Unsworn Statement of Major Jason P. Watson, USAF
September 19, 2026
Good afternoon. I am Major Jason P. Watson. I have served honorably in the United States Air Force for over seventeen years on Active Duty as a Logistics Officer. I come from several generations of service members and followed in the footsteps of both my father and brother by attending and graduating from the United States Air Force Academy. I have spent most of my career abroad, including nineteen months deployed to Afghanistan, Kuwait, and Iraq.
I love my country. It has been the honor of my life to serve our democratic republic.
My oath is the foundation of everything I have done as a service member. I did not swear that oath as an officer, but as an American citizen, and I did not swear it to any administration, any party, or any person. I swore it, as every service member does, to the Constitution of the United States — to support and defend it against all enemies, foreign and domestic. That obligation runs to the Constitution alone, regardless of what it demands of us.
I want to be clear about something at the outset: what I did was not partisan. I did not act for one party or against another, or to help or harm any candidate. I acted because I came to believe, after long and sober reflection, that conduct by President Trump and his administration violated the Constitution I am sworn to defend — and that my oath required me to act. If the same conduct had come from any administration of any party, my duty would have been identical. My loyalty is not to one side. It is to the founding document I swore to uphold.
I criticized this administration’s conduct as it relates to the Constitution, the law, and abuses of power against the American people. I called for accountability through the lawful, constitutional process of impeachment. I understand my words made people uncomfortable. Criticism of the powerful usually does. But discomfort is not contempt. Contempt is petty, personal, and meant to wound. What I offered was the opposite — a considered critique, made in good faith, aimed at correcting what I believed were grave errors by those in power. I spoke to change something I believed was wrong, in the open, under the weight of my own name and my own oath.
In the military, we are always told that everyone can be replaced, and I embrace this philosophy. When I chose this course, it was in keeping with this philosophy, taking a stand so my fellow service members, whom I hold in the highest regard, would not have to. I also knew that inspiring my fellow citizens would require bold action and great sacrifice.
I have no expectation that I should continue to serve nor retain any benefits. If, following my actions, the government had afforded me the opportunity to resign my commission without a criminal record, I would have already taken it. However, that is not the case.
Everything I have done, up to the present, was driven by my sworn duty to faithfully serve America, our Constitution, and the democratic republic it represents.
Thank you for affording me the opportunity to provide this statement.
Sincerely,
