Let’s not hold hostage the leadership our brave service members deserve

“There is no time to waste.” These are the final six words of the 2022 National Security Strategy — a clarion call for every American. The scale and scope of the challenges and opportunities we face as a country are exactly why the National Security Strategy calls this time the “decisive decade.” 

Those challenges and opportunities, our future, require a focused, disciplined response. Instead, our security is being undermined by short-sighted politicians in Washington like Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.). For months now, he has held up the confirmations of senior Department of Defense civilians and military officer promotions. The leaders our country needs to execute our “decisive decade” are not in place because Tuberville disagrees with the Pentagon’s decision to provide service members with access to safe reproductive health care if they happen to be assigned to a base in a state where such care is not available — like Alabama.

Read that last sentence again. The fact that senior Defense leaders are not in place to execute their missions is inexcusable in and of itself. But, to understand that we’re here because of one man’s drive to score political points — at the expense of the health and readiness of our service members while leaving critical leadership positions unfilled — is infuriating. We are wasting irreplaceable time and talent in the name of Tuberville’s political gamesmanship. 

For the first time since before the Civil War, the U.S. Marine Corps is without a Senate-confirmed commandant, meaning their highest-ranking military officer is in an “acting” position, bearing the responsibilities of two jobs, and his actions are limited by law until he is confirmed by the Senate.

While the commandant’s office sits empty, the U.S. Marine Corps is undergoing transformational, years-long modernization efforts to meet the threats posed by the People’s Republic of China and Vladimir Putin’s Russia. While the commandant’s office sits empty, the U.S. Marine Corps is shoring up our alliances and partnerships in the Indo-Pacific. While the commandant’s office sits empty, the United States is working to revitalize the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the world’s most important security alliance. And while the commandant’s office sits empty, the Department of Defense faces unprecedented recruiting challenges. We do not need our partners and allies, our enemies, or our service members — current and potential — receiving mixed signals about the commitment of U.S. political leaders to American leadership and international security. 

Call it a fumble, call it an unforced error, I call it a gift to our enemies — holding up this and hundreds of other nominations critical to our national security is inexcusable. 

Over the course of 17 months, sometimes several times a week, I sat across from Gen. Eric Smith, President Biden’s nominee to serve as the next commandant, at one of two meetings: the Deputy’s Management Action Group, affectionately called DMAG, or the Deputy’s Workforce Council, also known as the DWC. 

We worked together on building the multiyear Defense budget, which in practical terms meant we were discussing strategic investments and necessary trade-offs to ensure we had a force that was ready to fight and win tonight and in the future. We also collaborated on quality-of-life issues affecting our service members, civil servants and their families, everything from pay raises to child care, addressing sexual assault and harassment, to novel approaches to recruiting and retention. 

Let me tell you — Smith gets it. He is a gifted, hardworking leader our Marines are lucky to have. Whether we were discussing next steps in the Indo-Pacific or how to address the scourge of domestic violence in the military and every topic in between, I found his inputs to be thoughtful, strategic and empathetic to the evolving needs of our service members, civil servants and their families. 

So, Tuberville, let’s not waste any more precious time or talent. If you have other ways to ensure all service members have access to the safe reproductive health care they need, then let’s hear it. But, let’s not hold hostage the leadership our brave service members and civil servants deserve and that our country needs. Give ‘em a vote, coach.

Gina Ortiz Jones is former undersecretary of the Air Force.