Thread by @RadioFreeTom

So, this is a mini-thread about military professors and that disclaimer that some of you heard from Chris Jansing (thank you, @11thHour) about my views being my own. This is a quirky requirement that occurs because Professional Military Ed professors (PME) are USG employees. /1

I am not representing the policy of the Naval War College or any military school here, and none of this will really matter for me personally when I leave Federal service in the spring, but it's helpful to know when you see my PME colleagues in the public space. /2

PME institutions are accredited schools that give accredited degrees. Their civilian faculty, accordingly, must have academic freedom to speak their mind as part of being faculty at actual educational institutions. (Also, they are citizens who have the right to speak!) /3

U.S. government employees must make a serious effort never to be construed as speaking for Uncle Sam unless they say they are or acting in their official role. (When it comes to politics, especially, this is all in the Hatch Act, which isn't hard to follow.) /4

But what about when discussing policy? Most USG officials must reflect official policy. You work for State, you represent State. But PME profs are in a weird spot: We're USG, but *also* governed by guarantees of academic freedom, because that freedom is central to our jobs. /5

My institution, I am happy to say, takes that pretty damn seriously. Think about it: If we always had to support policy, we'd be worthless as honest teachers, analysts, commenters, or scholarly writers. Everything we say would be have to be bullets on a PowerPoint from DC. /6

So, the solution to academic freedom + USG employment is a disclaimer. When someone says "This is a professor at the Naval War College," we add: "And not speaking for the DoD." /7

Some of us have other affiliations, and sometimes when the issue is farther from our military teaching we use those. In that case, there is no disclaimer because we're not using a military affiliation and there is no chance of confusing us for USG spox. /8

Of course, none of this stops people from regularly demanding that people like me be fired, because they think someone teaching in a military school should always think like they do and any view different from theirs should be punished. But that's not how real schools work. /9

Ironically, during the Trump administration, many people who demanded I be fired said that I had to support the President. They did not argue this for Obama or Biden. And this is why academic freedom exists: So that we are not beholden as scholars to elected officials. /10

Anyway, when you see PME professors out there, do not get your hair on fire that they are not saying what you think they should say. Other than observing the Hatch Act and protecting classified info, they're just like any other professors. And should be. /11

But that's why you'll hear that clunky disclaimer now and then. (Sometimes we forget, but we do our best.) We are hired - it is in our job description - to be scholars and prominent in our fields, not advocates for an administration. /12

Thank you for coming to this TED talk. I am not in any way representing the views of any agency of the U.S. government. SWIDT. /13x