FORT DRUM — A letter sent to Fort Drum soldiers Thursday from its commander commended civil rights leader the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. prior to the federal holiday bearing his name and advised soldiers on political activism in advance of federal elections.

The letter from Maj. Gen. Mark A. Milley said that without the changes Mr. King and other civil rights leaders worked toward, “our Army would not be the same as it is today.”

“We would not have the diversity that makes our Army the greatest fighting force in the world and the most credible profession in the nation,” Gen. Milley wrote.

The letter also reminded active-duty soldiers that they were not allowed to participate actively in partisan political campaigns, nor appear in uniform at any political event. However, Gen. Milley’s letter did encourage soldiers to register to vote.

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