Combat commanders have become political commissars. Careerism within the military has always been a blight on the military’s mission. I believe they teach a course on it at all the military academies.
Prioritizing career ladder climbing over morality and mission preparedness has morphed into total abandonment of their oath to defend the constitution by acquiescing to political principles they know will eviscerate our nation’s defense:
- Congresswoman Pat Schroeder (D) January 3, 1973 – January 3, 1997: became the first woman to serve on the House Armed Services Committee. During a committee hearing in which she was pushing the military to “reflect society,” the Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps told her “If you do to the military what you say you are going to do, you will need an army to protect you.” He was expelled from the room.
- “Don’t ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT) was the official United States policy on military service of non-heterosexual people, instituted during the Clinton administration. The policy was issued under Department of Defense Directive 1304.26 on December 21, 1993. The policy prohibited military personnel from discriminating against or harassing closeted homosexual or bisexual service members or applicants, while barring openly gay, lesbian, or bisexual persons from military service. The policy prohibited people who “demonstrate a propensity or intent to engage in homosexual acts” from serving in the armed forces of the United States, because their presence “would create an unacceptable risk to the high standards of morale, good order and discipline, and unit cohesion that are the essence of military capability“.
- Legislation to repeal DADT was enacted in December 2010, specifying that the policy would remain in place until the President, the Secretary of Defense, and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff certified that repeal would not harm military readiness. President Barack Obama, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen sent that certification to Congress on July 22, 2011. Mullen should have resigned in protest.
- Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Amos, who had argued against the policy change, said the Corps “will step out smartly to faithfully implement this new policy” and that he would “personally lead this effort, thus ensuring the respect and dignity due all Marines.” What Amos actually did was personally lead the moral and physical destruction of the military. Amos should have resigned in protest.
- Elaine Donnelly leading opponent of repealing the 1993 law called the expected certification a “sham” because it will be done by three people who already have stated their support for the change: Obama, Gates and Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The dirty secret behind all this is every time moral restrictions were loosened military entrance and training requirements ergo mission readiness were reduced to satisfy Leftist agendas.
The fantastic fecklessness of our military leaders continues:
- Several Chinese government spy balloons were allowed to traverse our nation’s most sensitive military sites with no unilateral defense response by our military leaders. In order for them to not shoot down an unauthorized aircraft entering Air Defense Identification Zones (ADIZ) – an authority specifically authorized in their mission statements – they would have had to ask the highest authority what to do and were told to stand down! That’s not leadership; that’s capitulation. Every commander who didn’t immediately shoot down those balloons as it violated their air space should be relieved for gross negligence.
- The evacuation of Afghanistan: “Sgt. Vargas-Andrews said he requested permission to kill the suspected terrorist and his team leader got a sniper gun ready. But the Marines were told not to shoot because “leadership did not have the engagement authority for us.” When Vargas-Andrews asked his Marine battalion commander if he could shoot the terrorist, the “commander” told him “I don’t know”! Myself and my team, we asked very harshly, ‘Well who does? Because this is your responsibility, sir.’ He again replied he did not know … We received no update and never got our answer. Eventually the suspect disappeared.”
A MARINE COMMANDER TOLD HIS SNIPER HE “DIDN’T KNOW” IF HE COULD SHOOT A TERRORIST! That’s the obscene epitome of careerism over leadership. What that battalion commander really confessed was he “didn’t know” how to command troops. He “didn’t know” how to lead the Marines whose lives were entrusted to him. He “didn’t know” how to adapt and overcome a decision vacuum in combat. If Chesty Puller had been the commandant of the Marine Corps that battalion commander would have been court-martialed out of the service for gross dereliction of duty. Hell, Chesty would’ve had that coward stood up before a firing squad. Now that yellow, spineless excuse for a commander of MARINES is able to hide behind anonymity, probably receive a “Restraint” medal and promoted above his peers. He’s probably being groomed to be the next Commandant of the Marine Corps. His identity should be plastered on the front page of every newspaper and magazine in the country.
And they wonder why the best are leaving the military in droves.
It has deteriorated to the point that our current administration and its’ sycophantic DOD are now considering recruiting “undocumented immigrants” (an oxymoron of monumental proportions). Shades of Rome!
A lot of lip service is given to the troops by officers about “mission first, troops always.” If the above mentioned brass were committed to the mission and the troops, everyone of them should have resigned when Clinton, Obama and Biden implemented their disastrous policies.
“For rising generations, it will become a real problem at what point the policies you are ordered to carry out have become so iniquitous that a decent man must seek some other profession.” – C. S. Lewis
See:
Weak Link: The Feminization of the American Military by Brian Mitchell, 1989
Women in the Military: Flirting with Disaster by Brian Mitchell, 1997
The Kinder, Gentler Military: Can America’s Gender-Neutral Fighting Force Still Win Wars? By Stephanie Gutman, 2000
Co-Ed Combat: The New Evidence That Women Shouldn’t Fight the Nation’s Wars by Kingsley Browne, 2007
Women in Combat: The Truth by Fred Reed, Army Times, May 10, 19xx.
