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OPINION
National Security

'People are watching': Attacks on Milley and the US military play right into enemy hands

My colleagues in Congress are actively undermining our national security, aiding and abetting the enemies we swore to defend Americans against.

Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, testifies on Capitol Hill on June 23, 2021.
Chrissy Houlahan
Opinion contributor

Last week in Washington, Gen. Mark Milley made headlines. With surgical precision, the decorated general and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff eviscerated untrue and unfounded allegations about critical race theory, levied by one of my Republican colleagues. 

If you have not watched, I encourage you to do so. He reminded people like me, a fellow veteran, why we raise our hands to serve this country – because we believe not only in the Constitution but also in the people we swore to defend.

In his testimony, Gen. Milley also said something that reminded me of what my commanding officer in the Air Force used to say: “People are watching …”

As Republican lawmakers barraged Gen. Milley and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin with highly politicized questions about race, the pair issued that same warning I heard 30 years ago up at Hanscom Air Force Base: People are watching.