I agree entirely that this is bad for civil-military relations and the military profession. While I think it’s commendable that veterans run for and fill elective office there is a point where one can use that veteran status to cross a very tenuous line. At a time when the military needs the full trust and support of the American public, I can only guess that such trust is somehow diminished in cases like the one you describe.

I am sure many of the people who watched his commercials were thinking how impressive and noble it is of him to serve in Iraq and strive for public office at the same time. There were many others, though, who likely wondered, “why is he running a campaign and serving in Iraq at the same time—don’t his fellow soldiers and the American people deserve his undivided attention to the war?”

Whether they support the war or not, I think every single American deserves to know that service men and women are not only focused on their wartime duties, but that some individuals are not capitalizing on the extraordinary sacrifice of their comrades-in-arms for personal gain.

There may be another issue here—should any War on Terror veterans run for office while the war is still going on? (Not just those still on the reserve or guard roles but resigned/ retired active duty members as well) Is there a similar risk of damaging civil-military relations or the profession?