Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey would not comment on the substance of the groups’ attacks but told reporters on a plane back to the U.S. from Afghanistan that they’re “not useful”:

“And one of the things that marks us as a profession in a democracy, in our form of democracy, that’s most important is that we remain apolitical.

“That’s how we maintain our bond and trust with the American people,” the general said.

But Dempsey isn’t the only one criticizing the groups. The AP reports today that other special ops officers “say the activist veterans are breaking a sacred military creed: respect for the commander in chief”:

“This is an unprofessional, shameful action on the part of the operators that appear in the video, period,” U.S. Army Special Forces Maj. Fernando Lujan wrote on his Facebook page, to a chorus of approval from colleagues.

A Green Beret who returned last year from Afghanistan, Lujan says that attaching the title of special operator with any political campaign is “in violation of everything we’ve been taught, and the opposite of what we should be doing, which is being quiet professionals.” [...]

“They have a good point. I wish there was better OPSEC (operational security), and fewer leaks,” said retired Navy SEAL Capt. Rick Woolard, who commanded several SEAL units. “But I would prefer that SEALs and other special operators would sit down and shut the hell up.”