As a KY veteran, I know the U.S. military should not be sent into U.S. cities | Opinion

You’ve probably seen the flashy headlines and YouTube clips from Tuesday’s Quantico event where Secretary Hegseth and President Trump addressed our nation’s military leadership. References to “men in dresses” and “fat generals” guaranteed plenty of views, but I felt a duty to tune in and see what else might be hiding behind the clickbait. As chair of the Kentucky Veterans Caucus and a leading advocate for veterans and military families, I owed it to my colleagues, peers, and constituents to study the briefing in full. I expected political rambling and maybe some buffoonery. What we got was much worse: a dangerous attempt to justify turning our military against our own citizens.

The briefing to senior military leaders quickly devolved into political theater. Just a few minutes in, Hegseth mocked “the woke department” and “climate change worship,” clearly more interested in cable-news propaganda than actual policy.

But what truly alarmed me came about 30 minutes later. Hegseth openly rejected “rules of engagement”: the very standards drawn from international law like the Geneva Conventions that prevent war crimes, protect civilians, and distinguish a professional military from a terrorist organization. According to him, American soldiers should focus only on “maximum lethality” without “politically correct rules.” In plain terms, he was suggesting our troops shouldn’t have to worry about civilian lives.

Hegseth’s “kill people and break things” mentality was disturbing enough on its own. But the real chill came once the President started speaking. What if the civilian lives this new Department of War dismisses aren’t on a distant battlefield, but here at home? It’s not far-fetched. President Trump built on Hegseth’s theme by repeatedly referencing “the war within” and “the enemy within.”

Trump wasn’t talking about foreign adversaries, he was pointing the finger at his political opponents. In front of our nation’s most senior military leaders, the Commander-in-Chief described cities run by “radical left Democrats” as war zones and encouraged our generals to use those cities to train the military for a new era of more aggressive, less restrained warfare.

A Secretary of War who shrugs at civilian deaths. A President, already found by a federal judge to have violated the Posse Comitatus Act, now floats sending the military into American cities. This is not strength — it’s dangerous. This is not toughness — it’s treacherous. There is nothing American about committing war crimes, and there is nothing patriotic about training U.S. soldiers to target U.S. citizens.

Why am I, a Kentucky state representative, writing about a speech in Virginia? Because the oath I swore as a veteran did not stop at the state line. I swore to defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. I have seen danger abroad, and I have seen what happens when military forces are unbound from law and ethics. What I heard Tuesday at Quantico made me more fearful for our republic than any threat I encountered overseas.

This is not a partisan plea. It is a civic one. No matter your political party or who you voted for last fall, the question is simple: do we want an America where the military is treated as a political weapon against our own people? Are we willing to toss aside the very rules that kept America strong just so a couple of leaders can look tough on TV?

I will keep using my platform to push back, to defend the honor of our service members by defending the laws and norms that make their service honorable. Will you do the same? Inform your neighbors. Demand your elected officials speak up when the Constitution is threatened. Support organizations that hold our leaders accountable.

I believe in a strong military. I also believe a strong military is bound by law and conscience. Strength without restraint is not security, but the first step toward tyranny. That is not the America I served to protect. And it is not the America I will surrender.

Rep. Adam Moore, D-Lexington, represents the 45th House District in Fayette and Jessamine counties.