Although I might be bold enough to Post Script my post with:
You wouldn’t trust the US military?
You wouldn’t trust the US military?
Under ordinary circumstances, sir, I would most certainly trust the U.S. military.
But a scenario like the one being imagined here - economic upheaval accompanied by major unemployment, hyperinflation, food shortages, a mass tax revolt, a partial breakdown of civil order, low-level armed conflicts, the violent overthrow of segments of our political class, etc. - wouldn't happen overnight. It would take time to "crescendo." By then, the current frame of mind of most patriotic citizens - based on confidence in our Constitution, a belief in the essential goodness of Man, an inherent faith in Law and Order - will probably have eroded beyond repair. Many hitherto (naively) optimistic - or at least idealistic - and law-abiding citizens may have become jaded egoists. In such a moral climate, it would be much easier for a cadre of high-level military men to convince themselves that it was "in the interest of the country" to remain in power, that the "time had not yet come" to again hold free elections, etc.
Throw in a certain percentage of out-and-out turncoats in every organization, and you see what I mean.
Regards,