Ten military veterans of different service and rank have made their own video in support of U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly and his congressional colleagues who are caught in a back-and-forth with the Pentagon after urging active-duty members to ignore illegal orders.
The new joint video, released on platforms including YouTube, features veterans and members of several national veterans' groups including Save America Movement, Valor Media, Common Defense, Veterans for Responsible Leadership, and The Chamberlain Network. It shows veterans speaking out in support of Kelly and others amid threats from the Trump administration to court-martial the Arizona senator. They describe the move as unprecedented and a politically motivated use of Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) authority.
Ten military veterans of different service and rank have made their own video in support of U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly and his congressional colleagues.
On Monday, the Pentagon said in a social media post that it was launching “a thorough review” of allegations of misconduct against Kelly, a retired Navy captain and astronaut from Arizona, for “serious allegations of misconduct.” Kelly and a handful of Democratic colleagues in the House and Senate released a video last week urging U.S. troops to refuse what they described as illegal orders.
“So ‘Captain’ Kelly, not only did your sedition video intentionally undercut good order and discipline but you can’t even display your uniform correctly,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wrote on X, adding, “When or if you are recalled to active duty, it’ll start with a uniform inspection.”
The review was widened on Tuesday when the FBI was reported to now be interviewing Kelly and five other congressional Democrats: Sen. Elissa Slotkin (MI) and House Reps. Jason Crow of Colorado, Maggie Goodlander of New Hampshire, and Chris Deluzio and Chrissy Houlahan, both of Pennsylvania.
Preserving the Oath
The veterans’ video features 10 service members, some retired, across branches including the Army, Navy and Marine Corps. As one veteran says, “I want to talk about Mark Kelly.”
Members in the short video said Kelly is upholding his oath to the country and Constitution from “a targeted attack” emanating out of the executive branch, which as one veteran said impacts the duty of military members who could be ordered to do things which undermine the very citizens they are supposed to protect.
“We all took an oath, not to serve a king or a tyrant but to defend the Constitution. Don’t give up the ship,” the video concludes.
'Shocking' State of Affairs
Kenneth Harbaugh, a U.S. Navy veteran who served from 1996 to 2005 and was featured in the video, told Military.com on Tuesday that the video is “incredibly patriotic and brave.”
His involvement in it was due to the current state of the nation.
“We've never been at this kind of crossroads in our country before, with a commander-in-chief who has a pattern of trying to get the military to do illegal or unconstitutional things—from his pressuring the military to seize voting machines back in 2020, to the suggestion that the military should shoot protesters in the legs.
“And the problem is that in the last go ‘round, we had brave officers standing between this president and unconstitutional orders like that.”
He mentioned how high-ranking military officials in President Donald Trump’s first term, like retired Army general ex-Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mark Milley, more or less kept a check on the broader military apparatus.
“We called it, none of this should be surprising,” said Harbaugh, a former Navy pilot. “I think it is surprising to many Americans just because it's so shocking.
“But those of us who paid attention during Trump's first term at how far he tried to push the military, and the fact that the only reason he didn't get away from some of his more outrageous ideas and intentions was the Milley’s and the [former Defense Secretary Mark) Esper’s who stood in his way—we realized that the four years in between terms were used to plan how to avoid that accountability should he win again.”
Whether someone like Milley or Esper or James Mattis currently exists in the present administration is unknown, Harbaugh said, while adding that civilian leadership and counsel to Trump is lacking. Things have escalated throughout Trump’s second term, notably with the highly publicized gathering of admirals and generals on Sept. 30 at Quantico.
“It is telling that the very first act of the secretary of defense was to let go of any JAG who might stand in the way of illegal or unconstitutional orders,” he said. “You only do that if you're planning to break the law.”
Hegseth Branded as 'Shameful'
Asked about Pentagon leadership, Harbaugh said Hegseth has brought “shame” upon the broader military institution and claimed the secretary is using his pulpit and his department as a political tool to hound the political opposition.
“I think we should have known—some of us did know—that this was coming given the fact that [Hegseth] could not manage a small nonprofit, given the fact that his personal character failings were on display for everyone to see, sometimes on camera,” Harbaugh said.
“The fact that he should be given control over the most powerful, largest instrument of American power—the largest part of the American government—was a slap in the face to those who wear the uniform and risked their lives,” he added.
