I'd rather they spoke up and looked after the guys who they send to do the fighting. Anything that makes an elected PM of the day think long and hard about committing resources to combat is, in my mind, to be welcomed. And if this conflicts with Treasury led plans to reduce the nations defences - the first obligation of any government - to a point where it can barely defend itself, yes, dagnammit they should speak out.
And, if they speak out and no-one listens, I have a particular admiration for those who put their commissions where their mouths and their convictions are and walk, instead of just sitting back, keeping as low a profile as possible and collecting their pensions.
I'd also like to think that these recent two outbursts are a sign of the shape of things to come, that our leaders will not be afraid or too self serving to speak out in the interests of the services that they lead, but given the knife-fight-in-a-phone-box antics are still going on re PR11 and 12, the cynic in me says that some of this may still be for purposes less altruistic.
Remains to be seen I guess. Cameron is on shaky ground. "You fight, I talk" is a Blairite throwaway soundbite and not worthy of a PM. I'd be prepared to cut him an awful lot more slack if the SDSR that he took a very personal interest in wasnt such a complete and utter treasury led clusterf**k.
IMVVVVHO, natch.
