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Mark Alexander Milley (born June 20, 1958) is a
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...
general A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". O ...
who serves as the 20th
chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS) is the presiding officer of the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). The chairman is the highest-ranking and most senior military officer in the United States Armed Forces Chairman: a ...
. He previously served as the 39th chief of staff of the Army from August 14, 2015 to August 9, 2019, and held multiple command and staff positions in eight divisions and special forces throughout his military career. An
ROTC The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC ( or )) is a group of college- and university-based officer-training programs for training commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces. Overview While ROTC graduate officers serve in all ...
graduate from
Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the n ...
, Milley earned his commission as an
armor Armour (British English) or armor (American English; see spelling differences) is a covering used to protect an object, individual, or vehicle from physical injury or damage, especially direct contact weapons or projectiles during combat, or ...
officer in 1980. He was appointed chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff by President
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of ...
, making Milley the tenth U.S. Army officer to be chairman. As chairman, Milley is the highest-ranking officer in the
United States Armed Forces The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is ...
and the principal military advisor to the
president of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal gove ...
, the secretary of defense, the
National Security Council A national security council (NSC) is usually an executive branch governmental body responsible for coordinating policy on national security issues and advising chief executives on matters related to national security. An NSC is often headed by a n ...
and the Homeland Security Council. - Joint Chiefs of Staff: composition; functions


Early life and education

Milley was born on June 20, 1958, in
Winchester, Massachusetts Winchester is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, located 8.2 miles (13.2 km) north of downtown Boston as part of the Greater Boston metropolitan area. It is also one of the List of Massachusetts locations by per capita income, wealt ...
. ''Page 581'' He is of Irish descent, and was raised
Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
. His father, Alexander (1924–2015), enlisted in the U.S. Navy in March 1943 as a naval corpsman. He was assigned to the 4th Marine Division and landed at Kwajalein, Saipan, Tinian and Iwo Jima. After the war, he worked as a restaurateur and food-broker. He was a member of the
Knights of Columbus The Knights of Columbus (K of C) is a global Catholic fraternal service order founded by Michael J. McGivney on March 29, 1882. Membership is limited to practicing Catholic men. It is led by Patrick E. Kelly, the order's 14th Supreme Knight. ...
, whose membership is limited to practicing Catholic men. Milley's mother, Mary Elizabeth (née Murphy), was a nurse who served with the Navy's
WAVES Waves most often refers to: * Waves, oscillations accompanied by a transfer of energy that travel through space or mass. *Wind waves, surface waves that occur on the free surface of bodies of water. Waves may also refer to: Music *Waves (band ...
in
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
and is described by Milley as a "break-the-glass-ceiling" type of woman. Milley grew up in a working-class neighborhood in Boston. He attended a Catholic grammar school where he played hockey. Good grades and hockey led to him being recruited to
Belmont Hill School Belmont Hill School is an independent boys school on a campus in Belmont, a suburb of Boston, Massachusetts. The school enrolls approximately 440 students in grades 7-12, separated into the Middle School (grades 7-9) and the Upper School (grade ...
and afterwards to
Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the n ...
on a hockey scholarship. There, he joined the
Reserve Officers' Training Corps The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC ( or )) is a group of college- and university-based officer-training programs for training commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces. Overview While ROTC graduate officers serve in all ...
(ROTC) and in 1980 graduated with a
Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...
degree in politics after completing a 185-page-long senior thesis titled "A Critical Analysis of Revolutionary Guerrilla Organization in Theory and Practice". Milley also holds a
Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. ...
degree in
international relations International relations (IR), sometimes referred to as international studies and international affairs, is the Scientific method, scientific study of interactions between sovereign states. In a broader sense, it concerns all activities betwe ...
from
Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manha ...
and another Master of Arts degree in national security and strategic studies from the
Naval War College The Naval War College (NWC or NAVWARCOL) is the staff college and "Home of Thought" for the United States Navy at Naval Station Newport in Newport, Rhode Island. The NWC educates and develops leaders, supports defining the future Navy and associ ...
. He is also an attendee of the MIT Center for International Studies Seminar XXI National Security Studies Program.


Military career

Milley earned his commission as an
armor Armour (British English) or armor (American English; see spelling differences) is a covering used to protect an object, individual, or vehicle from physical injury or damage, especially direct contact weapons or projectiles during combat, or ...
officer through Princeton's Army
Reserve Officers' Training Corps The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC ( or )) is a group of college- and university-based officer-training programs for training commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces. Overview While ROTC graduate officers serve in all ...
program in 1980. Milley's career has included assignments with the
82nd Airborne Division The 82nd Airborne Division is an airborne infantry division of the United States Army specializing in parachute assault operations into denied areasSof, Eric"82nd Airborne Division" ''Spec Ops Magazine'', 25 November 2012. Archived from thor ...
,
5th Special Forces Group The 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne) (5th SFG (A)) is one of the most decorated active duty United States Army Special Forces groups in the U.S. armed forces. The 5th SFG (A) saw extensive action in the Vietnam War and played a pivotal role i ...
, 7th Infantry Division, 2nd Infantry Division, Joint Readiness Training Center, 25th Infantry Division, Operations Staff of the Joint Staff, and a posting as Military Assistant to the Secretary of Defense.U.S. Army Forces Command, Commanding General
, www.army.mil/forscom, dated August 15, 2014, last accessed August 15, 2015
Milley has held multiple command and staff positions in eight divisions and special forces throughout his military career. He commanded 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry, 2nd Infantry Division, in South Korea from 1996 to 1998. ''Page 579'' He served as commander of 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light) from December 2003 to July 2005; deputy commanding general for operations of the
101st Airborne Division The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) ("Screaming Eagles") is a light infantry division of the United States Army that specializes in air assault operations. It can plan, coordinate, and execute multiple battalion-size air assault operat ...
from July 2007 to April 2008, and as commanding general of the
10th Mountain Division The 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) is a light infantry division (military), division in the United States Army based at Fort Drum, New York. Formerly designated as a mountain warfare unit, the division was the only one of its size in t ...
from November 2011 to December 2012. Milley commanded III Corps, based at
Fort Hood Fort Hood is a United States Army post located near Killeen, Texas. Named after Confederate General John Bell Hood, it is located halfway between Austin and Waco, about from each, within the U.S. state of Texas. The post is the headquar ...
, Texas, from December 2012 to August 2014, and concurrently the
International Security Assistance Force The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) was a multinational military mission in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2014. It was established by United Nations Security Council United Nations Security Council Resolution 1386, Resolution 1386 pursua ...
Joint Command from May 2013 to February 2014. He served as the commanding general of the United States Army Forces Command at
Fort Bragg Fort Bragg is a military installation of the United States Army in North Carolina, and is one of the largest military installations in the world by population, with around 54,000 military personnel. The military reservation is located within C ...
, North Carolina, from August 2014 to August 2015.


Chief of Staff of the Army

Milley was appointed chief of staff of the Army on August 14, 2015. In his initial message to the U.S. Army, General Milley laid out his priorities on readiness, the future Army, and taking care of troops. "We must ensure the Army remains ready as the world's premier combat force. Readiness for ground combat is—and will remain—the U.S. Army's #1 priority. We will do what it takes to build an agile, adaptive Army of the future."


Modernization and reform

During his tenure, Milley focused heavily on modernization efforts for the Army, which included a new command designed to consolidate the methods that deliver Army capabilities, similar to the approach used by
U.S. Special Operations Command The United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM or SOCOM) is the unified combatant command charged with overseeing the various special operations component commands of the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, and Air Force of the United States Arm ...
. At the 2017 Association of the United States Army annual meeting, Milley described the areas targeted for modernization, including tanks, aircraft and weapons. Milley said: "Faster results will be obtained...as we shift to a SOCOM-like model of buy, try, decide and acquire rather than the current industrial-age linear model that takes years to establish requirements, decades to test, and it may take a long, long time to go from idea to delivery." He warned: "If we adapt to the changing character of war, and we embrace the institutional changes that we need to implement, then we will continue to be the most lethal fighting force in the world for the next seven decades and beyond. If we do not, we will lose the next war." In February 2017, the Army announced the establishment of Security Force Assistance Brigades. Also known as SFABs, these permanent units were established in Fort Benning with a core mission to conduct security cooperation activities and serve as a quick response to combatant commander requirements. While their training would be similar to that of Special Forces, soldiers in the SFABs would not be considered Special Forces, Milley said. "They will be trained in many ways similar to Special Forces, but they are not Special Forces." These SFABs will be structured using the non-commissioned and commissioned officers of infantry brigade combat teams to train foreign military units in conventional light infantry tactics, Milley said. In 2018, Milley established Army Futures Command in Austin, Texas, to take advantage of nearby academic and industrial expertise. Coequal in status to the Army's three senior most commands:
Army Forces Command The Army Forces Command (german: Heeresführungskommando) in Falckenstein Barracks in Koblenz was one of the two leadership pillars of the German Army, together with the German Army Office, before it was merged into the Army Command (''Kommand ...
, Army Material Command, and Army Training and Doctrine Command, it represented one of the largest reform initiatives undertaken in more than forty years. Beyond developing future warfighting concepts, eight cross-functional teams conducted research to further the Army's modernization priorities: long-range precision fires, next-generation combat vehicles, air and missile defenses, soldier lethality, synthetic training environments, future vehicle lift platforms, and assured positioning, navigation, and timing. In 2018, Milley also led the roll out of a new Army Combat Fitness Test. The new fitness test was designed to improve overall combat readiness and mimic physical tasks and stresses associated with combat and was set to replace the 40-year-old Army fitness test by October 2020. Milley said: "We want to make sure that our soldiers are ... in top physical shape to withstand the rigors of ground combat. Combat is not for the faint of heart, it's not for the weak-kneed, it's not for those who are not psychologically resilient and tough and hardened to the brutality, to the viciousness of it."


Army Green Service Uniform

In early 2017, Milley and then-Sergeant Major of the Army Dan Dailey began considering the possibility of bringing back an iconic two-tone uniform known as the "Pinks and Greens" to honor the "greatest generation" of soldiers who fought in World War II. The Army believed the reintroduction of the uniform would give soldiers a uniform for professional environments that honored the Army heritage, reconnect today's soldiers with their service history, strengthen pride, bolster recruiting and enhance readiness. According to an ''Army Times'' poll conducted in the fall of 2018, of the 32,000 respondents, 72 percent indicated they were ready to embrace a new uniform, while 28 percent said they were happy with the current blue Army Service Uniform. Soldiers did express concerns about the need for an additional uniform as well as the costs associated with acquiring the new uniform. The Army tried to address this concern in its official roll out announcement Nov. 11, 2018, indicating the uniform would be cost-neutral for enlisted soldiers, who would be able to purchase the new "everyday business-wear uniform" with their existing annual clothing allowance. The Army also indicated the new uniform would come "at no additional cost" to U.S. taxpayers and would be made in the U.S.


Iraq War study

In 2018, Milley was involved in deciding whether the Army would publish a controversial study on the 2003–2006
Iraq War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق ( Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict and the War on terror , image ...
. Milley reportedly decided he wanted to read the two-volume, 1,300-page, 500,000-word document before making a decision. Milley also directed that an external panel of scholars review the work. After the panel returned glowing reviews on the study, including one that described it as "the gold standard in official history", Milley continued to delay publication so he could review it further. In September 2018, Secretary of the Army
Mark Esper Mark Thomas Esper (born April 26, 1964) is an American politician and manufacturing executive who served as the 27th United States secretary of defense from 2019 to 2020. A member of the Republican Party, he had previously served as the 23rd U ...
and other Army officials decided to distance themselves from the study by casting it "as an independent" work of the authors, instead of being described as a project by the Chief of Staff of the Army's Operation Iraqi Freedom Study Group. When confronted by a journalist from ''
The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
'' in October 2018, Milley reversed these decisions, ordering the study published officially and with a foreword from himself. He said the team who wrote the study "did a damn good job", the study itself was "a solid work", and that he aimed to publish the study by the holidays (2018). Within days of this revelation, two members of Congress who sit on the House Armed Services Committee (Reps. Jackie Speier, D-California, and Ruben Gallego, D-Arizona) sent a letter to Army leaders expressing their anger over the delay. In a press release accompanying the letter to Milley and Esper, Speier said, "This is simply the Army being unwilling to publicly air its mistakes. Our military, Congress, and the American people deserve nothing less than total transparency on the lessons the Army has identified so that we may use those lessons to avoid costly, and too often deadly, mistakes of the past." The two-volume study was published January 17, 2019.


Report on climate change

In May 2019, Milley commissioned a U.S. Army War College report on the impact of
climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...
on society as a whole and on the U.S. military. The report was written by U.S. government officials from agencies including the U.S. Army, Defense Intelligence Agency, and NASA and released in August 2019. It outlined the possibility of blackouts, disease, thirst, starvation and war due to collapses of the country's aging
power grid An electrical grid is an interconnected network for electricity delivery from producers to consumers. Electrical grids vary in size and can cover whole countries or continents. It consists of:Kaplan, S. M. (2009). Smart Grid. Electrical Power ...
, its food supply systems, and the U.S. military. The report also mentions the likelihood of increasing
water scarcity Water scarcity (closely related to water stress or water crisis) is the lack of fresh water resources to meet the standard water demand. There are two types of water scarcity: physical or economic water scarcity. Physical water scarcity is whe ...
and failure of global
food system The term food system describes the interconnected systems and processes that influence nutrition, food, health, community development, and agriculture. A food system includes all processes and infrastructure involved in feeding a population: grow ...
s in developing countries which would result in an increase of civil and military conflicts.


Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

On December 8, 2018, President
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of ...
announced that he would nominate Milley to serve as
chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS) is the presiding officer of the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). The chairman is the highest-ranking and most senior military officer in the United States Armed Forces Chairman: a ...
, although Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis and then-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Joseph Dunford favored Air Force Chief of Staff General
David L. Goldfein David Lee Goldfein (born December 21, 1959) is a retired United States Air Force four-star general who last served as the 21st chief of staff of the Air Force. He previously served as the vice chief of staff of the Air Force and, prior to that, ...
for the appointment. Milley had initially been fielded as a candidate to succeed Curtis Scaparrotti as commander of the
United States European Command The United States European Command (EUCOM) is one of the eleven unified combatant commands of the United States military, headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany. Its area of focus covers and 51 countries and territories, including Europe, Russ ...
and
Supreme Allied Commander Europe The Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) is the commander of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO) Allied Command Operations (ACO) and head of ACO's headquarters, Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE). The commander i ...
but after the interview with Trump was nominated for the chairmanship instead. He was confirmed by the Senate 89–1 on July 25, 2019, and sworn in on September 30. After attending 75th anniversary commemorations of the
Battle of the Bulge The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, was the last major German offensive campaign on the Western Front during World War II. The battle lasted from 16 December 1944 to 28 January 1945, towards the end of the war in ...
in Belgium on December 16, 2019, Milley met with the Russian military chief of staff
Valery Gerasimov Valery Vasilyevich Gerasimov ( rus, Валерий Васильевич Герасимов, p=vɐˈlʲerʲɪj vɐˈsʲilʲjɪvʲɪdʑ ɡʲɪˈrasʲɪməf; born 8 September 1955) is a Russian army general serving as the Chief of the General St ...
in Bern, Switzerland, on December 18. This continued a series of meetings between the American and Russian military chiefs reestablished by Milley's predecessor Joseph Dunford in 2017 to ensure open communication and reduce the risks in conflict areas. During Trump's re-election campaign, a photograph featuring Vice President
Mike Pence Michael Richard Pence (born June 7, 1959) is an American politician who served as the 48th vice president of the United States from 2017 to 2021 under President Donald Trump. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, ...
, Trump, Esper, and Milley, was used in one of Trump's political ads. Defense officials said that the image was used without Milley's knowledge and consent and that the ad was later removed "ahead of time." In June 2021, a report from an Associated Press investigation found that at least 1,900 U.S. military firearms were recorded as lost or stolen in the last 10 years, most of them by the U.S. Army. Some of them were later used in violent crimes; in one case, stolen automatic rifles were sold to a California street gang. Reports say that when Milley learned of the scandal, he was shocked, and stated he would consider a more systematic fix on how the military keeps track of its firearms. However, some claim that Milley actually downplayed the report of 1,900 lost or stolen military firearms.


Racial issues

On June 1, 2020, during the protests in Washington, D.C. following the
murder of George Floyd On , George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, was murdered in the U.S. city of Minneapolis by Derek Chauvin, a 44-year-old white police officer. Floyd had been arrested on suspicion of using a counterfeit $20 bill. Chauvin knelt on Floyd's n ...
, Milley, in combat uniform, walked with the president from the
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest, Washington, D.C., NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. preside ...
across Lafayette Square to St. John's Episcopal Church about half an hour after federal officers and police had used
tear gas Tear gas, also known as a lachrymator agent or lachrymator (), sometimes colloquially known as "mace" after the early commercial aerosol, is a chemical weapon that stimulates the nerves of the lacrimal gland in the eye to produce tears. In ...
and other
riot control Riot control measures are used by law enforcement, military, paramilitary or security forces to control, disperse, and arrest people who are involved in a riot, unlawful demonstration or unlawful protest. If a riot is spontaneous and irra ...
tactics to disperse protestors, drawing sharp criticism from former military officers and others. According to ''Peril'', Milley attended the walk in combat fatigues as he had been summoned away at short notice from a planned visit to an FBI operations center, and immediately departed once he and Esper realized the political implications of the walk, saying that he felt "sick" and was "fucking done with this shit" to Esper. As a result, Milley was not present for Trump's photo op at St. John's Church. The
House Armed Services Committee The U.S. House Committee on Armed Services, commonly known as the House Armed Services Committee or HASC, is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. It is responsible for funding and oversight of the Department of D ...
subsequently requested Esper and Milley to testify before the committee about the military's role in the
George Floyd protests The George Floyd protests were a series of protests and civil unrest against police brutality and racism that began in Minneapolis on May 26, 2020, and largely took place during 2020. The civil unrest and protests began as part of internat ...
which they did on July 9. Milley reportedly considered resigning over the incident but chose instead to address it in a video recorded as his commencement address at the National Defense University on June 11, saying that he should not have been at the event because his presence created a perception of military involvement in domestic politics. On June 23, 2021, Milley attracted notice for telling Florida Republican Congressman
Matt Gaetz Matthew Louis Gaetz II ( ; born May 7, 1982) is an American lawyer and politician who has served as the U.S. representative for since 2017. A Republican, he has been described as an ally of former president Donald Trump, as well as a proponen ...
that he found it "offensive" that the U.S. military was being characterized as "
woke ''Woke'' ( ) is an adjective derived from African-American Vernacular English (AAVE) meaning "alert to racial prejudice and discrimination". Beginning in the 2010s, it came to encompass a broader awareness of social inequalities such as sex ...
" for including "
critical race theory Critical race theory (CRT) is a cross-disciplinary examination, by social and civil-rights scholars and activists, of how laws, social and political movements, and media shape, and are shaped by, social conceptions of race and ethnicity. Goal ...
" in its West Point curriculum and that he wanted "to understand white rage – and I'm white. What is it that caused thousands of people to assault this building and try to overturn the Constitution of the United States of America?". On June 30, 2021, former President
Trump Trump most commonly refers to: * Donald Trump (born 1946), 45th president of the United States (2017–2021) * Trump (card games), any playing card given an ad-hoc high rank Trump may also refer to: Businesses and organizations * Donald J. T ...
, who appointed Milley as Chair, called on him to resign, implying that he was unwilling "to defend
US military The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is the ...
] from the Leftist Radicals who hate [the United States] and [its Flag of the United States, flag]." This came after Milley's defense of studying a broad range of ideas including "critical race theory" and news reports that Milley and Trump engaged in a shouting match over military involvement in the 2020–2021 US race protests. Trump previously denied the incident and accused Milley of falsifying it.


Events after 2020 presidential election

On January 12, 2021, Milley and the Joint Chiefs of Staff issued a statement condemning the storming of the U.S. Capitol by supporters of Trump and reminding all service members of their obligation to support and defend the Constitution and reject extremism. They said: "As we have done throughout our history, the U.S. military will obey lawful orders from civilian leadership, support civilian authorities to protect lives and property, ensure public safety in accordance with the law, and remain fully committed to protecting and defending the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic." On April 2, 2021, during an interview regarding the January 6, 2021, incident, Milley said that the military reaction and response were "sprint speed" and "super fast". However, some, such as Speaker of the House of Representatives
Nancy Pelosi Nancy Patricia Pelosi (; ; born March 26, 1940) is an American politician who has served as Speaker of the United States House of Representatives since 2019 and previously from 2007 to 2011. She has represented in the United States House of ...
, doubted his statement, as it seemed to contradict events during the riot at the Capitol on January 6. After losing his bid for reelection in November 2020, Trump and his allies made
attempts to overturn the 2020 United States presidential election After Joe Biden won the 2020 United States presidential election, then-incumbent Donald Trump pursued an unprecedented effort to overturn the election, with support and assistance from his campaign, proxies, political allies, and many of ...
, presaging the
2021 United States Capitol attack On January 6, 2021, following the defeat of then-United States President, U.S. President Donald Trump in the 2020 United States presidential election, 2020 presidential election, a mob of his supporters attacked the United States Capitol, U ...
. According to '' I Alone Can Fix It'', a July 2021 book by ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large n ...
'' reporters Philip Rucker and Carol Leonnig, Milley became concerned Trump was preparing to stage a coup, and held informal discussions with his deputies about possible ways to thwart it, telling associates: "They may try, but they're not going to fucking succeed. You can't do this without the military. You can't do this without the
CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...
and the FBI. We're the guys with the guns." The book also quoted Milley saying "this is a Reichstag moment", comparing Trump's attempts to overturn the election to the event used to cement
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
and referring to Trump's false statements about electoral fraud as "the gospel of the
Führer ( ; , spelled or ''Fuhrer'' when the umlaut is not available) is a German word meaning " leader" or " guide". As a political title, it is strongly associated with the Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler. Nazi Germany cultivated the ("leader princi ...
." Milley reportedly told police and military officials preparing to secure Joe Biden's presidential inauguration: "Everyone in this room, whether you're a cop, whether you're a soldier, we're going to stop these guys to make sure we have a peaceful transfer of power. We're going to put a ring of steel around this city and the Nazis aren't getting in." Trump later said that he had not threatened or spoken about a coup and falsely claimed that Obama had fired Milley. In their September 2021 book, ''
Peril Imminent peril, or imminent danger, is an American legal concept where Imminent peril is "certain danger, immediate, and impending; menacingly close at hand, and threatening." In many states in the USA, a mere necessity for quick action does not con ...
'', ''Washington Post'' reporters
Bob Woodward Robert Upshur Woodward (born March 26, 1943) is an American investigative journalist. He started working for ''The Washington Post'' as a reporter in 1971 and now holds the title of associate editor. While a young reporter for ''The Washingto ...
and Robert Costa wrote that after the election Milley had become aware of a Trump military order to withdraw all troops from Afghanistan by January 15, 2021, which had been written by two Trump loyalists without consultation with national security officials. The authors reported that after Trump refused to concede his election loss, CIA director Gina Haspel told Milley, "We are on the way to a right-wing coup" and was worried Trump might attack Iran. In remarks before the Senate Armed Services Committee on September 28, Milley denied that he agreed in a call with
Nancy Pelosi Nancy Patricia Pelosi (; ; born March 26, 1940) is an American politician who has served as Speaker of the United States House of Representatives since 2019 and previously from 2007 to 2011. She has represented in the United States House of ...
that Trump was "crazy" as stated in the book, stating that he was "not qualified to determine the mental health of the president of the United States."


= Conference calls with Chinese general

= According to a September 2021 '' Axios'' report, in mid-2020 Pentagon officials were concerned about the Chinese having received bad intelligence from dubious sources that had them worried about a possible surprise U.S. strike against China. In a report released in November 2021, the Pentagon confirmed these Chinese worries and that Esper had directed Milley and the deputy assistant defense secretary for China Chad Sbragia in mid-October to reassure their Chinese counterparts that the U.S. "had no intention of instigating a military crisis against China." Milley called his Chinese counterpart on October 30. In Woodward and Costa's book ''Peril'', the authors wrote that on October 30, 2020, four days before the U.S. presidential election day, Milley called his counterpart in China, General
Li Zuocheng Li Zuocheng (; born October 1953) is a general of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) of China, currently serving as the chief of the Joint Staff Department of the Central Military Commission. Between 2015 and 2017, he served as the inaugural Com ...
, quoting Milley as saying: "I want to assure you that the American government is stable and everything is going to be okay ... We are not going to attack or conduct any kinetic operations against you ... If we're going to attack, I'm going to call you ahead of time. It's not going to be a surprise." The authors wrote that Milley again called Li in January 2021, two days after the
2021 United States Capitol attack On January 6, 2021, following the defeat of then-United States President, U.S. President Donald Trump in the 2020 United States presidential election, 2020 presidential election, a mob of his supporters attacked the United States Capitol, U ...
, quoting Milley as saying: "Things may look unsteady... But that's the nature of democracy... We are 100 percent steady. Everything's fine. But democracy can be sloppy sometimes." Unnamed defense department officials said Sbragia had called his Chinese counterpart two days earlier, with the authorization of then-acting secretary of defense Christopher C. Miller. One briefed on Milley's call said that it was "implausible that illey's callwould have been done without" Sbragia's knowledge. Both calls were by video conference where fifteen people were present, including a State Department representative and notetakers. CNN reported that Milley consulted with Esper in conducting the October call. ''
Politico ''Politico'' (stylized in all caps), known originally as ''The Politico'', is an American, German-owned political journalism newspaper company based in Arlington County, Virginia, that covers politics and policy in the United States and intern ...
'' reported that a former senior defense official said Milley asked Miller for permission to make the January call, and that Miller said Milley "almost certainly" informed him about making the call, but he did not recall receiving a detailed readout afterwards. On the same day, he told
Fox News The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is ...
that he did not authorize the call and called for Milley to resign or be fired, stating, "If the reporting in Woodward's book is accurate it represents a disgraceful and unprecedented act of insubordination by the Nation's top military officer."Two days later he told CNN that "he likely would not have been informed of such routine engagements that either his office or Milley would have had with China" and that he was criticizing the call in October, not the one in January. At a congressional hearing on September 28, 2021, Milley testified that both calls were coordinated with the staffs of Esper and Miller both before and after they were made. ''The Wall Street Journal'' reported Pentagon officials said Miller had been apprised of the call. Milley's spokesman stated, "All calls from the Chairman to his counterparts, including those reported, are staffed, coordinated and communicated with the Department of Defense and the interagency." Milley stated that the calls were "routine calls... in order to ensure strategic stability" and "perfectly within the duties and responsibilities of the chairman." In hearings before the Senate and House Armed Services committees on September 28 and 29, respectively, Milley said he did not intend to undermine Trump with the calls, adding that he "was communicating to my Chinese counterpart on instructions, by the way, to de-escalate the situation" and that Trump "has no intent to attack and I told eneral Lithat repeatedly." After the January 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol, Milley also spoke to other military leaders around the world, including in the United Kingdom, to reassure them "that the U.S. government was strong and in control."


= Pentagon meeting on procedure for launching nuclear weapons

= Woodward and Costa also wrote that after the attack on the Capitol Milley became concerned Trump might "go rogue", telling staff "You never know what a president's trigger point is". According to the book, he took extraordinary action to protect national security by insisting he be personally consulted about any military action orders by Trump, including the use of nuclear weapons, and instructed the directors of the CIA and NSA to be particularly attentive to developments. This was perceived by some former officials and outside analysts as "inserting himself inappropriately into the chain of command." On January 8, Milley assured
House Speaker The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hungerfo ...
Nancy Pelosi Nancy Patricia Pelosi (; ; born March 26, 1940) is an American politician who has served as Speaker of the United States House of Representatives since 2019 and previously from 2007 to 2011. She has represented in the United States House of ...
(D-Calif.) in a call that "the nuclear triggers are secure and we're not going to do — we're not going to allow anything crazy, illegal, immoral, or unethical to happen."


= Reactions to Milley's actions

= Milley's reported comments and actions have drawn criticism from multiple Republicans. Trump described Woodward and Costa's reporting as "fake news" and "fabricated", stating that he "never even thought of attacking China". Trump also said that if the reporting was true, then Trump believed Milley should be "tried for treason" for talking to Li "behind the President's back and telling China that he would be giving them notification" of an American attack.
Senate Intelligence Committee The United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (sometimes referred to as the Intelligence Committee or SSCI) is dedicated to overseeing the United States Intelligence Community—the agencies and bureaus of the federal government of ...
ranking member
Marco Rubio Marco Antonio Rubio (born May 28, 1971) is an American politician and lawyer serving as the senior United States senator from Florida, a seat he has held since 2011. A member of the Republican Party, he served as Speaker of the Florida House ...
called on Biden to fire Milley, stating that Milley had undermined "the sitting commander in chief" and "contemplated a treasonous leak of classified information to the
Chinese Communist Party The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victorious in the Chinese Ci ...
in advance of a potential armed conflict with the
People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, sli ...
." Many Republicans accused Milley of treason and called for his resignation, firing, or court-martial. Alexander Vindman said that Milley needed to resign if it was true that he broke the chain of command. Twenty-seven House Republicans, all members of the Freedom Caucus, wrote to Secretary of Defense
Lloyd Austin Lloyd James Austin III (born August 8, 1953) is a retired United States Army four-star general who, since his appointment on January 22, 2021, has served as the 28th United States secretary of defense. He is the first African American to serv ...
demanding an Army Regulation 15-6 investigation into Milley's actions and for Milley's security clearance to be suspended. Historian and Brookings Institution senior fellow
Max Boot Max Alexandrovich Boot (born September 12, 1969) is an American author, consultant, editorialist, lecturer, and military historian. He worked as a writer and editor for '' Christian Science Monitor'' and then for ''The Wall Street Journal'' in ...
, a critic of Trump, wrote that "Milley had no choice but to do what he did." He also wrote that "Trump, Rubio and all the rest of the rabid partisans who accused a decorated combat veteran of treason based on a hasty misreading of a book excerpt" needed to retract their statements and apologize. White House press secretary
Jen Psaki Jennifer Rene Psaki (; born c. 1978) is an American television political analyst who currently works for MSNBC. Previously, she was a political advisor who served under both the Obama and Biden administrations. Immediately prior to working ...
said that President Biden had worked closely with Milley and considered him to be a patriot. Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby stated that Milley had the trust and confidence of Austin.
Senate Judiciary Committee The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, informally the Senate Judiciary Committee, is a standing committee of 22 U.S. senators whose role is to oversee the Department of Justice (DOJ), consider executive and judicial nomination ...
chair
Dick Durbin Richard Joseph Durbin (born November 21, 1944) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Illinois, a seat he has held since 1997. A member of the Democratic Party, Durbin has served as the Senate Dem ...
said that "he had no concerns that Milley might have exceeded his authority" and that Democratic lawmakers "were circumspect in our language but many of us made it clear that we were counting on him to avoid the disaster which we knew could happen at any moment." President Biden later said he had "great confidence" in Milley. Senator Angus King stated that Milley had "rendered the country a significant service", and
U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services The Committee on Armed Services (sometimes abbreviated SASC for ''Senate Armed Services Committee'') is a committee of the United States Senate empowered with legislative oversight of the nation's military, including the Department of Defe ...
chair Jack Reed told reporters that "de-escalating international tensions was part of Milley's job." Former United Nations ambassador and Trump national security advisor John Bolton defended Milley as a "staunch supporter of the Constitution and the rule of law."


Afghanistan

In December 2020, Milley met with the
Taliban The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalist, militant Islamist, jihadist, and Pas ...
in
Doha Doha ( ar, الدوحة, ad-Dawḥa or ''ad-Dōḥa'') is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor, it is home to most of the c ...
in an effort to arrange
peace talks A peace process is the set of sociopolitical negotiations, agreements and actions that aim to solve a specific armed conflict. Definitions Prior to an armed conflict occurring, peace processes can include the prevention of an intra-state or i ...
between the Taliban and the Afghan government. Milley believed that U.S. troops should remain in Afghanistan to prevent another terrorist attack like the
September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commerc ...
. Nearly a year after the withdrawal of U.S. troops began, the
Taliban The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalist, militant Islamist, jihadist, and Pas ...
launched an offensive against the Afghan government, quickly advancing in front of a collapsing
Afghan Armed Forces ("The land belongs to Allah, the rule belongs to Allah") , founded = 1997 , current_form = , branches = * Afghan Army * Afghan Air Force , headquarters = Kabul , website = , commander-in-chie ...
. U.S. intelligence believed that the Afghan government would likely collapse within six months after the withdrawal of NATO troops from the country. On July 21, 2021, Milley reported that half of all districts in
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bord ...
were under Taliban control and that momentum was "sort of" on the side of the Taliban. Kabul was captured by the Taliban on August 15, 2021, prompting an international airlift of civilians at
Kabul International Airport , nativename-r = , image = Flightline at Kabul International Airport.jpeg , caption = The flightline at Kabul International Airport in January 2012 , IATA = KBL , ICAO = OAKB , ...
, which remained under temporary U.S. and
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
control. On August 26, 2021, following the
suicide bombing A suicide attack is any violent attack, usually entailing the attacker detonating an explosive, where the attacker has accepted their own death as a direct result of the attacking method used. Suicide attacks have occurred throughout history ...
at Kabul Airport that led to the death of 183 people, including 13 U.S. service members, Republican Senators and members of the House called for the resignation of President Biden, Vice President Harris, Secretary of State Blinken, Defense Secretary Austin, and Milley. In late September 2021, Milley, at hearings before both the
Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the e ...
and House Armed Services Committees said that the withdrawal from Afghanistan and evacuation from Kabul was "a logistical success but a strategic failure". He rejected demands from Republican committee members to resign.


Operational deployments

Milley has deployed for various military operations, including: *
Multinational Force and Observers The Multinational Force and Observers (MFO) is an international peacekeeping force overseeing the terms of the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel. The MFO generally operates in and around the Sinai peninsula, ensuring free navigation through ...
, Sinai, Egypt *
Operation Just Cause Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Ma ...
,
Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...
*
Operation Uphold Democracy Operation Uphold Democracy was a military intervention designed to remove the military regime installed by the 1991 Haitian coup d'état that overthrew the elected President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. The operation was effectively authorized by ...
,
Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...
*
Operation Joint Endeavor The Implementation Force (IFOR) was a NATO-led multinational peace enforcement force in Bosnia and Herzegovina under a one-year mandate from 20 December 1995 to 20 December 1996 under the codename ''Operation Joint Endeavour''. Background NATO ...
,
Bosnia-Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...
* Operation Iraqi Freedom, Iraq * Operation Enduring Freedom, Afghanistan


Service summary


Dates of rank


Summary of assignments


Awards and decorations

General Milley has received the following awards:


Personal life

Milley and Hollyanne Haas (born January 19, 1965) were married in May 1985. They have two children. Hollyanne Milley is a nurse who worked in critical care for 18 years and then in cardiac nursing for 15, currently in Northern Virginia. At the 2020
Veterans Day Veterans Day (originally known as Armistice Day) is a federal holidays in the United States, federal holiday in the United States observed annually on November 11, for honoring Veteran, military veterans of the United States Armed Forces (who ...
ceremony at
Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...
, she administered CPR to a veteran who had collapsed, saving his life.


References


External links

* * , - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Milley, Mark A. 1958 births Living people United States Army personnel of the Iraq War Belmont Hill School alumni Columbia University alumni School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University alumni Members of the United States Army Special Forces Military personnel from Massachusetts Naval War College alumni People from Winchester, Massachusetts Princeton Tigers men's ice hockey players Princeton University alumni United States Army generals United States Army Chiefs of Staff Chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Recipients of the Defense Distinguished Service Medal Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) Recipients of the Defense Superior Service Medal Recipients of the Legion of Merit Recipients of the Meritorious Service Medal (United States)