense of outrage and indignation,” Reed added. “While such attacks may serve a short-term political agenda, in the long run it damages our national interest by eroding trust within the ranks, sowing doubt within our civil society, and benefiting our adversaries.”

Reed said he believes the problem is a reflection of growing political polarization across America today, but added that he is concerned with the military being drawn into those vicious fights.

Military leaders in recent years have urged troops to avoid behaviors which could politicize the military, going beyond routine election year reminders. They include new rules for participating in political rallies and engaging in divisive social media fights.

But those efforts have been met with limited success.

Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley was harshly criticized by Democratic lawmakers for appearing beside then-President Donald Trump for a controversial photo op in summer 2020. He then received equal attacks from conservatives after apologizing for the appearance and criticizing some Trump decisions.

President Donald Trump walks with Attorney General William Barr, left, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, center, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark A. Milley, right, and others from the White House to visit St. John's Church after the area was cleared of people protesting the death of George Floyd June 1, 2020, in Washington. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)

Over the last year, several House Republicans have also accused military leaders of pushing a progressive agenda by elevating issues of diversity and gender equity in the ranks. Democratic lawmakers in turn have accused Republicans of undermining efforts to build camaraderie and leadership confidence in the ranks.

Reed, whose committee has been in the center of many of the fights, said politicization of the military further complicates already difficult recruiting and retention efforts.

“I am concerned about the cohesion of our force,” he said. “Twenty years of high operations tempo has worn down connections between commanders and troops, and too often issues such as sexual harassment and assault and racism have created division.”

The chairman said he is also concerned with the “growing proportion of military personnel who are second, third and even fourth generation volunteers.” Reed said recruiting efforts need to be expanded to include candidates with new backgrounds and viewpoints.

“As fewer Americans are exposed to the military and service becomes narrowed to a family tradition, we could see the force become more isolated from the broader population,” he added.

Lawmakers have included new recruiting incentives in their planned defense authorization bill for fiscal 2023.

Reed said he hopes to have that legislation on the Senate floor sometime this month, with an eye towards passing compromise legislation with House negotiators sometime this fall.

Leo covers Congress, Veterans Affairs and the White House for Military Times. He has covered Washington, D.C. since 2004, focusing on military personnel and veterans policies. His work has earned numerous honors, including a 2009 Polk award, a 2010 National Headliner Award, the IAVA Leadership in Journalism award and the VFW News Media award.

参议院最高国防民主党议员周三在年度国防新闻发布会上发表讲话时警告说，越来越多的针对军人的政治攻击正在损害军队的士气和战备状态。

“美国军队有着悠久的非政治化传统，这对于我们的民主和文官对军队的控制至关重要，”参议院军事委员会主席杰克·里德博士在活动上发表的广泛讲话中说道。

里德补充道：“然而，有些人出于政治目的，选择公开诋毁我们的军事领导人，煽动民众的愤怒和愤慨。虽然这种攻击可能在短期内服务于政治目的，但从长远来看，它会损害我们的国家利益，削弱军队内部的信任，在公民社会中散播怀疑，并使我们的对手受益。”

里德表示，他认为这个问题反映了当今美国日益加剧的政治两极分化，但他补充说，他担心军队会被卷入这些残酷的斗争中。

近年来，军方领导人敦促部队避免任何可能将军队政治化的行为，其力度远超例行的选举年提醒。这些措施包括制定新的规则，限制士兵参与政治集会和在社交媒体上进行分裂性争论。

但这些努力收效甚微。

2020 年夏天，参谋长联席会议主席马克·米利将军因与时任总统唐纳德·特朗普一同出席一场备受争议的合影活动而受到民主党议员的严厉批评。随后，在为此次露面道歉并批评特朗普的一些决定后，他又遭到了保守派人士的同等抨击。

2020年6月1日，在华盛顿，美国总统唐纳德·特朗普与司法部长威廉·巴尔（左）、国防部长马克·埃斯珀（中）、参谋长联席会议主席马克·米利将军（右）以及其他白宫官员一同前往圣约翰教堂，此前该区域已清空了因乔治·弗洛伊德之死而抗议的人群。（Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images）

过去一年，多位共和党众议员指责军方领导人通过在军队中大力推行多元化和性别平等议题，来推进其进步议程。而民主党议员则反过来指责共和党人破坏了旨在增强军队凝聚力和领导力信心的努力。

里德的委员会一直处于许多斗争的中心，他表示，军队的政治化进一步加剧了本已困难的征兵和留任工作。

“我担心我们部队的凝聚力，”他说。“二十年来高强度的作战节奏削弱了指挥官和士兵之间的联系，而且性骚扰、性侵犯和种族歧视等问题也常常造成分裂。”

主席表示，他也对“第二代、第三代甚至第四代志愿兵在军人队伍中的比例不断增长”感到担忧。里德说，征兵工作需要扩大范围，纳入具有新背景和新观点的候选人。

他补充说：“随着越来越少的美国人接触军队，服役逐渐成为一种家族传统，我们可能会看到军队与广大民众越来越疏远。”

立法者已将新的征兵激励措施纳入其计划中的 2023 财年国防授权法案中。

里德表示，他希望本月某个时候能将该法案提交参议院审议，并着眼于今年秋季某个时候与众议院谈判代表达成妥协法案。

利奥为《军事时报》报道国会、退伍军人事务部和白宫的新闻。自2004年以来，他一直报道华盛顿特区的新闻，重点关注军人和退伍军人政策。他的作品荣获多项荣誉，包括2009年波尔克奖、2010年国家头条新闻奖、国际退伍军人协会新闻领导力奖和美国退伍军人协会新闻媒体奖。