What this clause does not state is who is delegated the authority to “call” the armed forces into “Service”. The first clause in Article II Section 2 of the US Constitution declares, “The President shall be the Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into actual Service of the United States.” Without ambiguity this clause states the President only becomes the Commander in Chief when the armed forces i.e., Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, National Guard, and Reserves are “called” into Service of the United States. The belief that the President is the Commander in Chief when he takes the oath of office is not in accordance with the supreme law of the Land, which is the US Constitution. Coincidently, many Presidents in the 20 th century have used the military in this manner. If the President is always the Commander in Chief, then one would expect he has the authority to use the military, without the consent of Congress, whenever and however he thinks best to ‘protect’ the nation. But even the loss of one life is a tragedy to the family of the killed service member and is completely illegal when the conflict was not approved by representatives of the people and the States.Ĭonflicts that are not declared by Congress are unwarranted and most of this unwarranted militarism is the result of the American public’s apathetic understanding of and desire for accountability to constitutional war powers, the Law of Nations, the Just War Doctrine, and the role of the President as Commander in Chief. The total number of service members who died as a result of these unconstitutional wars, which are conflicts not declared by the constitutionally predetermined authority, is less than 100,000. In the 20 th century, America has been involved in 19 conflicts in which Congress has not declared war as the Constitution requires and service members have lost their lives in each of these 19 conflicts.

Is the president the commander in chief