However, the appropriateness of retired flag officers participating in public, political discourse is a topic that sparks debate among both scholars and practitioners. There are four main arguments furthered by these proponents of retired flag officers speaking out on partisan political issues. Indicators of Norm RobustnessDeath of a Norm Contested Norm Robust Norm Retired flag officers frequently issue partisan campaign endorsements Retired flag officers occasionally issue partisan campaign endorsements Retired flag officers rarely issue partisan campaign endorsements Retired flag officers frequently criticize elected leaders publicly Retired flag officers occasionally criticize elected leaders publicly Retired flag officers rarely or never criticize elected leaders publicly Majority of retired flag officers are comfortable speaking out on political matters Some retired flag officers are uncomfortable speaking out on political matters Majority of retired flag officers are uncomfortable speaking out on political matters Majority of active-duty officers approve of retired flag officer political speech Active-duty officers are split on their approval of retired flag officer political speech Majority of active-duty officers disapprove of retired flag officer political speechIn Table 2, we have identified specific indicators of the health of a given civil-military norm — in this case, the norm that retired flag officers should refrain from political speech. We sent the survey to retired flag officers who we knew had been politically vocal in the past, as well as to those who have refrained from such activity, and we asked them to forward the survey to their own networks of diverse, retired flag officers. However, in a similar survey of Army officers conducted from 2017 to 2020, only 49 percent of Army officers agreed with that statement.76 The decline in support among active-duty officers for retired flag officers speaking out on political issues could be in response to the increase in high-profile campaign endorsements, the spectacle associated with retired flag officers at the 2016 nominating conventions, or the various controversies that retired flag officers were involved in during the Trump administration.

Source: Washington Post December 01, 2023 00:50 UTC