Overview

• Doug Krugman published an op-ed on Oct. 16 explaining that he left the Marine Corps because he could not in good conscience follow President Trump.
• He ties his Sept. 30 final day in uniform to a Quantico meeting where Trump told senior officers that dissent could cost them their rank and future.
• He cites the Jan. 6, 2021 attack, subsequent pardons, and the administration’s treatment of Afghan allies as factors that eroded his trust.
• He argues that federalized National Guard deployments without state requests and rhetoric labeling Portland a “war zone” exceeded legal and factual bounds.
• He urges service members to question possibly immoral or illegal orders, stressing personal responsibility and the risk to military cohesion.