As a former member of the Army I think this is so wrong and hopefully if trump is gone in 2020 the new President will reverse this order.

Trump will mess with this until the military turns on him. He should beware.

I am more distressed he keeps repeating Putin's talking points "Blame Ukraine, not Russia", more distressed he has no respect for veterans or for military custom or tradition.
BUT
What do you expect for electing a 5 time draft dodger?

A lot of vets, myself included, totally agree. I can run a long list of the times he has dishonored veterans. He is dangerously undermining the credibility of the U.S. military.

I have an American veteran friend who feels the same way, I do hope things change soon for Americans. It seems like ages that you’ve been dealing with these types of things with the current president now.

The Military tried to hold him accountable, it's shameful what's going on in our country under this administration.

Not being a veteran, I can't speak to that aspect, but when he punishes the people who disagree with him, there is a problem.

So much for the UCMJ. Draft Dodger Donny’s (DDD) actions will impact morale and discipline. The SEAL was convicted and should have been punished. What would have been a fair punishment, maybe up for debate, but DDD should have NO say in that. I think DDD just wants to show-off his power.

He is used to manage his business as a tyrant. He thinks the United States of America is "The Apprentice", the Trump Towers or Miss Universe...

Only a fool with the understanding of a bully phrases brutality with valor or lack of self-control as a measure of strength and devotion.

not to mention what damage this does to the little but hard fought progress for proper mental health care in the active military. Donald Trump is attacking the good in the United States military and exacerbating its worst demons.

his leadership will turn more American men into monsters and time bombs when they return to their communities and families.... Joining private military contractors to feed toxic demons of untold violence.

It would seem now that he would not hesitate to appoint someone wholly unqualified to any position he deems useful to him regardless of the dangers it places others in. Not that he hasn't already done that with civilian appointments...

I'm pretty sure my Navy veteran mom feels the same way. I'll find out next time we talk. Trump keeps crossing lines that the Commander-in-Chief should not cross.

Not a normal thought in his entire "brain"....

As a veteran too it's insulting and a grievous transgressions and blatant racism

It appears that I agree with all who have commented, save one so far.

Trump is a POS, but he is not alone, by any means, Obama was no better, Bush was no better, but that said, I do not think that the ROOT of the problem is with the presidency, in fact, I think that the root of the problem is in the Pentagon and the Military Industrial Complex, and I think that for a considerable amount of time now, the head of our government has really been the Pentagon, NOT the presidency. When a new president is elected, they go into office thinking they can change the system, both Trump and Obama went into it thinking they could stop some of the military imperialism, only to find themselves unable to do so, and in fact, involved in the whole criminal enterprise of war for profit, imperialism, jingoism, starting wars and coups at the drop of a hat, bombing people in other countries, droning people, using white phosphorous, depleted uranium, providing support of the nation that has literally stolen the land underneath the feet of the Palestinians, created a concentration camp for them . . . . and what really pisses me off is not just that our military is out of control committing all kinds of crimes, but that so many veterans and citizens who either do not see it, do not speak out against it, or simply ignore it. The is no honor in killing people based on the color of their skin, where they live, what their religion is, there is no honor in invading other countries with no respect for their sovereignty, there is no honor in destroying a countries infrastructure for economic advantage, (Libya for example), there is no honor in economic sanctions that often are far more destructive to the lives of women and children than they are to the targeted government. We now have a military that is in a constant state of war, it never lets up, and it is clear as can be that when they start talking about other countries being "aggressive", they are simply hiding the truth that it is they themselves who are being aggressive, and anyone who happens to disagree with their plans or ideas is called "aggressive", and becomes a target, if and only if they do not have a deterrent, and even then that nuclear deterrent, as in the case of North Korea, may not stop them from giving it a go. They have ranted about how North Korea is headed by a madman, but that is horse shit, it is no surprise whatsoever to me that these countries feel the need to get nuclear weapons as a deterrent to being attacked by guess who . . . the good old US of A . . . . Take Libya for example, Muammar Gaddafi agreed not to acquire nuclear weapons, but was steamrolled because he wanted to create an African currency that would have harmed the economic interests of the USA. Muammar Gaddafi may not have been an angel, but if you look at what he did for Libya, at how well off people in Libya were under his rule, and, and you take a good look at his Green Book, it becomes more than clear that what the US military has been doing is so fucking far from honorable that one can only look at them as low-life gangsters who have no respect whatsoever for the lives of anyone who does not fit into their cookie-cutter image of what the world should be, they have no respect for the lives of women and children, they kill and torture with impunity, they support dictatorships like the bastards in Saudi Arabia, who clearly murdered a journalist, they support the imprisonment of anyone who speaks out against them, and to hell with legal considerations, they have no respect for the sovereignty of other nations, and as far as I see it, they are a bunch of low-life sons of bitches who are highly likely to start a nuclear war with China or Russia, because they are to goddamn stupid to see beyond their fucking tunnel vision and arrogance with their so-called exceptionalism and military "superiority". If you want "honorable" you will have to look back a long ways, because none of the wars have been "honorable" for a long time, going back to and including Vietnam . . . . they have all been wars of aggression, and when they start whining about "terrorism", it is because it is something THEY have created, because THEY interfered in the affairs of countries. As far as I am concerned, we have a nation that is armed to the teeth, there are more guns than there are people in the USA, and we do not need a fucking military, because any nation stupid enough to try to invade us would have to deal with all of the gun nuts, myself included, and that would not go down well for them. I am not proud of the organization that poses, yes indeed . . . it poses as being honorable, just like the christians who pose as being upright citizens, and when I start seeing that kind of behavior in any organization or person, I get suspicious, because when people start wearing some shit on their sleeve to make themselves appear honorable, usually it is a cover for something. Fuck all this shit, as far as I am concerned, they are a bunch of gangsters, mass murders, and some of the worst people on the planet, and they will do what they do best, they will destroy the whole planet, then the dumb asses will look around and wonder how the fuck it all happened, and maybe, just maybe, realize that it was their own arrogant dip-shit ignorant behavior that caused it all, but I seriously doubt it.

They were saying on NPR that the officer went on FAUX news an was bad mouthing his Admiral.

I know.. right?? I mean, taking a picture of a dead ISIS soldier? I'm surprised they only busted him and took his Trident.. He should be in prison for at least 15 - 20 years for that..

I don't even know what he's trying to accomplish unless this is just another distraction tactic.

Agreed.

Yep, my mom is pissed about Trump's interference. "He might be Commander-in-Chief, but he doesn't know his ass from a hole in the ground when it comes to the military!"

Trump is only a symptom of the greater, systemic disease that has plagued this violent nation. He is pulling out and bringing to the light the crud.

Gotta agree .