Gen. Hertling: The Oaths Are Not Pledges of Loyalty to a Party, a Personality, or a Political Movement

EXCERPT:

HERTLING: "Well, two things, Joe. Is anyone who says this is wildly bizarre, that these congressmen say this, I would say then it must be wildly bizarre that drill sergeants say it every day to new recruits, that it’s passed along year after year, in law of land warfare classes, to make sure soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines don’t obey unlawful orders. And I'd just say one last thing. If I could clarify and help everybody remember, no one in the American military swears allegiance to any individual. The oaths are not pledges of loyalty to a party, a personality, or a political movement. Loyalty is pledged to the Constitution. And officers, when they take their oath, take that pledge one step further by saying, 'Without mental reservation.' They know full well what they’re being asked to do, and it may require them to stand up with courage against any unlawful authority to stand between them and the people that they serve, not only the American public, but the soldiers that are under their command. It’s critically important. It’s driven hard into every single person that wears the uniform. And I personally have taken that oath hundreds of times, and it’s the most beautiful kind of vow that you take as part of a professional ethos."