The first part of this series took issue with and pointed out what I categorized as an emerging and disturbing trend where many former military general and flag officers (GO/FO) and senior intelligence community (IC) senior executives (SES/SIS) were becoming demonstrably political and allowing their opinions, views and assessments of events to be corrupted by political angst that ill serves our nation.
One group of these GO/FOs penned a letter warning of an insurrection or open civil war, in effect advocating a coup in the event of future problems if a political candidate they deemed unsavory or unqualified for office won and they did not get their way. Another group of 51 IC SES/SIS (Intelligence Community Soilage Campaign: Clouseau Without the Humor) penned a letter clearly intended to interfere with and sway opinions on the eve of the 2020 election by alleging-with no evidence whatsoever-which they so stated in their letter-that the recently come to light Hunter Biden laptop-that had been in the Federal Bumblers of Investigations (FBI) possession for some time-had all the earmarks of a Russian disinformation campaign in the face of compelling evidence that it was not true. The group-consisting of a number of Russia, Russia, Russia Pee Pee Hoax advocates and avowed Trump haters who denied having any knowledge of the Russian collusion on the part of Trump under oath, but freely opined and insinuated they had inside knowledge of it-that was never produced-many throughout their careers in government and afterwards as talking imbeciles for the LSMBTG*-released the letter knowing that in the two weeks left to the 2020 election, there would be no time to prove or disprove what they staked their reputation on: it was false, the laptop is real, their disgrace is the only thing they accomplished other than contributing to helping a candidate who has proven to be an unmitigated disaster in one of the shortest time periods in American presidential history.
Military Times got into the act with this article about “dozens” of GO/FOs penning a letter in September 2020 endorsing Trump, and you would be forgiven for thinking-wow-that is not very many, until you discover in the body of the article that dozens actually equates to hundreds-as in 235-including 50 three star and above and a Medal of Honor winner: Military Times woke reporting has been a consistent wretched example of the problem of increasingly leftist, dis-information on the military. A larger group of 124 GO/FOs wrote a letter questioning what was done to track down 2020 election fraud in the face of large numbers of anomalous actions that have never been investigated, that likely swayed the outcome to Biden, while questioning his competency to serve as president: many media outlets led this story using terms like “unhinged” and “rogue.” This Yahoo article propagates the reasons ~750 GO/FOs came out against Trump citing his actions in response to the George Floyd riots in Lafayette Square, taking him to task for his actions dispersing the crowd, but much like many sparkles, rainbow and unicorn versions of this event, “lacks important context.”
These are difficult times in our country where we the people are being finessed, lied to in support of particular narratives, and played by the left, with the LSMBTG and those vested in taking action to bring this great country down a notch or two who seem to have wrested the megaphone and the bully pulpit and are hell bent on a path to undermine any and all our institutions we hold dear that make this country great.
In this constitutional republic where free speech is championed by all who understand our system, there is no issue with anyone offering an opinion and viewpoint on the state of this great country, particularly when offered in a vein focused on making it better. Those of us who served in the military did so in support of the principle that while we may disagree with your opinion or view, our service was rendered for the right for you to express it-without regard to whether we agree with it or not.
What I didn’t sign up to is to protect and defend-liars, charlatans, cheaters, reprobates, pedos, and hoaxsters/hucksters. The oath I took was to the constitution-not a person, personality or favored politician, but to those appointed over me: nowhere in that sacred relationship-willing undertaken by all who executed it-says anything about like, dislike, politics or personal viewpoints as a mitigation of that obligation.
I ___, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasionhttps://www.army.mil/values/officers.html; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God. (Title 5 U.S. Code 3331, an individual, except the President, elected or appointed to an office of honor or profit in the civil service or uniformed services) .
The Army I grew up in starting in 1975 had a somewhat informal-but nonetheless widely practiced belief that despite the military having all the rights afforded to every citizen-even though “government issue”-that many did not vote in national elections because you don’t get to pick your commander-in-chief. Granted-those were simpler times-but those of us who took those oaths, served their time and have moved on are certainly entitled to opinions and viewpoints just like any other citizen. I have strong opinions that I frequently express and explain through these articles in AFNN. I like to think that-just like everybody else-my opinions are based on the facts and details associated with events and peoples actions or reactions: just like those quoted above, although I differ from some of these people-particularly the IC 51 and the 3 generals, as well as the folks covered by the Yahoo article, in that I don’t form my opinions by adopting the language of the LSMBGT-the left, or the right-but based on consideration of the events and outcomes.
So-for instance-this article lists the dates and events when the President of the United States was judged to be in sufficient danger to warrant action-typically evacuation-from the White House (WH.) The most infamous was the first, August 18, 1812, when British troops stormed the WH, ransacked it, and set it on fire. Interestingly enough there is one event missing here: When ANTIFA and the Black Liberation Revival Movement rioted in Lafayette Square, set fire to St. John’s Church, attempted to tear down the iconic statue of Thomas Jefferson, injured more than 140 secret service and WH protective security officers-outmanned because of the refusal of DC Mayor Bowser to mobilize Capital Police to enforce and reinforce security around the WH-the secret service conducted an evacuation of President Trump to the WH bunker that had been updated and upgraded significantly after 9-11 in the event of subsequent terrorist attacks.
Just about all the LSMBTG reporting on this incident casts the president’s evacuation as “briefly”-as if there is some acceptable amount of time that is okay or acceptable-and in terms that would have you believe that this incident reflects badly on the president somehow, when the entire purpose of the secret service detail assigned to the WH is protection of the president, vice-president and families (from the piece):
After President William McKinley was assassinated in 1901, the United States Secret Service was told to not only solve crime but to also protect the President of the United States. The Secret Service agents are now required by law to protect not only the President but also the family members of the President, former Presidents, visiting heads of other countries, Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates, and other individuals asked to be protected by the President of the United States
Rather than focusing on the facts that this violent, anarchanistic, unruly mob was rioting out of control, rabble rousers akin to any who have menaced our capital in recent memory, who set fire to a national icon and threatened the security of the President of the United States of America sufficient to trigger an evacuation based on the considered judgement of the secret service assigned to protect him-and yet the story that emerged was all about how the rioters-“executing free speech”-were treated and the actions in the aftermath of the event where the president rightfully demonstrated that security had been restored by a public display that it was so, in what the LSMBTG categorized as a “photo-op.” This NBC article has a surprising amount of truth in among the usual Trump bias but the bottom-line is the day after the riot it was Capital Police who used flash bangs and some pepper spray to clear the crowd, perhaps in an overt display of “toughness” to make up for their failure to be on the scene the night before when it mattered. A political opportunity and great theater by everybody who failed to notice what the IG clarified-the ANTIFA and BLM rioters who-oh by the way-were on “BLM Way”-so designated by DC Mayor Bowser-had to be cleared to reinforce WH security fencing to fix damage done the night before (by those peaceful protestors): nobody knew about Trump’s plan until just before the event (NBC piece, then Washington Examiner extract:)
Some of this refusal to accept a more complicated set of facts than cartoon villainy on the part of the Trump administration is simply partisanship, and conservatives are certainly not immune from cherry-picking which facts are too good to check. But liberals cannot claim to be for truth only when they are calling out Trump’s lies. Refusing to acknowledge error in the face of new evidence further debases the truth they purport to hold dear.
Yes, some of the protesters were peaceful — but many weren’t. A substantial contingent, some wearing the black body armor of antifa rioters, were throwing bottles and bricks and threatening the president at the top of their lungs. I was there. I saw what happened. I heard what they said.
Our capital was out of control throughout much of this time period where innocent tourists and visitors-as well as residents-lacked the basic protections that form the foundation of a free society, while ANTIFA and BLM criminals harrassed people eating dinner and attempting to enjoy the freedoms that every American has a right to expect when visiting the seat of democracy.
Of all the institutions that have suffered a significant loss in credibility in the wake of the last several years of woke leadership, the most disturbing is the United States military. Despite two decades of never-ending overseas action in Iraq and Afghanistan, the military maintained some of the highest favorability ratings from American citizens who appreciate the dedication and service of our sons and daughters who volunteered to serve our military during trying times, even as their numbers represented within our society dwindle.
Polling now indicates a steady decline in all categories of public opinion related to the military. This article details how drastically that opinion has changed in relatively short order fueled by incompetent military leaders who seem confused over the primary mission of our military. Not since the Vietnam era has the military been viewed so lowly by the American public. From the above article:
However, last November, the Ronald Reagan Institute found in a poll that only 45% reported “A great deal of trust and confidence in the military,” down 25 points in just three years from other polls.
In an earlier article I wrote about the problems the United States was going to have recruiting sons and daughters of Americans who would take a dim view of leadership that was consistently in the news for all the wrong reasons and who seemed confused about what their job-their priorities should be: we are there, and it is only going to get worse over time.
With recruiting numbers in the tank and high skills jobs requiring considerably more and more in the way of retention bonuses and incentives, the day may well come where the selective service registration may have to be pressed into use to maintain readiness.
The blame for this rests squarely on leadership-from the top down-the commander-in chief-POTUS, and the people he put in charge of the Department of Defense, led by Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and the woke chain of command’s incompetent leaders serving him. The precipitous Afghanistan withdrawal greatly contributed to this disaffection on the part of the American people, where even those who never served observed that our actions leading up to and following operations was a national embarrassment that sullied our reputation worldwide on an unprecedented scale.
From the moment he took office-Austin-who was waivered into office as if he had special qualities of leadership that warranted such action by congress, undertook an immediate nonsensical communications effort to deal with “racism and bigotry” that he insinuated was rampant within the military and apparently rooted in just one race out of the myriad coalition represented in the most diverse organization in the US govt. This “priority” was announced about the same time the administration did such a poor job messaging the deployment of security troops to the capital that you had politicians openly questioning the loyalty of those troops and treating them worse than second class citizens, with some relegated to parking garages as a base of operation like some embarrassment who should be kept out of sight and out of mind-coincidently, one of the excuses offered for not bolstering Capital security with National Guard prior to 6 Jan 2020.
This was evidence of poor leadership from POTUS on down through his administration, fostering some of the most scurrilous commentary and actions not seen since Vietnam when returning veterans were spit on in places like Oakland and San Francisco and the military adopted a policy of no military uniforms during travel for the safety of our sons and daughters-most recently adopted again during the Baader-Meinhof terror campaign in Germany in the 1980s.
As a black officer Austin was somehow able to overcome such a racist and uncharitable to minorities institution during his career, while also puzzlingly failing to identify and take action on these apparently deep-rooted problems within our military: which he had ample opportunity to do while serving as one of our military’s most senior and highest-ranking officers.
Consider this was the same GEN Lloyd Austin who replaced Gen Mattis as US Central Command Commander when he was fired by President Obama, where Austin went on to be the commander responsible for overseeing the re-emergence of ISIS in Iraq and the establishment of the ISIS Caliphate. Along the way there was a scandal where analysts alleged their views on the threat posed by ISIS were being watered down within the command, although the inspector general later found no wrongdoing-which was good to know but did not mitigate the fact that ISIS terrorized the region throughout his command and declared an Islamic Caliphate-he did not take aggressive action nor put his stars on the table to take control of the problem that had to be resolved after Trump took office.
His first big test as SECDEF with the faux, self-induced and misguided attempt to identify racial problems he insisted were rampant within the services were debunked in short order by a number of his own Combatant Commander’s-and former peers-who disavowed in testimony to congress any knowledge of or support for a campaign that seemed focused on leftist talking points and principles that his own hand-picked woke staff proved unable to define, clarify, or identify. It’s fascinating that the LSMBTG, Austin and his staff paint this issue as the “racism that is publicly known,” a bias that would have you believe they somehow know more about these commands than the officers responsible for them: an idjiotcy that Austin derided a scant few years prior in defending himself against allegations of an intel scandal in his command.
In an incredible display of arrogance and hubris, his hand selected woke racism expert stated he disagreed with the assessment of the commanders who had over 120 years of service between them, insisting that the problem approached some “10%” of those serving. This was a ridiculous, pull it out of a dark place hyperbolic exaggeration with no basis in evidence or fact, particularly since he was (1) only apparently talking about white groups (2) not including any of the BLM or ANTIFA groups (3) that would equate to about 58K active-duty military (3) when the Combatant Commanders stated the problem-if any-was much less than 1% and they did not personally know of any…but Austin’s racist advisor guy who served for a few years apparently knew better…
Afghanistan was his first big test as SECDEF-the results are in-and he received a failing grade from the American people, as did his leadership team-including JCS Chair and white rage investigator GEN Mark Milley-and on the ground commander Gen Frank McKensie-who as a group miscalculated the ground situation so badly they had to acknowledge they failed to account for the contingency that the Afghanistan leadership and security would fall in “11 days,” notwithstanding months of reporting leading up to it that tracked the emergence of the Taliban controlling some 65% of the checkpoints and all major lines of communications and avenues of approach leading into Kabul.
These leaders and commanders were singularly responsible for executing a deliberate plan-not dictated by any exigency forcing them to do so-that in hindsight would have been embarrassing for a Boy Scout Troop outing, giving up the most secure base of operations in the world-Bagram AFB-while executing an operation that attempted to use a civilian airport that proved impossible to secure-while abandoning American citizens and trusted Afghanistan advisors and supporters to the whims of the Taliban.
It was not lost on world leaders like Putin that an administration with such feckless leaders was not likely to act aggressively to any action short of an attack on the US. We should also consider the strategic implications for the region of the US and coalition force basing options lost vis a vis Bagram and operations in Ukraine-which these feckless sycophants gave up willingly with no apparent understanding of the implications.
The lot of them should have been sacked with prejudice.
Similarly-in terms of malfeasance and incompetence-Austin and Milley later testified to congress that Ukraine would fall in ~72 hours should Putin decide to invade, insinuating that we had done as much as we could to help, but it was inevitable. As we reach and go beyond the two-month mark, any unbiased review of the “advise and counsel” role of the Department of Defense during the Biden administration returns a failing grade.
What have they been doing? Funny you should ask. This week we saw the “long-awaited” DoD Equity Action Plan, a 21 page blathery, woke lack of substance example confirming that you can apparently add value to any term by putting the word “equity” in front of it as if you have actually accomplished something.
A year ago, the Austin led DoD was unable to define a problem they insisted was rampant within our military. With the Afghanistan debacle behind them, the Ukraine disaster unfolding as we speak, Taiwan on the horizon, silly COVID, mask policy, and misplaced focus on the few-like LGBTQ-but mostly trans-providing a disaffecting pall on the military, it appears they found the solution they failed at last year-given more time and the fact that there were apparently no higher priorities to work-with a document that mentions the term equity some 72 times: extract from the memo-
improve workforce equity through an ambitious equitable procurement and contracting agenda that includes advancing equity throughout the supply chain, such as advancing opportunities for prime and subcontractors who are members of underserved communities
Maybe this is much to do about nothing. But another priority taken care of this week was the long-delayed announcement that I will just place here without commentary, as this has been a top priority for NOBODY-EVER: DoD Announces Revision to Joint Travel Regulation Authorizing Shipment of Breast Milk as a Travel Accommodation APRIL 14, 2022.
One of the other high priority items taken care of earlier was this gem-another widely requested military requirement that takes care of all those female pilots on flight status. I already wrote about the woke Secretary of the Army letter from February.
You know what they say in the business, if you take care of the small stuff, the big stuff takes care of itself. But they did not have this bunch of incompetents in mind. Recruitment is going to go in the toilet as this crew gains momentum with the woke BS that seems to be roundly endorsed by leaders who don’t seem focused on military readiness and the military’s primary mission under our constitution.
Max Dribbler
27 March 2022
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I wonder what the military will look like when Biden just comes out and says ” I am suspending all military groups, and this will be your last paycheck. Go home, at your own expense.”?
He might as well say it, now. I wonder how many would stand in his way. You know he despises the military. The only way I suspect he would modify that is by saying “If you wish to remain in government service, you will have to transfer to the newly formed ‘Civilian National Security Force’, where your mission will be announced at a later date.” And you know what that mission is. Obama announced that.
I fear your scenario is leading to that, before the end of the Biden administration, and it would be most apocalyptic.
Can you imagine the oath one would take for that? It sure would be different from the one you took.