Friends and acquaintances, knowing that I am a retired military officer, have often asked me if a military coup was possible in America.
My answer has always been a very quick and direct, "No, it is simply not an option that our military leaders consider" and I would go to explain how in American, unlike other past and current nations, the armed forces are controlled by civilian officials, both elected and appointed.
I further explained how all service members swore an oath to protect America from all enemies foreign and domestic and to follow the lawful orders of those officers appointed to higher rank and grade.
I must say that recent political and societal events have made me change my answer from the usual "no" to a more realistic "I hope not.
" With the election of President Obama came numerous rumors of gun confiscation and the prohibition of private citizens owning guns and other weapons deemed "dangerous" by members of Obama's team.
There were and still are rumors of a "national police force" being planned, which led to countless rumors of that force being used to take actions that would violate the Constitution and many freedoms that we have come to expect as Americans.
Would America's military revolt and stage a coup as have so many other military forces in other nations? I personally do not think this would ever happen ( and I certainly do not want it to happen!) unless our nation was experiencing social and economic conditions that bordered on anarchy and rampant lawlessness.
While the conditions I am describing are so severe that America has never experienced the likes of them, many naysayers say that if certain political agendas and initiatives were to be implemented our nation could plunge into the lawless chaos that is resident in other nations around the world.
Personally, while I feel our country is going through some rough times economically and politically, I do not believe that we are headed for anarchy and a fall similar to the Roman Empire.
I do think that these tough times will bring out the very worst in people, including our senior leaders, but they will also bring out the very best in people and new leaders with fresh, relevant ideas will emerge.
The Armed Forces of today are the best our nation has ever had and I think they are the best in the world.
I know through experience as a career officer that every man and woman in the military fully understands that the military follows the orders and direction of civilian leadership, as stated in the Constitution, and I have never heard a single service member gripe about this.
I have heard service members gripe about civilian leaders (Bill Clinton was not well thought by military men and women), but they do so privately.
I suspect that President Obama is not very popular among today's military members, but there's no question that he is the Commander in Chief and as such, his lawful orders and those of his subordinate leaders will be followed to the letter by each and every service member.
While some feel that our military is capable of staging a coup, I dare say that the thought or doing so never enters the mind of nearly 100% of the members of the Armed Forces - it is simply not an option they have ever been taught or encouraged to consider and should a small number of renegade leaders attempt to find support for a coup from other military members there is no doubt in my mind that they would be reported immediately and the instigators would be apprehended and face the consequences of violating the oath they swore each time they enlisted or were commissioned as officers.
Sleep well America - while our nation has its share of problems, our Armed Forces are not among them.
As envisioned by our founding fathers, our proud warriors stand ready to sacrifice life and limb in the defense of America and its Constitution.
This is one of the major differences between our nation and others experiencing so much internal strife - in America our soldiers swear allegiance to serve the nation, not the Generals or the politicians.
As long as Americans, including our military members continue to place the needs of the nation over personal agendas and biases our great nation will get through these tough times and prosper for many years to come.
My answer has always been a very quick and direct, "No, it is simply not an option that our military leaders consider" and I would go to explain how in American, unlike other past and current nations, the armed forces are controlled by civilian officials, both elected and appointed.
I further explained how all service members swore an oath to protect America from all enemies foreign and domestic and to follow the lawful orders of those officers appointed to higher rank and grade.
I must say that recent political and societal events have made me change my answer from the usual "no" to a more realistic "I hope not.
" With the election of President Obama came numerous rumors of gun confiscation and the prohibition of private citizens owning guns and other weapons deemed "dangerous" by members of Obama's team.
There were and still are rumors of a "national police force" being planned, which led to countless rumors of that force being used to take actions that would violate the Constitution and many freedoms that we have come to expect as Americans.
Would America's military revolt and stage a coup as have so many other military forces in other nations? I personally do not think this would ever happen ( and I certainly do not want it to happen!) unless our nation was experiencing social and economic conditions that bordered on anarchy and rampant lawlessness.
While the conditions I am describing are so severe that America has never experienced the likes of them, many naysayers say that if certain political agendas and initiatives were to be implemented our nation could plunge into the lawless chaos that is resident in other nations around the world.
Personally, while I feel our country is going through some rough times economically and politically, I do not believe that we are headed for anarchy and a fall similar to the Roman Empire.
I do think that these tough times will bring out the very worst in people, including our senior leaders, but they will also bring out the very best in people and new leaders with fresh, relevant ideas will emerge.
The Armed Forces of today are the best our nation has ever had and I think they are the best in the world.
I know through experience as a career officer that every man and woman in the military fully understands that the military follows the orders and direction of civilian leadership, as stated in the Constitution, and I have never heard a single service member gripe about this.
I have heard service members gripe about civilian leaders (Bill Clinton was not well thought by military men and women), but they do so privately.
I suspect that President Obama is not very popular among today's military members, but there's no question that he is the Commander in Chief and as such, his lawful orders and those of his subordinate leaders will be followed to the letter by each and every service member.
While some feel that our military is capable of staging a coup, I dare say that the thought or doing so never enters the mind of nearly 100% of the members of the Armed Forces - it is simply not an option they have ever been taught or encouraged to consider and should a small number of renegade leaders attempt to find support for a coup from other military members there is no doubt in my mind that they would be reported immediately and the instigators would be apprehended and face the consequences of violating the oath they swore each time they enlisted or were commissioned as officers.
Sleep well America - while our nation has its share of problems, our Armed Forces are not among them.
As envisioned by our founding fathers, our proud warriors stand ready to sacrifice life and limb in the defense of America and its Constitution.
This is one of the major differences between our nation and others experiencing so much internal strife - in America our soldiers swear allegiance to serve the nation, not the Generals or the politicians.
As long as Americans, including our military members continue to place the needs of the nation over personal agendas and biases our great nation will get through these tough times and prosper for many years to come.
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