The Joint Chiefs emphasized in the letter that President-elect Joe Biden will be inaugurated on Jan. 20, becoming the 46th commander in chief, and that any acts to disrupt the constitutional process not only violate military values, but the law.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff is made up of the top eight military officials in the country. It includes the chair and vice chair, the commandant of the Marine Corps, the chiefs of staff of the Army and Air Force, and the chiefs of the National Guard Bureau, naval operations and space operations. The chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Mark Milley, was appointed by President Trump in December 2018. He and the other Joint Chiefs members are military advisers to the president, the secretary of defense and the National Security Council.