Oops, US service chiefs could be in big trouble!

All the US service chiefs as well as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs were invited to Trump's little tanks and fighter jet party to celebrate the armed forces on the 4th of July. Only General Joseph Dunford, chairman, turned up. The rest made their excuses. Oh dear, that spells trouble. For them! It's being put about that they disagreed with having tanks going up and down because it looked as if the president was seeking political glory at a time when the focus should be on the glory of the nation. Political capital on the Capitol! So they thought that was bad news and came up with a range of excuses. The chief of the air staff General David Goldfein was apparently on leave. And what about General Mark Milley, chief of the army and nominated to be the next chairman of the joint chiefs. He had another engagement (!) and sent Lieutenant-General Joseph Martin, the incoming vice chief of staff of the army, to represent him. No sign of Admiral John Richardson, chief of naval operations, or General Robert Neller, Commandant of the Marine Corps. So they all had previous engagements? Is that a snub to the commander-in-chief or a diary error on the part of some unfortunate secretary? They probably agreed among themselves that poor old Joe Dunford would have to go while the rest of them celebrated 4th of July with their families. Sorry, with terribly important military types in a faraway barracks! Trump will get his revenge one way or another. I bet he gave Dunford a hard time. Perhaps Trump will revise his decision to nominate General Milley as Dunford's replacement and plead with Dunford to stay on until 2020. Whatever he does, those service chief chappies should be trembling in their polished boots for daring to say NO to the president's kind invitation to join him for the military parade. Watch this space.