“Endangering our national security”: Tuberville criticized the “blanket detention” of military officers

in one Washington Post commentary Released Monday night, the civilian secretaries of the US Army, Navy and Air Force sharply criticized Senator Tommy Tuberville, the Alabama Republican “who…” blocking of the confirmation our top military officers,” as they put it.

Tuberville, an anti-choice conservative and staunch supporter of Donald Trump, has single-handedly “withheld blanket appointments” for all “general and flag officer candidates” in all branches of the US military. He’s firmly against it.”Department of Defense guidelines that ensure military members and their families have access to reproductive health” — and particularly abortion services — “regardless of where they are based.” Restricted people are allowed to travel at the government’s expense in jurisdictions that allow it, a policy Tuberville and other Republicans strongly oppose.

In the Post article, Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro, Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall and Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth write that the reproductive access policy is perfectly legal and also “critical and necessary to fulfill our obligations to the force.” They claim Tuberville’s rule endangers “our national security” by preventing the Pentagon from “housing nearly 300 of our most experienced and battle-hardened leaders.” Critical contributions around the world“:

Three of our five military branches — the Army, Navy, and Marine Corps — do not have a Senate-approved chief of service in office. … In all armed forces, many generals and admirals are forced to fill two roles at once. … Each of us has seen the stress this influence brings throughout the chain of command, whether in the halls of the Pentagon or at bases and outposts around the world.

Tuberville’s assertion that “stopping promotions of top officers does not directly harm the military,” the three ministers conclude, “is simply wrong.”