Opinion: Trump’s inflammatory Fort Bragg speech brought shame to the Army

If Americans see the military as a political arm of the Republican Party, the country will be in a dark place.

I grew up at Fort Bragg, learned so many lessons there, and have so many happy memories. After I die, I want my ashes to be spread across Normandy Drop Zone. It is hallowed ground for thousands of Fort Bragg paratroopers who came before and will come after me. 

Being a paratrooper in the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division was one of the great honors of my life. 

That is why watching President Donald Trump’s disgraceful appearance at Fort Bragg this week so enraged me. The commander-in-chief made one of the most hyper-partisan speeches ever delivered to active-duty US troops. 

The military is supposed to be nonpartisan and stand for all Americans, no matter their political ideology. But with paratroopers from the 82nd standing behind him like his own personal props, Trump attacked former President Joe Biden, California Governor Gavin Newsom , and the free press like he was performing at a MAGA campaign rally. 

To those soldiers who stood behind Trump and their commanding officers that went along with the spectacle and booed and laughed at Trump’s cruelty, you are a disgrace to the uniform. To Maj. Gen. Patrick Work, commanding general of the 82nd, I hope you have the honor and the moral courage to speak up against this travesty. Our country will enter a dark place if Americans see the military as a political weapon wielded by the Republican Party. This partisanship must end now. 

Whether Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth likes it or not, our Army is one of the  most progressive in the entire world. When I served, my unit was composed of paratroopers from Ghana, Kenya, the Philippines, Japan, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, and Mexico. There were soldiers from the mountains of West Virginia and the inner city of Detroit. But we all came together with the 82nd “AA” patch on our shoulders. That patch  stands for “All American” and a common mission to serve and protect the nation and the constitution. 

Whether Trump likes it or not, this is not his personal military. The military belongs to the American people. Trump would like nothing more than the new patch of the 82nd to be “TA” for Trump’s Americans. 

All he cares about is himself and those who serve him over the constitution. Trump knows nothing about honor or selfless service, only raw power. We all need to condemn his politicization of the military before it is too late.