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The #senator asserts that this blanket & #unprecedented “hold,” which he has maintained for >6 months, is about opposition to #Defense Dept #policies that ensure #ServiceMembers & their #families have #access to #ReproductiveHealth no matter where they are #stationed.

After the Supreme Court’s decision in #Dobbs…, this policy is critical & necessary to meet our obligations to the force. It is also fully w/in the #law, as confirmed by the #Justice Dept’s Office of #Legal #Counsel.

Senators have many legislative & oversight tools to show their opposition to a specific #policy. They are free to introduce legislation, gather support for that legislation & pass it. But placing a blanket hold on all general & flag #officer nominees, who as #apolitical officials have traditionally been exempt from the hold process, is unfair to these #military leaders & their #families.

And it is putting our #NationalSecurity at risk.

Thus far, the hold has prevented the #Defense Dept from placing almost 300 of our most experienced & battle-tested leaders into critical posts around the world.
3 of our 5 #military branches —the #Army, #Navy & #MarineCorps — have no #Senate-confirmed #service #chief in place. Instead, these jobs — & dozens of others across the force — are being performed by acting ofcls w/o the full range of #legal authorities necessary to make the decisions that will sustain the #UnitedStates’ #military edge.

Across the services, many generals & admirals are being forced to perform 2 roles simultaneously. The strain of this double duty places a real & unfair burden on these #officers, the orgs they lead & their #families.

The #BlanketHold is also exacting a personal toll on those who least deserve it.

Each of us has seen the stress this hold is inflicting up & down the chain of command, whether in the halls of the #Pentagon or at bases & outposts around the world.

We know #officers who have incurred significant unforeseen #expenses & are facing genuine #financial stress because they have had to relocate their #families or unexpectedly maintain 2 residences.

#Military spouses who have worked to build #careers of their own are unable to look for #jobs because they don’t know when or if they will move. #Children haven’t known where they will go to #school, which is particularly hard given how frequently military children change schools already.

These military leaders are being forced to endure costly separations from their families — a painful experience they have come to know from nearly 20 years of deployments to places such as Iraq & Afghanistan.

All because of the actions of a single #senator.

Any claim that holding up the promotions of top #officers does not directly damage the #military is wrong — plain & simple.

The leaders whose lives & careers are on hold include scores of combat #veterans who have led our #troops into deadly combat w/valor & distinction in the decades since 9/11. These (people) …each have decades of experience & are exactly who we want — & need — to be leading our #military at such a critical period of time.

The impact of this hold does not stop at these #officers or their #family members.

W/the promotions of our most snr ldrs on hold, there is a domino effect upending the lives of our more jnr #officers, too.

…prolonged uncertainty & #political battles over these #military noms will have a corrosive effect on the force.

The generals & admirals who will be leading our forces a decade from now are colonels & captains today. They are watching this #spectacle & might conclude that their #service …is no longer valued by members of #Congress or, by extension, the American #public.

Rather than continue making #sacrifices to serve our #nation, some might leave uniformed #service for other opportunities, robbing the #DOD of talent cultivated over decades….

Throughout our careers in #NationalSecurity, we have deeply valued the #bipartisan support shown for our #ServiceMembers & their #families. But rather than seeking a resolution…, #Tuberville has suggested he is going to further escalate this confrontation by launching baseless #political attacks against these men & women.

We believe that the vast majority of #senators & of Americans across the #political spectrum recognize the stakes of this moment & the dangers of politicizing our #military leaders. It is time to lift this dangerous hold & confirm our senior military leaders.

(apologies for the thread length, #Tuberville’s #threat to #NationalSecurity is too important to limit access via a paywall, so transcribed the whole thing)