By chance I have been re-reading COL Harry Summers book On Strategy, a critique of the Vietnam War.

On page 90-91 is a viewpoint of former Army Chief of Staff Matthew B. Ridgeway “on the relationship between the Army  leadership and its civilian decision-makers:”

Ridgeway, by the way, commanded the 101st Airborne in WWII and history records that he, through superhuman effort and personal example, turned our fortunes around in Korea after the Red Chinese came into the fight.

Here is a quote by Gen Ridgeway from the book that may be appropriate to the situation with Admiral Fallon.

“The statesman, the senior civilian authority, says to the soldier (and by “soldier” I mean the professional military man-the Army, the Navy, and the Air Forces as represented in the persons of the Chiefs of Staff): “This is our national policy. This is what we wish to accomplish, or would like to do. What military means are required to support it?”

“The soldier studies this problem in detail. “Very well,” he says to the statesman. “Here is what your policy will require in men and guns, in ships and planes”. . .

“If civilian authority finds the cost to be greater than the country can bear, then either the objectives themselves should be modified, or the responsibility for the risks involved should be forthrightly accepted. Under no circumstances, regardless of pressures from whatever source or motive, should the professional military man yield, or compromise his judgment for other than convincing military reasons. To do otherwise would be to destroy his usefulness.”

Here is a link to the Esquire magazine article.

http://www.esquire.com/features/fox-fallon