Small Wars Journal

Plea to Donald Trump: No More 'Quibbling Micromanagers' at the Pentagon

Wed, 11/23/2016 - 1:48am

Plea to Donald Trump: No More 'Quibbling Micromanagers' at the Pentagon by Matt Golsteyn, Military Times

In the wake of a momentous presidential election, it’s obvious that Americans demand something different from their government. Those of us who've been at the tip of the spear in our country's the 15-year war on terrorism demand something different from the Defense Department as well.

There is cause for optimism in hearing the names of potential candidates for key positions in the executive branch. One of the Marines with whom I served in Afghanistan, now a company commander, contacted me recently to say that he and his Marines are excited at the prospect of seeing one name in particular elevated to a position within the Pentagon: Congressman Duncan Hunter. As I offer my support for his leadership, I am passing along theirs as well.

One could ask why the U.S. military would be excited about a young congressman from California. The short answer would be: Semper Fidelis, the Marine Corps motto meaning “always faithful.”

You may or may not be familiar with the war the Department of the Army waged against me since 2011. The rank and file in the U.S. military, particularly in the Army and Marine Corps, most certainly are. And through all of it, as others turned their backs, it was Congressman Hunter and his staff who were fully invested in the fight with me, unafraid to defend what others wrongly suggested was indefensible.

In my case, the Army alleged that in 2010 I killed a known Afghan bomb maker by acting outside the rules of engagement. The bomb maker was responsible for the death of at least two U.S. Marines supporting the fight in Marjah, Afghanistan, when conditions there were at their worst. 

Congressman Hunter never faltered in my defense. And why would he expend his political capital on an Army Green Beret? Maybe it was because, as a Marine officer himself, Congressman Hunter had served in Fallujah, Iraq, and thus understands the realities of combat. Maybe it was because he saw a moral necessity to intervene…

Read on.