This issue has recently come to the public’s attention as six recently retired military generals have publicly called for the Secretary of Defense to step down as a result of his handling, or in their opinions mishandling, of the War in Iraq. Unlike former Army Chief of Staff, General Eric Shinsecki, who spoke the courage of his convictions in questioning the adequacy of preparations for the War in Iraq and was promptly fired for his comments, these former generals have spoken the courage of their convictions after the fact, from the safety and security of retirement. The question for these six senior military officers is whether they offered such candid advice to the civilian leadership of the military prior to their retirements from the military, and during the lead up to the invasion of Iraq.

The dilemma faced by these officers was summarized by former Army Chief of Staff, General Maxwell Taylor, as far back as 1959, again quoted by Colonel Summers, when he said,

“Having made every effort to guide his civilian superiors in the direction which he believes is right, the Chief of Staff must accept the decisions of the Secretary of his service, of the Secretary of Defense, and of the President as final and thereafter support them before Congress. The alternative is resignation.”

General Shinsecki stated his candid opinion on the preparations for the War in Iraq, and he did not resign, but he was fired for speaking out. Perhaps his transgression was that he stated his professional opinion publicly instead of privately. The six former generals who have called for the resignation of the Secretary of Defense clearly were not fired from their positions, nor did they resign in opposition to the handling of the war, and they are not on the public record for having spoken out critically on the war while they were still active officers. Whether they spoke their opposition to the handling of the war in private is not known.

In a recent article, Third Retired General Wants Rumsfeld Out, the New York Times highlighted the dilemma faced by the professional officer corps, many of whom will disagree with the Secretary of Defense in private, but will not speak out publicly. Whether their silence is out of respect for the civilian control for the military established by the U.S. Constitution, which may very will be likely, or whether they are simply avoiding professional career suicide is a matter of debate. Any situation in which the military officers corps, including recently retired generals, is at odds with its civilian leadership is fraught with constitutional, as well as leadership, issues. Physical valor in war, and moral courage in peace, are two different things, and the Nation needs both in its senior officers. However, it is of note as one anonymous officer was quoted as saying by the New York Times that, “The officer corps is willing to sacrifice their lives for their country, but not their careers.” The moral dilemmas of leadership are issues which each officer, and each general, must confront individually.