It’s not like we haven’t known Trump’s ‘out of central casting’ Secretary of Defense is what Trump thought – a TV character. An actor who could no more do heart surgery like a TV character does on a show than Hegseth can run a large organization. Hell, he couldn’t even run two different non-profits that had less than ten people. What he does however have is complete loyalty to Trump and he expects everyone in the DOD to have the same. That’s bad of course but but he’s systematically been ridding the Pentagon and the armed forces of people he suspects of not being Trump loyalists. That’s even worse because the culture of fear he’s created is harming our military’s readiness.
Raw Story reports on some of the firings you know about. Dozens of top Officers and two Service Secretaries, and who knows how many less senior people have been forced out? He’s also interfered with the promotion process. I can’t imagine it’s changed much but regardless of branch the people on the boards set rigorous standards both for those being considered and themselves to fairly make decisions. It gets more intense and rigorous the higher up the chain. So when the list is submitted one can be sure those on it are the best qualified by any measure. Except in Hegseth’s Pentagon not being white, male and an Evangelical Christian is reason enough to unilaterally overrule anyone. Especially if they don’t have a long track record of Trump support!
Predictably this has been filtering down through the ranks. Hegseth has been all about creating a ‘warrior culture’ and has instead instilled a climate of fear. Everyone knows even an innocent comment insufficiently Trump loving, or a question about whether this or that option on the table is the best course of action can be a career ender.
Hegseth has refused to explain the dismissals to Congress, or the interference in the promotion process. Instead he blathers on about how difficult is is to change the culture of the DOD with the people who were already there. Hegseth did a stint in the Army. That much is true. He did some public affairs work, and later some training of others. However for all his bravado he was never out there ‘ass in the grass’ facing combat. NO Combat Infantryman Badge for him. And his Bronze Star which has come to be handed out to officers like candy is lacking a bronze “V” indicating valor in combat.
Hegseth likes to talk the talk and try to make people think he was out there mowing down the enemy but he never fought anybody. All those top generals, colonels and Sgt. Majors he summoned to Quantico to be forced to him trying to cosplay Patton knew this. As we know the whole thing didn’t go over well and again, it was predictable the contempt from all those who HAD literally ‘been there and done that’ for decades was bound to filter down the chain of command. Deep down inside Hegseth knows he doesn’t measure up. Like his boss his ego can’t take being forced to deal with people who’s shoes he isn’t fit to shine. So he’s been lashing out and making those in the Pentagon (and elsewhere) paranoid:
Pentagon officials told CNN the firings have produced a culture of paralysis inside the building, where survivability depends on avoiding Hegseth’s attention. Some troops have been required to sign nondisclosure agreements to learn about operations, and polygraph tests have become routine.
“Everything we did on a daily basis, we were calculating, ‘Is this going to keep the boss employed, or is this going to get him fired?’” a Pentagon official told CNN. “Every single day, every decision that we made, that was a planning factor. … It’s very unusual for that to be considered so heavily.”
This isn’t at all good because our allies know what’s going on. Even worse so do our enemies! A Pentagon official told CNN every day they had to make calculations on whether what they were doing would keep their boss employed or cause their boss’s dismissal. “Every single day, every decision that we made, that was a planning factor. … It’s very unusual for that to be considered so heavily.” That’s no way to run any organization and for damned sure not something as huge and hugely vital as our armed forces. Yet THAT is the culture Hegseth has created:
That calculation, sources say, has begun affecting military readiness. During the lead-up to the war with Iran, for example, key military planners were kept at arm’s length from strategic decision-making, leaving some joint staff members with little visibility into the administration’s plans.
“A year-plus later, there is a lack of clear internal processes within the Pentagon … caused by mass paranoia,” the Pentagon official said. “Everything is a case-by-case basis because there’s no delegation, there’s no trust, and if there’s no delegation or trust, policy decisions can’t be made.”
Like I said Hegseth doesn’t want to talk about this. Infuriatingly he knows he can get away with stonewalling because clearly Trump refuses to rein him in. Maybe someone will correct me but it’s been a while since I heard any rumblings from the WH about Hegseth. This is what we’re reduced to. An unqualified, tanned with gelled hair dude cosplaying ‘warrior’ who doesn’t know sh!t about war running the DOD while we’re at war! If he want’s to cosplay then he should head over to the Jersey Shore and hang with the Guido Guys. He’d fit right in.
Friends, I know everyone begs you for money. I promise, among all those asking for spare change, we are the smallest and the hardest working. We’re a group of old, disabled people, except for one writer in his mid-50s. The rest of us are in our sixties and seventies, and this is a labor of love. All we’re asking for is the chance to keep telling the truth about Trump and help ensure democracy survives. If you can help, please do. Thank you. Ursula
E.T.T.D.
Including the world’s largest and best funded military.