143.4—Policy.
It is the policy of the United States under Public Law 95-610 that:
(a)
Members of the Armed Forces of the United States must be prepared to fight and, if necessary, to die to protect the welfare, security, and liberty of the United States and of their fellow citizens.
(b)
Discipline and prompt obedience to lawful orders of superior officers are essential and time-honored elements of the American military tradition and have been reinforced from the earliest articles of war by laws and regulations prohibiting conduct detrimental to the military chain of command and lawful military authority.
(c)
The processes of conventional collective bargaining and labor-management negotiation cannot and should not be applied to the relationships between members of the Armed Forces and their military and civilian superiors.
(d)
Strikes, slowdowns, picketing, and other traditional forms of job action have no place in the Armed Forces.
(e)
Unionization of the Armed Forces would be incompatible with the military chain of command, would undermine the role, authority, and position of the commander, and would impair the morale and readiness of the Armed Forces.
(f)
The circumstances that could constitute a threat to the ability of the Armed Forces to perform their mission are not comparable to the circumstances that could constitute a threat to the ability of Federal civilian agencies to perform their functions and should be viewed in light of the need for effective performance of duty by each member of the Armed Forces.