I was at a parade, talking with fellow soldiers while we were all waiting; that hardly rises to the level of firing-line safety; furthermore, what of the others who were grousing about political crap (maybe they got a free-pass because they were E5s or on the Good-ole-boy list).
As I’ve already said on this board, one of the reasons I stayed quiet was so I could just get out. I did not want to be torn between my oath (doing the right thing) and following questionably legitimate orders. I know that many, many people in the military are in somewhat the same position and in some ways I was better off: as an enlisted I could say “I’ve got no authority, all I got to do is follow orders...” [simplified, but fairly accurate.]
Officers have no such excuse. Their oath is to the Constitution only and it makes no mention of any government official because it recognizes that [in theory] they ARE officials and, as such, it is their obligation to carry out the constitution.
Insofar as the Officer Chain-of-Command goes the situation in AZ is just as much evidence of their malfeasance toward the Constitution as the rest of the Executive branch.
The military is full of young people. Their nature is to chafe against its rigidity. I did the same when I was young, but as one ages, one develops a different perspective on why things are the way they are. What seemed like an insufferable affront back when often loses its sting and perceived urgency in later light.