President Donald Trump announced on social media this weekend: “NATO has been telling Denmark, for 20 years, that ‘you have to get the Russian threat away from Greenland.’ Unfortunately, Denmark has been unable to do anything about it. Now it is time, and it will be done!!!’ – President Donald J. Trump.”
Retired U.S. Army Lt. General Mark Hertling, who served as the Commanding General of the U.S. Army Europe, responded “I’ve spent a lot of time in Europe. I can emphatically state this is false.”
Hertling also responded to a report about Russian pundits “rejoicing about Trump’s approach to Greenland, which they surmised is ‘delivering a catastrophic blow to NATO’ and is ‘truly tremendous for Russia.'”
Herling replied: “No consideration in our strategy of how others are reacting. There’s a method called ‘red teaming’ that seems to not be a part of the US playbook right now.”
Yeah. Pretty much this. No consideration in our strategy of how others are reacting. There’s a method called “red teaming” that seems to not be a part of the US playbook right now. https://t.co/73WoYeqNI8
— Mark Hertling (@MarkHertling) January 20, 2026
Note: Trump’s former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Retired U.S. Army General Mark A. Milley, emphasized the advantage of red teaming, which he defined in the official Red Teaming Handbook. “Red Teaming creates and illuminates pathways to better decisions,” it explains, “by employing structured techniques to identify hidden dangers, reveal unseen possibilities, and facilitate creative alternatives. It is, in essence, a form of risk management for the human brain.”
When political campaign strategist Jacob Perry followed-up with Hertling and asked, “General, hypothetically, what would you do if your unit was ordered to invade a NATO ally? If you don’t want to publicly answer or you’re saving it for a future column then I fully respect that,” Hertling replied: “I’d refuse. It’s an illegal order. I’ll publish an article on this tomorrow.” (In November, Hertling joined The Bulwark as a commentator and expert on politico-military affairs.)
I’d refuse. It’s an illegal order. I’ll publish an article on this tomorrow.
— Mark Hertling (@MarkHertling) January 20, 2026
NOTE: The subject of obeying “illegal” orders has been in the news since a group of six Democratic lawmakers — all with military or intelligence backgrounds — released a video in November urging U.S. military members not to follow orders they deemed “illegal.” After its release, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth censured video participant and U.S. Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ), a retired Navy captain and former astronaut, threatening to strip him of his rank. Kelly has responded by suing Hegseth and the Department of Defense. Democratic Reps. Jason Crow, Maggie Goodlander and Chrissy Houlahan — who also contributed to the video — recently revealed that they also are being investigated by federal prosecutors.
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