Military Professionalism - United States Air Force Academy

hierarchic, orderly, technical culture, they have decidedly mixed records at the open and
chaotic business of running for office and governing. There are exceptions, no doubt, to
the rule that generals make poor political activists. Who would want to exclude
Eisenhower from American politics? Then again, does anyone really think there is an
Eisenhower out there? And are the records of Grant, MacArthur, LeMay and
Westmoreland so inspiring that retired flags should be encouraged to plunge into politics?
Gelpi, Christopher and Peter D. Feaver. “Speak Softly and Carry a Big Stick?
Veterans in the Political Elite and the American Use of Force.” The American
Political Science Review 96.4 (Dec. 2002): 779-794.
Other research has shown that civilians and the military differ in their views about when
and how to use military force; that the opinions of veterans track more closely with
military officers than with civilians who never served in the military; and that U.S. civilmilitary
relations shaped Cold War policy debates. The authors assess whether this
opinion gap "matters" for the actual conduct of American foreign policy. They examine
the impact of the presence of veterans in the U.S. political elite on the propensity to
initiate and escalate militarized interstate disputes between 1816 and 1992. As the
percentage of veterans serving in the executive branch and the legislature increases, the
probability that the United States will initiate militarized disputes declines. Once a
dispute has been initiated, however, the higher the proportion of veterans, the greater the
level of force the United States will use in the dispute. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]
Shalikashvili, John M. “Old Soldiers Don’t Have to Fade Away.” The Wall Street
Journal (Eastern Edition), (Aug. 17, 2004): A.19.
Allowing officers to vote in elections has not undermined the political impartiality of the
military in the execution of its duties. Active duty officers should not cross the line into
politics, outside of the act of voting. When officers retire they share the same
responsibility as private citizens to participate responsibly in the political process.
Retired officers can publicly endorse candidates so long as they are clear that they are
speaking based on their individual opinions, not the views of the military.
Strong, Steven T. Politicians in the Ranks. Strategy Research Project. Carlisle
Barracks: U.S. Army War College, 2005.
http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/ADA434870
This paper walks through the various laws regulating the role that active duty and retired
military officers can play in politics and recommends changes.
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