It is certainly a great concern if the military strays too far from our nation’s values. The armed forces are the enforcement of our constitution and American values. If they do not enforce the same values as the civilians they protect, then they are not truly representative of our nation. For this reason, civilians should have a certain degree of control over the military. Conversely, the military also needs to be in control of itself for efficiency purposes. The average civilian knows nothing about running the military.
It is important that the military do not stray far from our nation’s core values in order to maintain the support of the populace. For example, the military strayed too far from our nation’s values of freedom, self-determination, and empathy during the Vietnam War. Not only was the United States’ general presence against our beliefs of self-determination, but a great deal of atrocities involving the killings of civilians took place. Naturally, this was against our nation’s values and American civilians erupted in anger. In order to have the much needed cooperation between civilians and the military, the military must not stray from our nation’s values. Moreover, civilians should have control in the large scale operations of the military. Not necessarily strategy, but rather deciding whether or not to enter a country at all because the civilian populace must be in support of the invasion, or else we will see a repeat of the turmoil during the Vietnam war.
It is also important that the military be completely open and honest with civilians. Even if we “can’t handle the truth”, honesty is the best path towards cooperation. This is illustrated in A Few Good Men when lack of honesty almost resulted in two marines spending their lives in prison. Lastly, honesty is certainly one of our nation’s cherished values.