“We are in an exceptionally challenging civil-military environment”;Ex-Pentagon chiefs

Former Pentagon chiefs warned Tuesday that the deep divisions in US politics are putting unwanted pressure on the armed forces and expressed concern that civilian political interference in the military could worsen.
Statement, published by defence-focused “War on the Rocks” website, did not cite any examples to illustrate civil-military tensions.Statement makes reference to challenge to 2020 election results by Trump and his supporters.
The Pentagon has been accused of stalling the deployment of National Guard troops to confront the attackers.
Eight former defence secretaries and five ex-joint chiefs chairmen signed a statement on 16 “Best Practices of Civil-Military Relations” that came after several years — particularly under former president Donald Trump — in which the Pentagon became enmeshed in political machinations.
“Politically, military professionals confront an extremely adverse environment characterised by the divisiveness of affective polarization that culminated in the first election in over a century when the peaceful transfer of political power was disrupted and in doubt,” they said.