In yesterday’s column, I published an opinion piece on how the current Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, our Nation’s highest ranking military member, General Mark Milley, saw fit to undermine the efforts of the President of these United States as he endeavored to deal with riots fomented by at least one known terrorist group. General Milley, issued a totally unnecessary apology for performing his duty. He claimed that he was attempting to avoid even the appearance of political involvement when he accompanied the President for a photo op in front of a church that had been torched by rioters. Of course, General Milley’s apology had quite the opposite effect on how the nation perceived him.

Opinion: General Milley, CJCS, Created a Political-Military Nexus, Where There Wasn’t One Before

I also noted the number of retired Flag Officers coming seemingly out of the woodwork, to condemn the President for an action he had not even contemplated, to wit, using Active Duty Military Forces to attack peaceful protestors. Moreover, and despite historical precedent, these General Officers who should have long “faded away,” saw fit to accuse President Trump of disregarding Constitutional constraints by contemplating an action taken by many of his predecessors—using Active Duty troops to quell riots.

This isn’t the first time this has happened to a sitting president. But it’s the first that I can recall, that such appears to be tightly coordinated. What bothers me, is that I know a few of these guys personally, and I wonder how they ended up believing this was the right thing to do. We all went to the same type of training and have had pretty much the same types of assignments. And although they are all Flag Officers, ergo much brighter than I’ll ever be, I cannot fathom just how they could do something so…dumb.

So, what is going on? A few months ago, I stumbled on part of the answer. In a three-part series called “The Rot Runs Deep,” I noted that this type of thinking could actually be traced back to the Service Academies, especially the past 30 or so years. In that series, I pointed out three military officers as examples of the rot that has infected our military, Rear Admiral Collin Green, Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman, and Cadet Spencer Rapone

CREDITS: From left-to-right are Rear Admiral Collin Green (Defense Visual Information Distribution Service); LTC Alexander Vindman (AP); and US Military Academy Cadet Spenser Rapone (AP.

Opinion: The Rot is Deep (Part I)

Opinion: The Rot is Deep (Part II)

Opinion: The Rot is Deep (Part III)

It’s worse than I thought. I had been of the mind that perhaps the Commie Cadet, Spencer Rapone mentioned above was some sort of self-developed aberration. Not so fast. It appears that disrespect for our system of government, especially military subservience to civil authority continues to be undermined. This past Thursday, over 350 graduates of West Point published a letter to the Class of 2020 who were about to graduate this past Saturday, with President Trump officiating. The letter admonished graduates who were serving in the Trump Administration. From the article

In a letter published Thursday, hundreds of West Point alumni raised concerns about fellow graduates they say are politicizing the military and tarnishing the oaths they have all taken, urging the Class of 2020 to lead with character.

Further down, emphasis mine

The post has been signed by over 700 graduates (as of this publication) calling themselves Concerned Members of the Long Gray Line, representing nearly 50 classes from 1964 to 2017. Their service spans several presidential administrations. The group writes that its concern is about principle, not party, but it is clear rebuke of West Point alumni serving in the Trump administration..

Read: West Point grads raise concerns about politicization of military, urge Class of 2020 to uphold ideals

Like the various letters by certain Flag officers decrying President Trump’s unconstitutional acts, this letter is not only out of turn so to speak, but libelous on its face. I won’t go over the whole thing, but here are a couple of highlights:

Claim: “Sadly, the government has threatened to use the Army in which you serve as a weapon against fellow Americans engaging in these legitimate protests.”

Assessment: FALSE. Not once has the President indicated that he would use any force whatsoever, including the military, against peaceful protestors. Not once.

Claim: “On the eve of your graduation and joining the Long Gray Line and the Army officer corps, we, the undersigned, are resolute in our efforts to hold ourselves accountable to the principles of Duty, Honor, Country in selfless service to the Nation. We will not tolerate those who ‘lie, cheat or steal.’”

Assessment: FALSE. My (I’m deeply ashamed to admit) fellow graduates are blatantly lying to these newly minted officers and members of The Long Gray Line. They aren’t holding themselves accountable to anything, except some perverted view of morality that says it’s ok to mislead others in the cause of socialism and one world order—and worse yet, they are encouraging follow-on generations in their evil quest. (Hat tip to DP, a fellow Grad who helped me run some of this stuff to ground.)

Those are just two of the more egregious claims in this pusillanimous piece of posturing prose. If you can stand the bad taste in your mouth afterward, you are welcome to read the whole thing.

Read: A Letter to the West Point Class of 2020, From Fellow Members of the Long Gray Line

Here is the list of some of the signatories. I know a few of them and have had dealings with some of the others. Of the ones I do know or have had dealings with, let me just say that I am totally unsurprised to find their names on this list. I’ll leave it at that.

Read: List of Signatories

The rot is indeed deep. What’s more, it appears to be self-perpetuating. We have multiple generations of West Point Graduates, reaching into a class about to be brought on board as impressionable young junior officers. They are attempting to corrupt them right from the outset. If this is happening at America’s Flagship Academy, what is going on at the other Service Academies? Seeing this letter, the names of folks who have signed it, coupled with retired Flag Officers “coordinating” anti-Trump articles, coupled with the visual of a West Point Cadet displaying a “Communism Will Win” sign, portends great evil approaching our Nation.

At this point, the only things I know to do — support President Trump, stock up on ammo…and pray.