A retired general has warned that another insurgency attempt could be successful in 2024 if “confusion” is successfully sown among the US military as to who the commander-in-chief is.

Paul Eaton, a former two-star US Army major general, told NPR of his concerns that the US military could be “compromised” by competing claims over who won the election and who won the election. she should be given orders.

He said he was concerned that some members of the military did not understand “who is the duly elected president”.

“If it’s not a clear understanding, it can infect the base or any level of the US military,” he said.

“If you have this kind of confusion around the 2020 elections, it is not absurd to consider that you are going to have a little confusion [in 2024] and this confusion could creep into the ranks of the US military. “

When asked if he was more worried about rank-and-file soldiers who “might sympathize with undemocratic views” or officers “giving their units orders that would be unconstitutional,” Eaton said: “This could be a problem. bit of all of the above because we saw it in 2020. “

“I see it as high impact with low probability,” he said. “It is an eventuality that we must prepare for.”

Eaton, a senior advisor to VoteVets, said ahead of the next election, the military needs to wage a war game in which contested election scenarios are tested.

He also said it was the responsibility of military leaders to sound the alarm about any subordinate showing “doubt as to the loyalty and willingness to follow the oath of the United States.”

“These people need to be identified and dealt with to some extent,” he said.

He said it was essential that “every 18 year old American truly understands the Constitution of the United States.

“This is an important piece of education that I think we need to re-address. The fact that we were caught off guard momentarily and from a police duty on January 6 is incomprehensible.”

Eaton’s comments ahead of the Jan. 6 first anniversary reiterates concerns he expressed in a Washington post editorial co-authored by Retired Major General Antonio M. Taguba and Retired Brigadier General Steven M. Anderson.

Their article published on December 17 expressed dismay that a group of 124 retired military personnel, known as “Flag Officers 4 America,” published a letter echoing former President Donald Trump’s false allegations about the electoral fraud that triggered the violence.

Editorial warned of “a complete break in the chain of command along partisan lines […] in the event of a new insurrection. “

He also said that “the idea of ​​rogue units organizing among themselves to support the ‘legitimate’ commander-in-chief cannot be ruled out.”