Defense Secretary Mark Esper and General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, approaching an intersection where they may be forced to choose between appearing publicly loyal to President Donald Trump and keep faith with the nation’s soldiers , sailors choose airman and marines, according to officials of current and former defense and senior officers. Three questions come home to roost at the same time urging them to this choice, the sources said: that now carry the promotion of Army Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman to name military bases decisions the official names confederates, and a ban on Confederate flags. Esper and Milley is inflame spoke on condition of anonymity already on thin ice with the President, the sources said, in order to avoid tensions. While the Pentagon claims to be the policy of putting President a premium on personal loyalty and systematically remove officials the government, which undermine the suspects, including the general independent inspectors and US Attorney for the New York Southern District was and trying to replace them with what is called a former government official “political lackeys. ‘last week came Kathryn Wheel Barger of it as a superior promoting post official international policy if the white house his appointment to a post high level of intelligence in the Pentagon to favor Bradley presented Hansell, a former special assistant Trump and marine and army officer pulled the Special Forces. the widely recognized Wheel Barger had worked for the late Senator John McCain, a frequent critic of Trump, and she has strongly criticized a friend of former defense minister James Mattis, the answer Trump the protests that followed the death of George Floyd. Days before Elaine McCusker, the Department of Defense acting governor, resigned after the administration made an appointment to the post reversed. McCusker has Trump’s decision to freeze aid to Ukraine questioned before. , A West Point classmate of the Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and army officer who “Yesper” and “Yes, sir Esper” has been called by some current and former Department of Defense officials behind his back for his loyalty Trump why he left Esper pulled consider publicly the president broke to control the troops civil protests in early June by calling 213-year-old Insurrection Act to implement three of the sources. Trump was angry, but decided to sack the defense minister in place, the current officials confirmed an NBC News and other reports. Although Milley thought his resignation after being in a war of words Oval Office on 1 June with the President about Trump received request to climb to deploy 10,000 active duty soldiers on the streets of Washington protests largely peaceful after Floyd’s death. Based on the fact that Trump backed off, Milley conclude that he still has some ‘before ability to influence the president, but he contacted friends and asked what they would do if they were in my boots, said the sources. The crucial question for men can be if Trump, which has intervened in cases of military justice, ordered the withdrawal of US troops from Syria and announced some forces in Poland from Germany to redistribute without the political and military leader in uniform feeling now Vindman blocks still did not make promotion. Vindman which is testified with Ukraine in the house impeachment hearings of Trump handling in line for a promotion to colonel. Trump fired Vindman by the National Security Council in February, months before being abandoned because, said he was “happy with it.” The intervention Trump is very unusual, and if Esper Vindman allowed to be removed from the list of military promotion “completely destroys his loyalty to the troops,” said a former official of the high-level defense. On the other hand, if Esper send the list to promote forward with Vindman name on it and Trump himself away Vindman, “still hurts Esper huge,” says the official. Milley, a four-star Army “in general is also a part.” Regardless of the Navy and Marine Corps have undertaken actions for the Confederate flag from its investments in response to nationwide protests over racial injustice to remove, but the Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy told reporters on June 25 that the army does not match the decline in the pace of other services without the consent Esper. “The secretary of defense wants a single decision for policy for the department to do,” said McCarthy. Although he has not weighed in on the issue of the flag, Trump veto the bill threatened that he would call 10 military bases require the allied commanders be renamed, and threatened, detained in prison for anyone until the teen years trying to get a federal knockdown monument . It ordered Interior Minister David Bernhardt return a statue of Confederate General Albert Pike at its base in Washington, after the demonstrators marched through the ropes down. “This monumental part and powerful foundation of a great American Heritage was” Trump said on Twitter on June 10, the army leadership, and sometimes local commanders are responsible for naming bases, and many military leaders and members of the Congress, including some Republicans refuse Trump will be introduced to the theme, in what some see as an effort to boost his chances of re-election. Similarly, decisions were over statues matter of internal or government department and local leaders, not the president. Some Department of Defense also Trump plan oppose a military parade in Washington on July 4 on the stage while the crown cases explode again in California, Florida, Arizona and many other states. “This is not the ideal time for our forces in Iraq this to pull in the middle of a city to massing and trying to large masses,” said one of the officials of the Ministry of Defense. While some current and former officers and Esper Milley dilemma between the Commander in Chief and the duty to recognize the prisoner to the forces that lead, others are less sympathetic. “If you lie down with dogs, you get fleas with again,” said a former senior defense officials Republicans. “These guys all knew what they were getting into. Now the escape tunnel collapsed” Photo copyright Saul Loeb -. AFP / Getty Images
Trump, or the troops? Why two top military leaders forced in May to choose
