"They won’t refuse,” Trump said during Thursday’s debate on Fox News. "They’re not going to refuse me, believe me. If I say do it, they’re going to do it. That’s what leadership is all about.”

Hertling forcefully disagreed, calling the Republican front-runner’s management style "toxic leadership.”

"Somebody needs to remind Mr. Trump that the military is not his palace guards,” Hertling said. "They take an oath to defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies foreign and domestic. They also abide by the rules — not only of the uniform code of military justice, the UCMJ — but they also abide by the U.N. mandate against torture and the Geneva Convention protocols against torture.”

"Hertling also commanded Initial Military Training (IMT) from 2009 to 2011. In that role, he was responsible for the initial training of approximately 160,000 officers and enlisted Soldiers entering U.S. Army training at 27 installations across the United States. Hertling led significant change in training methods, revising the Army's Warrior Tasks and Battle Drills and developed innovative training in rifle marksmanship, combatives, values instruction, first-aid, and cultural training. His introduction of the "Soldier-Athlete" initiative brought changes in Physical Readiness Training and performance nutrition."

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