Here is the rub I have with White House senior defense officials using the public access, non-secure chat app Signal to discuss attack plans for bombing Houthi rebels in Yemen: Military lives were at risk.
Recently, while driving by the U.S. Air Force Base at Dover, Delaware, I passed under a sign on a bridge that read: “All Gave Some … Some Gave All.”
Dover AFB is the home base for the military airlift groups that often participate in rescue operations. It is also the touchdown space for the “dignified return of fallen service members.” Soldiers killed in military action.
An unsettled issue of the pre-raid Signal discussion, which unintentionally included a journalist who listened in, is whether the defense officials even deliberated the risk to the military crews flying the bomb-equipped attack jets. Thankfully, they completed the mission safely.
But what if it had failed? Should we support the actions of our defense leaders who are careless about putting others in harm’s way while facing few consequences? Where is the honor in that?
According to record keepers at the Pew Research Foundation, active-duty service members now comprise less than one percent of all U.S. adults. The few are willing to protect the many.
I listened to and read interviews with several Signal chat attendees in both right and left-leaning media. The lack of accountability sticks in my mind.
One excuse particularly rankles. National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, who assembled the group, blamed the fallout on technology, saying the journalist’s phone number got “sucked” into his mobile phone’s contact list.
This excuse doesn’t align with how technology works and instead mimics excuses grade-schoolers might offer: The dog ate my homework.
Cabinet members take an oath of office that says, “I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.”
Soldiers take one, too. The Army Creed states, “I am disciplined, physically and mentally tough, trained and proficient in my warrior tasks and drills. I always maintain my arms, my equipment, and myself.”
That’s more than we can say for national defense leaders involved in the Signal chat escapade. They appear bent on offering weak excuses for their lack of appropriate decorum.
This unfortunate incident and the search for accountability shouldn’t be a partisan issue. We aren’t playing computer games when it comes to military planning. Real lives are at risk.
Those in leadership positions might do well to feel humbled and behave accordingly – as they move the human chess pieces around the board and actively remember the brave souls they lead.
“All Gave Some … Some Gave All.”
Megan Giles Cooney is a columnist for the Traverse City (MI) Record-Eagle. Reach her at megan.cooney1@gmail.com
