Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley said President Trump’s intervention into three U.S. servicemen’s cases last month will not cause a breakdown in military discipline.
Milley testified in front of the House Armed Services Committee on Wednesday in a hearing over “U.S. Policy in Syria and the Broader Region.” Democratic Rep. Seth Moulton of Massachusetts questioned Milley about the effect Trump’s pardons would have on the larger military, citing concerns from one unnamed sergeant major in the Marines, according to CBS News.
“We do maintain, and we will maintain good order and discipline,” Milley said. “We will not turn into a gang of raping and burning, pillaging throughout … That is not going to happen because of this or anything else.”
Trump issued two full pardons on Nov. 15 to former Army Lt. Clint Lorance and Army Special Forces Maj. Mathew Golsteyn. Lorance was serving a 19-year sentence in Fort Leavenworth military prison for murdering two civilians. Golsteyn was facing trial for killing a suspected Taliban bomb-maker in 2010.
Trump also intervened in the case of Chief Petty Officer and Navy SEAL Edward Gallagher. In a high-profile trial over the summer, Gallagher was acquitted of murder but found guilty of unlawfully taking a picture with the corpse of an enemy combatant. Trump restored the rank Gallagher of which he was stripped for the offense.
Former Secretary of the Navy Richard Spencer had claimed that Trump’s interference in the cases would crush military morale. Spencer delivered the strong remarks on his last day in the Trump administration after being fired by Defense Secretary Mark Esper.
“What message does that send to the troops? That you can get away with things. We have to have good order and discipline. It’s the backbone of what we do,” Spencer said on Nov. 25.
