This archive report was first published on 26 November 2019.
US President Donald Trump's interventions in military policy have been a subject of concern for defence experts. The latest sign of this struggle was the firing of Navy Secretary Richard Spencer on Sunday.
Spencer was fired after he challenged Trump's intervention in the case of Navy commando Edward Gallagher, who was convicted of posing for a picture next to the body of a dead Islamic State fighter. Trump had defied the Pentagon leadership by rejecting their plans to demote and force Gallagher out of the elite SEALs.
"This was an outrageous, irresponsible interference by President Trump in the military justice system," said Democratic Senator Jack Reed. "It signals to people that they can operate outside the rule of law and the Geneva Convention."
Trump's intervention in military affairs is not a new phenomenon. Earlier this year, he weighed in against Amazon, which owns the Washington Post, a frequent critic of his administration, in a $10 billion cloud computing contract. He has also attacked key alliances, including NATO, and arms control treaties, and pursued a detente with North Korea while criticising ally South Korea.
"It's a big problem when 'the boss is viewed as mercurial and hard to brief,'" said Peter Feaver, a specialist in civil-military relations at Duke University. "Most administrations would try to hide this stuff... Instead, this president does things in public."
Trump's actions have led to a loss of trust, effectiveness, and the ability to retain top talent in the Pentagon. It has also led US partners and adversaries to question decision-making in the Pentagon.
