As Gen. Milley steps down as chairman, his work on Ukraine is just one part of a complicated legacy

OSLO, Norway — On a frigid U.S. air base in Germany, the top U.S. military officer was in his element. President Donald Trump speaks as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley, right, listens during a briefing with senior military leaders in the Cabinet Room at the White House in Washington, Monday, Oct. 7, 2019. Milley’s persistent mantra, which he repeated to Congress, is that his loyalty is “to this nation, its people and the Constitution” and that “as long as I have a breath to give, my loyalty is absolute.” Pointing to the China call as treasonous, Sen. Marco Rubio, a Florida Republican, demanded Biden fire Milley, saying his actions undermine the president and threaten “to tear apart our nation’s longstanding principle of civilian control of the military.” Others defend him. Retired Gen. Barry McCaffrey, who served with Milley, called him “the most consequential” chairman since World War II, adding that “Trump was and is a danger to our democracy.” In this June 1, 2020 file photo, President Donald Trump departs the White House to visit outside St. John’s Church, in Washington. “At a time when your nation’s constitutional values were shaken to their core, you made sure that the U.S. military continued to embody the values and ideals of the nation.” From left, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Mark Milley, first lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, participate in a wreath-laying ceremony at the 9/11 Pentagon Memorial, Thursday, Sept. 21, 2023, in Washington.