Letter to General Martin E. Dempsey, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

Letter

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX),along with 21 fellow Senators, today wrote to General Martin E. Dempsey, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, raising concerns with a series of recent comments made by Dempsey that appear to discourage service members from exercising their right to vote. Among other comments, Dempsey recently said, "We must understand why our military as a profession embraces political neutrality as a core value." Dempsey's comments come on the heels of a report by the Defense Department's Inspector General indicating a failure by DoD to provide adequate voter assistance to military members and their families as mandated by the 2009 Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment Act, or MOVE Act.

"It is only because of the service and sacrifices of our men and women in uniform that every American has the right to vote in free elections. It is incumbent upon you and other military leaders to ensure that these service members are in no way discouraged from exercising these very same civil rights for which so many, including you, have fought for and sacrificed so much.

"To rectify this situation and comport with the DoD Directive, we urge you to issue a public statement to all uniformed personnel encouraging them to exercise their right to vote and providing clear and simple instructions on how to do so."

Also signing the letter were: U.S. Sens. John Barrasso (R-WY), John Boozman (R-AR), Tom Coburn (R-OK), Bob Corker (R-TN), Jim DeMint (R-SC), Michael Enzi (R-WY), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Charles Grassley (R-IA), Dean Heller (R-NV), Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX), James Inhofe (R-OK), Johnny Isakson (R-GA), Mike Johanns (R-NE), Jon Kyl (R-AZ), Dick Lugar (R-IN), James Risch (R-ID), Macro Rubio (R-FL), John Thune (R-SD), Pat Toomey (R-PA), David Vitter (R-LA), and Roger Wicker (R-MS).

The full text of the letter is below:

September 20, 2012
General Martin E. Dempsey
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
9999 Joint Staff Pentagon
Washington, DC 20318-9999
Dear General Dempsey:

We write to express our deep concern over recent public comments attributed to you that appear to call into question whether military service members should vote. It is one thing to advocate "political neutrality as a core value" in carrying out orders, and another thing entirely to be ambivalent or even discourage voting by service members, which is every citizen's right, and which would contradict official Department of Defense (DoD) policy.

This, coupled with DoD's disappointing record in implementing the Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment Act (MOVE Act), which passed with broad bipartisan support of the Congress and was signed into law by President Obama, suggests a very disturbing attitude and trend by the highest levels of the DoD. The Department has failed to provide on-base voter assistance at every military installation, as required by the MOVE Act. This is the law of the land and not discretionary. Nevertheless, damage has likely already been done, as evidenced by a recent report by the Military Voter Protection Project, which projects very low participation rates by military voters in the upcoming election, as compared to the 2008 data.

To our first point, in your April column in Joint Forces Quarterly (JFQ), you praised the historical example of General George C. Marshall, noting that he stayed "out of the business of partisan politics." As you surely know, Marshall's thinking in this area famously led him to abstain from exercising his right to vote. Marshall was no doubt a great American, but you have, inadvertently or otherwise, sent a confusing message to military service members about whether it is consistent with military standards to vote. If our service members want to fulfill this key obligation of citizenship, they should not have to worry that their most senior uniformed leader will disapprove of their actions or embarrass them.

Every service member looks to you as a role model. As such, you should be encouraging them to exercise this fundamental civil right, not forgo it. This is also DoD policy: DoD Directive 1344.10, "Political Activities by Members of the Armed Forces," states that, "It is DoD policy to encourage members of the Armed Forces…to carry out the obligations of citizenship." It also states that service members may "register, vote, and express a personal opinion on political candidates and issues," as well as "promote and encourage others to exercise their voting franchise…"

Unfortunately, your recent words send a confusing if not contradictory message. While you at least acknowledge that our service members have the right to vote, you have certainly not encouraged them to exercise that right and some may interpret your words to discourage voting. When a service member casts a vote, it in no way undermines their professionalism, deference to civil authority, or commitment to support and defend the Constitution of the United States.
George Washington well understood the dual responsibilities of citizenship and military service. While serving as commander of the Continental Army, then-General Washington said: "When we assumed the soldier we did not lay aside the citizen."

It is only because of the service and sacrifices of our men and women in uniform that every American has the right to vote in free elections. It is incumbent upon you and other military leaders to ensure that these service members are in no way discouraged from exercising these very same civil rights for which so many, including you, have fought for and sacrificed so much.

To rectify this situation and comport with the DoD Directive, we urge you to issue a public statement to all uniformed personnel encouraging them to exercise their right to vote and providing clear and simple instructions on how to do so.

Sincerely,

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