Secretary of Defense / War / Theatrics "Whiskey Pete" Hegseth's disastrous performance last month, when he commanded all of our military generals and admirals to Quantico for a juvenile pep talk, has left many of them beyond disappointed. Some of them were interviewed by the right-wing Washington Times (!) and expressed anger that their time was wasted on a condescending, macho lecture by Hegseth:
"Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has lost the trust and respect of some top military commanders, with his public 'grandstanding' widely seen as unprofessional and the personnel moves made by the former cable TV host leading to an unprecedented and dangerous exodus of talent from the Pentagon, said current senior military officers and current and former Defense Department officials.
Numerous high-ranking officers painted Mr. Hegseth’s Sept. 30 speech to hundreds of generals and admirals gathered at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia as a turning point in how his leadership style, attitude and overall competency are viewed in the upper echelons of the U.S. armed forces.
'It was a massive waste of time. … If he ever had us, he lost us,' one current Army general told The Washington Times.'
The Quantico speech — described by other sources as 'embarrassing' and theatrical to a degree that “is below our institution” — seemed to crystallize beliefs about Mr. Hegseth that had taken root among some senior officers, including the view that the secretary operates with a junior officer’s mentality that has led him to micromanage policies about issues such as military facial hair standards and press access to the Pentagon, sometimes at the expense of the much broader portfolio of a typical defense secretary."
Whiskey Pete was followed on stage by his mentally unfit leader Cadet Bonespurs the Malignant Fascist who also made a spectacle of himself by airing his grievances and smearing his opponents, as the flag officers sat silently. Given the military code that's drilled into them, it's not surprising that they have soured on someone who clearly doesn't believe in it.
(photo: Whiskey Pete, lost with his friend)
Over a lot of years watching these nutters one thing that stands out is it's all wink wink nudge nudge they're good ol boys until they piss off the cops. Seen it from N Idaho to S Oregon, W Montana: in the end they always piss off the cops.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if this is that moment. Not sure what the miliary could do but I'm pretty sure there's something they COULD do. The cops, courts are compromised, the government infiltrated by those who don't have our best interests at heart. Sure seems like a Defend America moment to me
Or is it up to the crazy old vets who've been hiding out in the woods all these years ... ?
Heartening to say the least. Call me the eternal optimist, but I'm a bit worried about who he replaces them with. While I know nothing about the new Vice chief of the Army, 3 star Chris Laneve, I'd guess he wasn't hired to be a voice of reason.
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