August 01, 2017

How Trump Is Turning Off Millennials Even More Than He Did Before

By Amy Schafer

One of President Trump’s latest tweetstorms took on a new and concerning target: actively serving members of the United States military. In a flurry of tweets believed to be aimed at helping to pass broader legislation, he suggested that transgender service members incurred unsustainable cost and readiness issues. Targeting both currently serving transgender service members and recruits, the president tweeted they should not be allowed to continue their military careers, nor should they be recruited in the future.

Such a policy is a mistake and would harm the U.S. military. It would jeopardize the readiness of the military in a time of increasing international instability, and demonstrate a remarkable willingness to undercut both institutions and key military leadership. The military’s reticence to implement such a policy is based on a clear understanding both of the facts and the long-term ramifications of such a reckless pronouncement.

From a human capital perspective, Trump’s invectives go against best practices of organizational management, ranging from undercutting senior leaders he would be better served by empowering, such as Secretary of Defense James Mattis and the Joint Chiefs of Staff, as well as conveying to those within the military that their organization may revoke promises and turn on them at any point in time. This is a far cry from the “no soldier, sailor, airmen, or marine left behind” mission that has consistently characterized U.S. military operations and ethos.M

Read the full article at Fortune.

More from CNAS

View All Reports View All Articles & Multimedia