"on Hegseth" Topic

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hard choices for the US military

Hegseth argued that under former Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden, the military got confused and was running think tanks: "We're running basic training and we're running military academies, which are training privates, lieutenants, cadets, future leaders to the war college here. Your job is not to think about the grand social justice dynamics on another continent."

Hegseth said the job of the military is to ask questions such as, "How do I maneuver an infantry battalion or an infantry brigade in the modern context where now drones are vehicle killers?"

"That's what we study at the war colleges," Hegseth said. "That's what we study at West Point. That's what we should be studying: military history, engineering science."

I do not believe that we have not been studying history, engineering and science under past presidents and need Hegseth to save us. And I guess by not studying geopolitical dynamics we do not expect any lieutenants to reach higher levels of command.

To his credit, I think he will preserve and continue to emphasize the critical fighting skills. His own skill at dealing with high level policy remains to be seen. Maybe
he should have been studying this stuff as well and has become confused about the huge number of tasks and factors he needs to consider. But he sounds like he has made progress on recognizing the big picture items.

Sounds good!

Thank God the professors at West Point are purging themselves!
How dare they even think about such un-American things as freedom of expression!
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God forbid that books by James Baldwin et al be available in the library, let alone be discussed in class! 😱

As it is well known I am a proponent of Hegseth …

Some things some people who never were in the military may need to remember.

1) The Military is not a democracy.

2) The Military takes an oath to follow the [legal] orders on the POTUS. [That is why it is so important to nominate elect a very capable individual are POTUS.]

3) The Military's #1 priority is to defend against enemies foreign and domestic. E.g.

Hegseth said the job of the military is to ask questions such as, "How do I maneuver an infantry battalion or an infantry brigade in the modern context where now drones are vehicle killers?"

And I guess by not studying geopolitical dynamics we do not expect any lieutenants to reach higher levels of command.

Geopolitics really does not enter into the training until O4-O5 and above. Your basic e.g. combat arms officers have so much to learn. Geopolitics is not even a consideration. Plus, it was generally accepted that you should be able to take command of the officer above you in the chain of command.

To his credit, I think he will preserve and continue to emphasize the critical fighting skills.

That is at the top of the list.

The United States Military can beat lots of other nations, take territory, eliminate opposing forces.

However we can not win the peace. 20+ years in Iraq, Afghanistan, Vietnam.

Is Hegseth saying that theater commanders do not need to know geopolitics? That is what this sounds like.

And for the sake of the country and our service men and women, someone please take his cell phone away, before he gets someone killed!

Is Hegseth saying that theater commanders do not need to know geopolitics? That is what this sounds like.

Here are his words: "Your job is not to think about the grand social justice dynamics on another continent"

So unless you think gave deep knowledge of LGBTQ+ social movements in Peru are critical to warfighting, pretty much not what he said.

Seems that the loss of Parsons is a positive. Parsons obtained his job under the administration of Obama. 🤔

While reading an article on his threatening to leave, I found a link to a recommended book list of his

Subject: Graham Parsons – PhilPeople


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Does not seem overly positive for future military leaders.

Then I found this. Almost reads as if he recommends and is prepping our future leaders to oppose the administration. 😱

"Recent political events have reminded Americans that civilian authorities can pose clear threats to civil society and the political neutrality of the military. The literature on civil-military relations has largely ignored this possibility. This is a luxury the U.S. can no longer afford. Continuing to portray political neutrality as passive obedience to legal orders does not make the U.S. safer. In fact, it only increases the risk to the constitutional order."

Subject: A Politically Neutral Military Is Not Always Obedient | Lawfare


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Then I found this article written by him.

Subject: How the Pentagon Made Transgender Rights Disappear


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Yes, Parsons does not sound like someone I want teaching our future military officers and exactly like the ones those who voted for Trump want out.

Hasta la vista baby!

"However we can not win the peace. 20+ years in Iraq, Afghanistan, Vietnam."

See, this is EXACTLY the problem. Militaries don't win peace, militaries win wars. Diplomats, politicians, legislators, law enforcement, judiciaries, service providers (electric, water, gas, medical) win peace.

V/R,
Jack

Yeah, I was going to say, in basic training (many moons ago), we were not taught to shoot peace at the enemy. Our job was going to be killing people and breaking their stuff, taking away their will to fight or ability to fight.

There were plenty of qualified candidates, with the approved military credentials and beliefs.
But Trump had to choose someone whose main qualifications were being a Fox News weekend host.
So we now have a guy who embarrassed himself with his Facebook, excuse me, Signal communications. Don't tell me that Signal is secure. Ask Russia and China. 😱🙄
Now we have him cancelling arms shipments to Ukraine, and the White House was taken by surprise.

Yeah. Mister Competency.
But he's from Fox!!!

Just checking, this is the same Hegseth we're talking about, the one that cancelled artillery shell shipments to Ukraine in his first week in office? That Hegseth right? And the Ukraine that is fighting to preserve the freedom and democratic rights of its people!

Just want to be sure I'm understanding correctly who everyone is praising as a genius.

Just want to be sure I'm understanding correctly who everyone is praising as a genius.

Not everyone. 🙄
But I guess keeping DEI and trannies in check is sufficient.

But but but…
You have to understand that just before the last election, Zelensky toured the old Chamberlain plant in Scranton that made those artillery shells!
This insolence was obviously meant to endorse a Democratic candidate for president and so must be punished!

He actually got his picture taken there, thanking the workers.

John

"Trump taps Fox News' Judge Jeanine Pirro as interim US Attorney in DC" 😱

My "undisclosed sources" said he did it, just for you. 😉😂

You're not the first person to tell me that, believe it or not. 🙄

On Pirro …🤯 and I am NOT a liberal. I would plead guilty to anything to get away from her! But I know this is another diversion bomb during the power shift also.

SB – I think they pulled one of my posts in which I was actually complimenting you, but maybe it was taken the wrong way, although I don't know how. But for me you have served to help clarify what POTUS may actually be thinking or doing. I cannot tell much from things that he says.

And….ultimately the grand scheme of things needs to be clear to everyone, IMO. I have never been in a chain of command where the mission was not underpinned by a cause. You don't just need what to do and how, but you need to have some idea of why you are fighting and killing foreign combatants, yes?

I think Hegseth is off the mark on this, but maybe it just comes off differently than he meant it. He is also a culture warrior as we know from his years in infotainment, and he has a unique boss to think about.

He is also a culture warrior as we know from his years in infotainment, and he has a unique boss to think about.

He's a product of our times -- the Left waged Culture War and pushed and pushed for decades, and now people are pushing back. Only someone like Trump could survive and thrive in this atmosphere -- this is not the 1980s where despite acrimony and differences, Tip O'Neal and Reagan could sit down for a drink together. No, this is the 2020s where the Left-Democrats use total Culture and Info War to destroy opponents and gain and keep power.