In an impassioned and at times furious speech, departing Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley defiantly proclaimed that the US military does not swear an oath to a “wannabe dictator.”
It was a bitter and pointed swipe that appeared unmistakably targeted at former President Donald Trump, who has in recent days accused Milley of “treason” and suggested that he should be put to death for his conduct surrounding Trump’s bid in 2021 to remain in office despite losing the presidential election.
“We are unique among the world’s militaries,” Milley 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.”
The swear an oath to uphold the constitution. It’s a relatively minor difference between swearing to a country. Basically, soldiers have a duty to refuse orders that they know to be illegal, even if those orders are coming from the POTUS. So if the POTUS tries to order all of the generals to DSP something against the constitution, they have a duty to refuse; Because they haven’t sworn an oath to the POTUS; They’ve sworn an oath to the constitution.