To the Next President,
Letter 3. An update from the former Secretary of Defense.
Christopher Miller, President Trump’s final Defense Secretary, just wrote a book for the American people. It’s titled Soldier Secretary. It’s refreshing having a former SECDEF concluding obvious needed changes for military leadership. I’ve cherry picked some quotes from the book below.
However, if I could humbly offer one critique, America could have used the former SECDEF’s voice a year and a half ago while most of the veteran and American people struggled with “leadership’s” decisions. Part of me is happy Mr. Miller finally came forward with his observations, but the other part of me lumps his observations in with the majority of Americans and military members who only make observations once the truth is obvious and the risk is negligible. That being said, what the former SECDEF had to say, is important to understand…
“The narrative promulgated by the senior military officers about the Afghan Army collapse is totally wrong. I believe Chairman Milley, and the theater commander, Marine General Frank McKenzie, are either lying or grossly incompetent. I’m not sure what is worse.”
“A huge portion of the current leadership in every branch of the Armed Forces needs to be gracefully escorted into retirement.”
“The events of six Jan undeniably laid bare the true character of our ruling class. Here were the leaders of the legislative branch of the mightiest nation in history cowering like frightened children for the whole world to see.”
“There is no more visible example of Congress’s failure to provide effective oversight of the military than their decision to confirm Generals Jim Mattis and Lloyd Austin as the civilian leaders of the military.”
“I’m not looking to gain the plaudits of a national security establishment that has spent the last two decades losing wars in the Middle East.” [Mattis/General Dynamics, Dunford/Lockheed Martin, and Austin/Raytheon.]
I took over as Secretary of Defense after “the White House came to believe that (Secretary of Defense) Esper was being manipulated and controlled by the military industrial complex. The President already had Mattis who disagreed with his America First worldview and his determination to bring the troops home.”
