Esper was speaking for not only himself but the top brass at The Pentagon. I don’t have to be a veteran to know that. It’s obvious. A very non-political statement could’ve very easily been released by The generals stating that if The President deemed it necessary to deploy troops to assist law enforcement the troops are ready to go. Instead we hear crickets. Sorry, The Pentagon and the top generals are deep state just like Mattis.
Yet if you had been in the military you would know how wrong you are. Hint: the Secretary tells them what they "know" and they had better not know anything else. Insubordination is not tolerated in our U. S. Military. Do you remember reading about General MacArthur being fired by Truman? The Civilian Trumps!