The Daily Populous Thursday September 24th, 2020 evening edition
Authored by nbcnews.com and submitted by dingo8yobb

WASHINGTON — More than 200 retired generals and admirals endorsed Joe Biden for president in a letter published Thursday, saying he had the character and judgment to serve as commander-in-chief instead of President Donald Trump, who has failed "to meet challenges large or small."

Some of the officers who signed the letter supporting Biden had retired only in the past few years, including Air Force Gen. Paul Selva, who served as vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under Trump before he retired in August 2019; Vice Adm. Gardner Howe, a Navy SEAL leader who also retired last year; and retired Adm. Paul Zukunft, who oversaw the Coast Guard until 2018.

Click here to read the letter

The list of signatories featured 22 retired four-star military officers, among them Navy Adm. Samuel Locklear, who oversaw all U.S. forces in the Pacific from 2012 to 2015, and Adm. Harry Ulrich, who commanded U.S. naval forces in Europe during President George W. Bush's administration.

Navy Adm. Samuel Locklear, now retired, speaks at the Pentagon in 2014. Jim Watson / AFP via Getty Images file

The retired top brass signed the letter backing Biden along with nearly 300 other former national security officials and diplomats. William Webster, the former director of the CIA and the FBI, was among the signatories, along with five former defense secretaries: William Perry, William Cohen, Chuck Hagel, Leon Panetta and Ash Carter.

"My own personal view is that I have a duty to be involved in civic matters of the nation that I'm a citizen" of, retired Adm. Steve Abbot said of his decision to sign the letter.

Abbot served as commander of the U.S. Sixth Fleet and commander of Naval Striking and Support Forces in Southern Europe, and he later became Bush's acting homeland security adviser. He said that he believed he had a duty to speak out as a citizen and that he was troubled initially by Trump's comments about the late Sen. John McCain in 2016.

"To hear someone say that John McCain was a loser and they don't like people who become prisoners, I just knew I was going to have trouble going forward with somebody who held those views," he said.

Retired Navy Vice Adm. PGardner Howe speaks in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., on March 10. Stan Badz / Stan Badz / Getty Images file

"Over the past four years, I've seen what is a clear manipulation of our military to serve his personal needs," Abbot said. "The military has been a loyal, reliable constant in this country because of its apolitical nature. And here we had a president working to undermine it."

In August, more than 70 former senior national security officials — most of them Republicans who worked in previous GOP administrations — issued a similar letter throwing their support behind Biden, arguing that Trump had undermined America's role in the world. In the 2016 election, dozens of former Republican senior national security officials came out against Trump and became known as "Never Trump" Republicans. Many were blacklisted for jobs in the Trump administration for having signed the letters.

By law, military service members must remain apolitical while in uniform, but most senior officers stay out of the political arena even after they hang up their uniforms. Although the number of retired senior officers wading into politics has steadily increased over the past two decades, Thursday's letter was notable for the sheer number of top brass from every branch of the military who chose to endorse Biden.

"We are Republicans, Democrats, and Independents. We love our country. Unfortunately, we also fear for it," they wrote.

The retired officers and officials said the country needs a principled, honest leader who shows empathy for fellow citizens, values alliances, makes informed decisions and takes personal responsibility.

"While some of us may have different opinions on particular policy matters, we trust Joe Biden's positions are rooted in sound judgment, thorough understanding, and fundamental values," they wrote.

"The current President has demonstrated he is not equal to the enormous responsibilities of his office; he cannot rise to meet challenges large or small. Thanks to his disdainful attitude and his failures, our allies no longer trust or respect us, and our enemies no longer fear us," the letter says.

"Climate change continues unabated, as does North Korea's nuclear program. The president has ceded influence to a Russian adversary who puts bounties on the heads of American military personnel, and his trade war against China has only harmed America's farmers and manufacturers," it says.

Several retired African American military leaders signed the letter, including retired Lt. Gen. Walt Gaskin, who commanded Marines in western Iraq; retired Lt. Gen. Willie Williams, who served as the No. 3 in the Marine Corps; and retired Lt. Gen. Ronald Coleman, who became the second African American in the Marine Corps to reach three-star rank.

A number of retired ambassadors also signed on, including Robert Blackwill, who was Bush's deputy national security adviser; James Cunningham, who was ambassador to Israel and Afghanistan under both Republican and Democratic administrations; and Robert Ford, a former ambassador to Algeria and Syria.

sgtabn173 on September 24th, 2020 at 11:00 UTC »

As a vet, I think the one person that could really come out and garner some military support for Biden is Mattis. That dude still gets mad respect in military circles... and I am pretty sure he is not voting for trump.

Custergrant on September 24th, 2020 at 10:53 UTC »

And here's why:

• Trump referred to to the Marines killed in WWI at the Battle of Belleau Wood as "suckers"

• Trump rejected a visit to the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery and Memorial in France because he feared the rain would mess up his hair and referred to America's military dead and injured as "losers"

• Trump knew since Mar 2020 that Russia paid bounties to kill American troops, yet he has done nothing.

• In May 2020, the White House ended National Guard deployments one day before they could claim benefits

• The Trump admin seized 5 million masks intended for VA hospitals. Kushner distributes these masks to private entities for a fee, who then sells the masks to the government

• Trump fired the captain of the USS Theodore Roosevelt after he warned superiors that COVID19 was spreading among his crew. The virus subsequently spread amongst the crew.

• After Iran's retaliatory strike, 109 US troops suffered brain injuries. Trump dismissed these as "headaches"

• On July 20, 2017, in room 2E924 of the Pentagon, Trump told a room full of Generals, "You’re a bunch of dopes and babies"

• Said 26,000 military sexual assaults were to be 'expected' bc America lets women serve

• Invited the Taliban to Camp David on the anniversary of 9/11

• Claimed that his military budget made up for his lack of military experience

• Claimed if a Humvee was hit by an IED, soldiers "go for a little ride upward & they come down."

• Pardoned multiple war criminals, which was a crushing betrayal to the men of the 1st Platoon who helped convict him for violating long standing military values, discipline, and command. (May&Nov, 2019)

• Trump mocked Lt. Col. Vindman for his rank and uniform. He threatened said purple heart officer, resulting in the Army providing him protection

• Trump’s Chief of Staff worked—in secret—to deny comprehensive health coverage to Vietnam Vets who suffered from Agent Orange.

• Russia took control of the main U.S. military facility in Syria abandoned on Trump’s orders. Russia now owns the airstrip we built

• On Oct 7, 2019, Trump abruptly withdrew support from America's allies in Syria after a phone call with Turkey's president (Erdogan). Turkey subsequently bombed US Special Forces.

• In Sept 2019, he made an Air Force cargo crew to refuel at a commercial airport so they could stay overnight at a Trump property

• In Aug, 2019, emails revealed that three of Trump's Mar-a-Lago pals, who are now running Veterans Affairs, are rampant with meddling.

• Children of deployed US troops are no longer guaranteed citizenship. This includes US troops posted abroad for years at a time (August 28, 2019)

• On Aug 2, 2019, Trump requisitioned military retirement funds towards border wall

• On July 31, 2019, Trump ordered the Navy rescind medals to prosecutors who were prosecuted war criminals

• Trump demanded US military chiefs stand next to him at 4th of July parade (reported July 2, 2019)

• Trump used his D-Day interview at a cemetery commemorating fallen US soldiers to attack a Vietnam veteran (June 6, 2019)

• Trump started his D-Day commemoration speech by attacking a private citizen (Bette Midler, of all people) (reported on June 4th, 2019)

• Trump made his 2nd wife, Marla Maples, sign a prenup that would have cut off all child support if Tiffany joined the military (reported June 4th, 2019)

• On May 27, 2019, Trump turned away US military from his Memorial Day speech bc they were from the destroyer USS John S. McCain

• Trump ordered the USS John McCain out of sight during his visit to Japan (May 15, 2019). The ship's name was subsequently covered. (May 27, 2019)

• Trump purged 200,000 vets' healthcare applications (due to known administrative errors within VA’s enrollment system) (reported on May 13, 2019)

• Trump deported a spouse of fallen Army soldier killed in Afghanistan, leaving their daughter parentless (April 16, 2019)

• On March 20, 2019, Trump complained that a deceased war hero didn't thank him for his funeral

• Between 12/22/2018, and 1/25/2019, Trump refused to sign his party's funding bill, which shut down the government, forcing the Coast Guard to go without pay

• He banned service members from serving based on gender identity (1/22/2019)

• He denied female troops access to birth control to limit sexual activity (on-going. Published Jan 18, 2019)

• He increased privatization of the VA, leading to longer waits and higher taxpayer cost (2018)

• He finally visited troops 2 years after taking office, but only after 154 vacation days at his properties (Dec 26, 2018)

• He revealed a covert Seal Team 5 deployment, including names and faces, on Twitter during his visit to Iraq (Dec 26, 2018)

• Trump lied to deployed troops that he gave them a 10% raise (12/26/2018).

• He tried to slash disability and unemployment benefits for Veterans to $0, and eliminate the unemployability extrascheduler rating (Dec 17, 2018)

• He called troops on Thanksgiving and told them he's most thankful for himself (Thanksgiving, 2018)

• He urged Florida to not count deployed military votes (Nov 12, 2018)

• He canceled an Arlington Cemetery visit on Veterans Day due to light rain (Nov 12, 2018)

• While in Europe commemorating the end of WWI, he didn't attend the ceremony at a US cemetery due to the rain -- other world leaders went anyway (Nov 10, 2018)

• He used troops as a political prop by sending them on a phantom mission to the border and made them miss Thanksgiving with their families (Oct-Dec, 2018)

• He stopped using troops as a political prop immediately after the election. However, the troops remained in muddy camps on the border (Nov 7, 2018)

• Trump changed the GI Bill through his Forever GI Act, causing the VA to miss veteran benefits, including housing allowances.(reported October 7, 2018)

• Trump doubled the rejection rate for veterans requesting family deportation protections (July 5, 2018)

• Trump deported active-duty spouses (11,800 military families face this problem as of April 2018)

• He forgot a fallen soldier's name (below) during a call to his pregnant widow, then attacked her the next day (Oct 23-24, 2017)

• said he knows more about ISIS than American generals (Oct 2016)

• On Oct 3, 2016, Trump said vets get PTSD because they aren't strong

• Trump accepted a Purple Heart from a fan at one of his rallies and said: “I always wanted to get the Purple Heart. This was much easier.” (Aug 2, 2016)

• Trump attacks Gold Star families: Myeshia Johnson (gold star widow), Khan family (gold star parents) etc. (2016-present)

• In January 2016, Trump sent funds raised from a veterans benefit to the Donald J Trump Foundation (the foundation was subsequently ordered shut down)

• Trump said he has "more training militarily than a lot of the guys that go into the military" because he went to a military-style academy (2015 biography)

• Trump said he doesn't consider POWs heroes because they were caught. He said he prefers people who weren't caught (July 18, 2015)

• Trump said having unprotected sex was his own personal Vietnam (1998)

• For a decade, Trump sought to kick veterans off of Fifth Avenue because he found them unsightly nuisances. 1991

• Trump dodged the draft 5 times by having a doctor diagnose him with bone spurs.

• No Trump in America has ever served in the military; this spans 5 generations

captainrustic on September 24th, 2020 at 09:50 UTC »

I wish his supporters could understand just how much active duty troops hate and distrust him. We just can’t say anything because of our jobs and it is infuriating.

I’m sick of him insulting us one day then using us as props the next. And not to mention the fact that he’s a giant ass coward.