The morning after the historic election of Donald Trump as president of the United States, there’s no outward sign of the change to come at the Pentagon.
“It’s no big deal. We do this all the time,” is how one civilian employee of the Office of Secretary of Defense reacted when asked what she thought about the new commander in chief of America’s armed forces.
The U.S. military prides itself on being apolitical, saluting smartly and carrying out the orders issued d by its civilian leaders, without regard to their personal views.
“It’s true we like some bosses better than others, but we keep that to ourselves,” said a naval officer.
Walking the halls of the Pentagon Wednesday looked like any other day. “Business as usual,” said one officer.
No one in uniform had anything bad to say about President-elect Trump, and in fact military law bars officers from criticizing their civilian overseers.
The Uniform Code of Military Justice, article 88, states, “Any commissioned officer who uses ‘contemptuous words’ against the President, the Vice President, Congress, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of a military department, the Secretary of Transportation, or the Governor or legislature of any State, Territory, Commonwealth, or possession in which he is on duty or present shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.”
It was a message reinforced in a memo sent to all Pentagon employees, by Defense Secretary Ash Carter, praising DoD workers for strictly adhering the non-partisan policy.
“I am very proud of the way each and every one of you conducted yourselves during this campaign, standing apart from politics and instead focusing on our sacred mission of providing security,” Carter wrote.
Carter called the fact that the election happened “freely and peacefully” a “testament to the great work” of the Defense Department.
“I am committed to overseeing the orderly transition to the next commander in chief. I know I can count on you to execute all your duties with the excellence our citizens know they can expect.”
