🔗 Share this article

The former president and his defense secretary his appointed defense secretary are mounting an aggressive push to politicise the top ranks of the US military – a push that smacks of Soviet-era tactics and could require a generation to rectify, a retired infantry chief has stated.

Maj Gen Paul Eaton has raised profound concerns, arguing that the campaign to subordinate the higher echelons of the military to the president’s will was unparalleled in living memory and could have lasting damaging effects. He cautioned that both the reputation and capability of the world’s most powerful fighting force was at stake.

“When you contaminate the organization, the remedy may be very difficult and damaging for presidents downstream.”

He continued that the moves of the current leadership were placing the standing of the military as an non-partisan institution, separate from party politics, at risk. “As the phrase goes, reputation is established a ounce at a time and drained in gallons.”

An Entire Career in Uniform

Eaton, 75, has dedicated his lifetime to the armed services, including nearly forty years in active service. His parent was an air force pilot whose aircraft was shot down over Southeast Asia in 1969.

Eaton personally graduated from the US Military Academy, completing his studies soon after the end of the Vietnam conflict. He rose through the ranks to become a senior commander and was later sent to the Middle East to restructure the Iraqi armed forces.

War Games and Current Events

In recent years, Eaton has been a consistent commentator of alleged manipulation of defense institutions. In 2024 he was involved in tabletop exercises that sought to anticipate potential authoritarian moves should a certain candidate return to the White House.

A number of the outcomes envisioned in those planning sessions – including partisan influence of the military and deployment of the state militias into urban areas – have since occurred.

A Leadership Overhaul

In Eaton’s view, a opening gambit towards undermining military independence was the appointment of a media personality as the Pentagon's top civilian. “He not only expresses devotion to an individual, he declares personal allegiance – whereas the military is bound by duty to the nation's founding document,” Eaton said.

Soon after, a series of removals began. The independent oversight official was removed, followed by the judge advocates general. Subsequently ousted were the senior commanders.

This Pentagon purge sent a clear and chilling message that rippled throughout the armed forces, Eaton said. “Fall in line, or we will remove you. You’re in a changed reality now.”

A Historical Parallel

The removals also created uncertainty throughout the ranks. Eaton said the situation drew parallels to Joseph Stalin’s 1940s purges of the best commanders in Soviet forces.

“Stalin executed a lot of the top talent of the military leadership, and then inserted party loyalists into the units. The doubt that gripped the armed forces of the Soviet Union is similar to today – they are not killing these individuals, but they are removing them from positions of authority with parallel consequences.”

The end result, Eaton said, was that “you’ve got a 1940s Stalin problem inside the American military right now.”

Rules of Engagement

The furor over lethal US military strikes in the Caribbean is, for Eaton, a sign of the erosion that is being wrought. The Pentagon leadership has claimed the strikes target “narco-terrorists”.

One initial strike has been the subject of intense scrutiny. Media reports revealed that an order was given to “take no prisoners.” Under US military law, it is a violation to order that every combatant must be killed regardless of whether they pose a threat.

Eaton has no doubts about the illegality of this action. “It was either a grave breach or a unlawful killing. So we have a major concern here. This decision bears a striking resemblance to a WWII submarine captain machine gunning victims in the water.”

Domestic Deployment

Looking ahead, Eaton is deeply worried that actions of rules of war outside US territory might soon become a reality at home. The federal government has assumed control of national guard troops and sent them into numerous cities.

The presence of these personnel in major cities has been contested in federal courts, where lawsuits continue.

Eaton’s biggest fear is a direct confrontation between federal forces and state and local police. He conjured up a hypothetical scenario where one state's guard is commandeered and sent into another state against its will.

“What could go wrong?” Eaton said. “You can very easily see an increase in tensions in which each party think they are following orders.”

At some point, he warned, a “significant incident” was likely to take place. “There are going to be individuals injured who really don’t need to get hurt.”