Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said the Pentagon will engage in an orderly transition to the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump and that the military won’t be involved in any policies.
“As it always has, the U.S. military will stand ready to carry out the policy choices of its next Commander in Chief, and to obey all lawful orders from its civilian chain of command,” he said in a memo on Wednesday.
In the message to the troops, he said: “You are the United States military—the finest fighting force on Earth—and you will continue to defend our country, our Constitution, and the rights of all of our citizens….