Tag: Seccretary of Defense

You Will Submit!

Last Sunday I included this report in my Sh*t Show post….it is our on the ball SecDef doing what he does best…..everything but his damn job.

The man who oversees the nation’s military reposted a video about a Christian nationalist church that included various pastors saying women should no longer be allowed to vote. The extraordinary repost on X from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, made Thursday night, illustrates his deep and personal connection to a Christian nationalist pastor with extreme views on the role of religion and women, per the AP. In the post, Hegseth commented on an almost seven-minute-long report by CNN examining Doug Wilson, co-founder of the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches, or CREC. The report featured a pastor from Wilson’s church advocating the repeal of women’s right to vote from the Constitution, and another pastor saying that in his ideal world, people would vote as households. It also featured a female congregant saying that she submits to her husband.

“All of Christ for All of Life,” Hegseth wrote in his post that accompanied the video. Hegseth’s post had received more than 13,000 likes and 2,000 shares on X as of Saturday morning. Some users agreed with the pastors in the video, while others expressed alarm at the defense secretary promoting Christian nationalist ideas. Doug Pagitt, pastor and executive director of the progressive evangelical organization Vote Common Good, said the ideas in the video are views that “small fringes of Christians keep” and said it was “very disturbing” that Hegseth would amplify them.

Pentagon chief spokesman Sean Parnell said on Friday that Hegseth is “a proud member of a church” that’s affiliated with CREC and that he “very much appreciates many of Mr. Wilson’s writings and teachings.” In May, Hegseth invited his personal pastor, Brooks Potteiger, to the Pentagon to lead the first of several Christian prayer services that Hegseth has held inside the government building during working hours. Defense Department employees and service members said they received invitations to the event in their government emails. “I’d like to see the nation be a Christian nation, and I’d like to see the world be a Christian world,” Wilson said in the CNN report.

Then there is the desire that women should not vote….that wives should submit to the desires of their husband.  What foolishness is this?

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth — who is affiliated with Christ Church and has expressed admiration for Wilson — retweeted and apparently endorsed the contents of the segment with the message “All of Christ for All of Life.”

The interview and the thumbs-up from the sec-def is, of course, making waves, and the part that seems to be prompting the most kerfuffle is Wilson’s comments made about disenfranchising women.

The idea behind this ideology is that each household should get a vote, and that men, as the heads of households, should have the final say in the matter. Admittedly, it’s a little confusing that men consider themselves heads of household when Wilson himself described women as “chief executive of the home.”

But I’m sure that’s just my silly lady brain not being able to grasp the deep intellectual rigor of their stance. Also no word in this clip on what voting rights should be afforded to single women, widows, or adult men who still live with their parents. But I’m sure they’ll come up with a solution that’s fair for everyone…

https://www.scarymommy.com/lifestyle/hegseth-women-voting-household

Hogsbreath is married and if his wife agrees with all this stupidity then I want to know how much it cost to buy a wife that easy.

How fragile are these so-called men?

Can these fools be that afraid of women thinking for themselves?

Well….any answers?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Ukraine, What Say You?

Back when this whole Ukraine/Russia debacle started many of us, including myself, called for there to be some sort of ceasefire to avoid all the death and destruction of a beautiful country…but right on cue the US put the whammy on any such occurrence.

Most of the war hawks did not like the idea that the East of Ukraine would remain in Russian hands….and then Trump came to town and proposed his brand of diplomacy which is now the War Department’s stand as well.

And now we know where the Trump Admin is coming from…..Howdy Doody tries to make it clear….

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth on Wednesday dismissed the idea of NATO membership for Ukraine as part of a peace deal with Russia and said the goal to restore Ukraine to its pre-2014 borders was “unrealistic.”

Hegseth made the comments while addressing a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group in Brussels. “The United States does not believe that NATO membership for Ukraine is a realistic outcome for a negotiated settlement,” he said.

Hegseth said the Trump administration’s goal is to end the war through diplomacy, which he said must start “by recognizing that returning to Ukraine’s pre-2014 borders is an unrealistic objective. Chasing this illusionary goal will only prolong the war and cause more suffering.”

Restoring Ukraine’s pre-2014 borders has been a war goal of Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky, although there have been signs in recent months that he’s accepted that’s unrealistic. But he is still calling for strong security guarantees from the US that involve the deployment of troops, which Hegseth also dismissed.

“Any security guarantee must be backed by capable European and non-European troops. If these troops are deployed as peacekeepers to Ukraine at any point, they should be deployed as part of a non-NATO mission, and they should not be covered under Article 5,” he said.

“There also must be robust international oversight of the line of contact. To be clear, as part of any security guarantee, there will not be US troops deployed to Ukraine,” Hegseth added.

…

Hegseth said that the US wanted to reduce involvement in Ukraine to focus on the border and a military buildup in the Asia Pacific aimed at China and claimed Beijing was a threat to the US homeland.

“The United States faces consequential threats to our homeland. We must, and we are focusing on the security of our own borders. We also face a peer competitor in the Communist Chinese with the capability and intent to threaten our homeland,” he said.

(antiwar.com)

An ambitious plan but we will see just how serious these people are when the arms industry kicks in to high gear.

For all those that we against the earlier ceasefire conditions…..I ask….whay say you now?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

 

Ladies And Gentlemen: Welcome To Amateur Hour

After a hard fought battle the Senate has confirmed the most unqualified person to run the War Department…..

The Senate confirmed Pete Hegseth as the nation’s defense secretary Friday in a dramatic late-night vote, swatting back questions about his qualifications to lead the Pentagon amid allegations of heavy drinking and aggressive behavior toward women, per the AP. Vice President JD Vance had to cast the tie-breaking vote, making the final tally 51-50, reports the New York Times. Hegseth himself was at the Capitol with his family.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Hegseth, as a veteran of the Army National Guard who served tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, “will bring a warrior’s perspective” to the top military job. “Gone will be the days of woke distractions,” Thune said, referring to the diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives being slashed across the federal government. “The Pentagon’s focus will be on war fighting.”

Rarely has a Cabinet nominee faced such wide-ranging concerns about his experience and behavior as Hegseth, particularly for such a high-profile role atop the US military. But the Republican-led Senate was determined to confirm Hegseth, a former Fox News host, rounding out President Trump’s top national security Cabinet officials.

I am no friend of the War Department but at least we should have a qualified person in charge….not some bootlicker that will be overwhelmed from day one.

“The Pentagon’s focus will be on war fighting.”…..with a statement like that can you now see why I think it should be renamed the War Department?

Hegseth will lead 1.3 million active-duty service members and almost one million civilians who work for the US military, which has a near $1 trillion annual budget.

Hegseth told lawmakers that, until this point, the largest group he had managed was 100 people and the largest budget was $16m.

he three Republican senators who voted against Hegseth were Lisa Murkowski, Susan Collins and Mitch McConnell, the party’s leader in the chamber until this month.

McConnell said Hegseth had failed to demonstrate that he had the ability to effectively manage an organisation as large and complex as the military.

“Mere desire to be a ‘change agent’ is not enough to fill these shoes,” McConnell said in a statement.

The kakistocracy is almost fully in place….let the destruction begin.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Pentagon Gets More

Recently SecDef demanded that Congress vote on giving the Pentagon their blood money….

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Monday urged lawmakers to pass a full-year budget for his department as soon as possible, warning that another short-term spending extension could imperil military readiness and family support efforts.

“If the [current budget extension] extends beyond December, we may be forced to reduce accessions or permanent change of station moves, impairing our ability to meet our missions and causing unnecessary disruption to our families and our ability to recruit personnel,” Austin wrote in a letter to House and Senate leaders.

“It is impairing our ability to hire the people we need to accelerate our efforts to eradicate sexual assault and prevent suicide. [It] is delaying needed investments in military infrastructure, including barracks and child care centers.”

Congress approved a short-term budget extension in September after lawmakers failed to agree upon a full-year spending plan by the start of the new fiscal year, Oct. 1. That temporary extension is set to run out on Dec. 16.

https://www.militarytimes.com/news/pentagon-congress/2022/11/28/secdef-tells-congress-to-get-a-military-budget-done-already/

But not to worry the Pentagon gets what it wants and even more…..

The House and Senate have agreed to increase the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) by $45 billion more than President Biden requested, POLITICO reported on Wednesday.

The $45 billion increase was agreed on by the House and Senate Armed Service committees, but other details of the NDAA are still being finalized. The increase the two panels agreed on brings the bill to $847 billion.

Including programs outside of the jurisdiction of House and Senate Armed Service committees, the NDAA will reach $858 billion.

Once finalized, it will be the second year in a row that Congress significantly increases President Biden’s requested budget. Last year, the president asked for $753 billion but was granted an NDAA worth about $778 billion.

The POLITICO report said that the chairs of the Senate and House Armed Services committees have largely agreed on the bill and have handed it off to congressional leadership.

Congress is looking to get the NDAA on the House floor for a vote as early as next week. Once approved by the House it will go to the Senate and then would head to President Biden’s desk for his signature.

Over the past few months, lawmakers have been trying to tack on amendments to the spending bill that would give Taiwan unprecedented military aid, but the contents and amendments included in the NDAA aren’t yet clear.

One plan reported by The Washington Post would give Taiwan $3 billion annually for at least five years. If the Taiwan aid isn’t included in the NDAA, the White House could ask Congress to authorize the Taiwan aid as emergency funds, which is what has been done for Ukraine.

(antiwar.com)

See how good it is to bribe Congress?

Think about it…..almost a trillion dollars for war…..and pennies for the infrastructure and such.

People are idiots!….they allow this to continue.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Yes We Have No SecDef

Closing Thought–21Jun19

First,  good news for US soccer fans…US has moved on from group play scoring 18 goals in 3 games…They start the knock out round with Spain…….the other good news is the French Gran Prix this Sunday……

The first day of Summer and we still have no real SecDef…..

It’s a difficult time for the Pentagon to be without a permanent U.S. defense secretary.

The Trump administration is grappling with an escalating crisis with Iran, an unusual and controversial deployment of troops to the U.S.-Mexico border, the nearly two-decade-old war in Afghanistan and stalled talks with North Korea over its nuclear weapons program.

Amid all that, and more, acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan stepped down this week and the man tapped to replace him on an interim basis appears to face legal hurdles that could initially prevent him from serving more than about six more weeks. It’s an unusual level of uncertainty for one of the most important jobs in the administration.

https://www.apnews.com/a6cfc870fb8e4f9ca2dce63471eefce0

Pres. Trump’s acting SecDef Shanahan has tucked tail and ran from the Pentagon….but which war hawk will get the nod as the new chief of the Pentagon?

Arkansas’ senator, Tom Cotton, has be auditioning for a cabinet post for two years……or will Trump be satisfied with another ‘acting” secretary he has appointed Mark Esper……

Who will be the next SecDef?

For the second time in six months, President Donald Trump is searching for his next defense secretary.

After enjoying stability atop Pentagon leadership for the first two years of his presidency, Trump has been unable find a permanent appointee for his Defense Department Cabinet post since Jim Mattis was forced out of office on Jan. 1.

Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan was announced as that replacement last month, but on Tuesday withdrew his name from consideration amid reports of past domestic violence incidents involving his family. Army Secretary Mark Esper will take his place while a new nominee is chosen.

https://www.militarytimes.com/news/pentagon-congress/2019/06/18/five-names-to-watch-as-trump-searches-for-his-next-defense-secretary/
 
So far the five names being floated around show NO indication of being qualified for the job….but that has NEVER stopped Trump from nominating subservient toads…..something the Pentagon does not need.
 

Mattis Must Go!

It is Christmas Eve and a time for some relaxation and a slow news cycle…..well that was before and this is now!

Our SecDef has resigned……his resignation letter can be viewed here…..http://www.sof.news/news/mattis-resignation-letter/

Before you go any further take the time to read the letter….it will make the rest of this post easier to understand……

His letter had none of the usual soft soap like it has been an “honor serving” and so on….instead this was an easy letter to analyze…..it was a”Go F*ck Yourself” letter and Mattis will be leaving some time in February 2019.

Wait a damn minute!  It took a couple of days and a couple of FOX News reports to educate this president on what the letter actually said.

And once he was told what it said he go pissed and issued another one of his now famous mindless rants…..

President Trump announced on Sunday that Defense Secretary Jim Mattis will now leave his post on Jan. 1, tweeting that deputy Pentagon chief Patrick Shanahan will take over as acting secretary to cover the accelerated departure, the AP reports. The move comes just three days after Mattis resigned in protest over Trump’s decision to pull all US troops out of Syria, and delivered a blistering letter to the president that roiled Washington and reportedly angered the White House. Mattis originally said he would stay through February to ensure an orderly transition. A source says the fallout of his decision to leave—including the shock and dismay expressed on Capitol Hill—annoyed Trump and led him to push Mattis out sooner than planned, per CNN.

Lt. Col. Joseph Buccino, a spokesman for Shanahan, says the former Boeing executive will accept the appointment as acting secretary. “Deputy Secretary will continue to serve as directed by the president, and the Department of Defense will remain focused on the defense of the nation,” Buccino said on Sunday. While Mattis’ resignation followed Trump’s announcement that he would soon pull all of the approximately 2,000 US troops out of Syria, officials say the resignation was the result of an accumulation of disagreements. In a stunning resignation letter, Mattis made clear he did not see eye to eye with a president who has expressed disdain for NATO and doubts about keeping troops in Asia. (Trump says he gave Mattis “a second chance.”)

We will have an acting Sec…..but who will be in the running as the next SecDef?

President Donald Trump announced via Twitter that Secretary of Defense James “Mad Dog” Mattis would be “retiring” in February and that a replacement for Mattis would soon be named. Mattis’ departure had been the subject of speculation since late June, when it was reported that Mattis was already being kept out of the loop on major administration decisions such as the unilateral withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal, which Mattis had supported keeping intact. Rumors of Mattis’ exit as the Pentagon’s top official were then revived in September when it was reported that Trump was “actively discussing” his replacement.

https://www.mintpressnews.com/both-leading-candidates-to-replace-mattis-are-maximum-war-hawks/253267/

I look for the uber suck up, Sen. Tom Cotton, to be in the running…..after all he asked for new knee pads for Christmas…..wink wink….say no more…..

The Night of the Generals is drawing to a close…..what started off as an admin with many generals in key positions is slowly losing genral after general…..

None of the people being floated as replacement for Mattis will do a good job…..they have the M-IC at their heart not the military or the nation.

Enter The Starship Troopers?

(Apologies to Robert A. Heinlein)

Obama (remember him) had the idea of a space force….. well not to worry it was picked up by Our Dear Leader, Trump….but if you do not remember the Obama thing……https://lobotero.com/2009/01/06/militarization-of-space/

Plus more recent posts…….below post has references to most of the thoughts I have had on this “proposal” so far……

https://lobotero.com/2018/08/01/to-the-stars-and-beyond/

I bring this up because just recently the whole idea (Obama’s) is being promised by 2020 by Dear Leader’s front man, Pence…….

“Space force all the way!” So tweeted President Trump on Thursday after his VP outlined the White House vision to have a new US Space Force in operation in a scant two years. This would be no small feat: Mike Pence detailed a plan in which the Space Force would be a sixth military service on par with the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, and Coast Guard—and the first new addition since the Air Force came along in 1947, reports the Washington Post. Details:

  • Why? The Pentagon increasingly relies on space technology—satellites, for example—and the White House argues that it’s time for a dedicated force to protect American interests above, particularly from Russia and China. “Just as we’ve done in ages past, the United States will meet the emerging threats on this new battlefield,” said Pence. “The time has come to establish the United States Space Force.”
  • Congress’ role: Only Congress can create a new branch of the military, and Pence promised that the White House would work closely with members and produce a budget for it next year, reports the AP. Bipartisan support seems to be there: GOP Rep. Mike Rogers and Democratic Rep. Jim Cooper, members of the House Armed Services panel, said in a joint statement that the move is overdue and would “result in a safer, stronger America.”
  • New position: The plan calls for a new civilian position of assistant secretary defense for space who would report directly to the defense chief, reports Axios.
  • The changes: Instead of creating the branch from scratch, the plan involves a major restructuring of current space systems, reports NBC News. As part of that, a “unified combatant command” called the US Space Command would be established and led by a four-star general. “This would seemingly reorganize the warfighting chain of command for space—something that’s separate from what the Space Force would do,” per the Verge, which digs deep into the nitty gritty of the possible changes. Also to be established would be a Space Development Agency and a Space Operations Force.

The US will assert its dominance in space for generations to come……

President Donald Trump wants Congress to allocate $8 billion over the next five years for space security systems as it establishes a U.S. Space Force as the sixth branch of the military, Vice President Mike Pence said.

“It’s not enough to have an American presence in space,” Pence said Thursday in a speech at the Pentagon. “We must have American dominance in space. And so we will.”

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-08-09/pence-says-space-force-to-assert-u-s-dominance-in-orbit

Personally, I think it is a waste to time and money and is being used as a diversion……but I am not alone…..

“But how are we going to pay for investments in public infrastructure, public education, socialized medicine and renewable energy?” “Aw, f**k it. Who knows. Let’s just spend that money on a Space Force instead!”

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2018/08/09/idiotic-wasteful-ridiculous-mike-pence-pilloried-he-puts-his-serious-face-make-case

But if you are still not sure then maybe some further reading will help…..please give these a try…..

https://www.defensenews.com/space/2018/08/09/think-space-force-is-a-joke-here-are-four-major-space-threats-to-take-seriously/

https://www.realcleardefense.com/articles/2018/08/07/space_force_on_the_horizon__maybe_113690.html

https://spacenews.com/space-force-pentagon-moving-closer-to-trumps-vision/

https://consortiumnews.com/2018/08/05/winning-an-arms-race-in-space-remains-a-futile-fight/

Keep in mind that the formation of another branch of the military will require Congressional approval…..not looking too good right now…..and after the mid-terms may look even worse.

So I Have Written!

Turn The Page!

Worries Of The Defense Department

With a new president and new set of rules there is going to be concerns of the different departments…..and the Defense department is no different…..

The years of unpredictable funding and the threat of its continuation is the biggest threat to the U.S. forces, Karl Schneider, acting deputy undersecretary of the Army, said Tuesday at the Association of the U.S. Army’s Global Force Symposium. – Defense News

Even as the U.S. Army prepares to grow, Lt. Gen. Joseph Anderson still worries about units not having enough time to recover between deployments amid a rising demand for the service to take on more missions. – Military.com

Thomas Spoehr writes: The Pentagon has sustained year after year of budget cuts without corresponding reductions in commitments and missions. The resulted is a “meatless skeleton”: a military deprived of the ability to repair what gets broken, to train to critical levels of proficiency, or to maintain the supporting structures needed to sustain operations while still having to carry out those operations. Budget deliberations should start from a fact-based understanding of this situation and then explore options to fix it. – Real Clear Defense
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis has withdrawn retired senior diplomat Anne W. Patterson as his choice for undersecretary for policy after the White House indicated unwillingness to fight what it said would be a battle for Senate confirmation. – Washington Post
President Donald Trump has overruled a decision by his national security adviser, Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, to sideline a key intelligence operative who fell out of favor with some at the Central Intelligence Agency, two sources told POLITICO. – Politico

Nothing looks rosy within the Department of Defense…..appears like the warning signs of an approaching storm…..a winter of discontent if you will.

Then there is the defense spending thing……it is getting out of hand…..

President Donald Trump’s budget proposal, announced in his address to a joint session of Congress and on a subsequent visit to the USS Gerald Ford aircraft carrier, calls for increasing defense spending for fiscal year 2018 by $54 billion above the Budget Control Act, or BCA, caps. He plans to pay for this by making large cuts in the budgets of other agencies, such as the U.S. State Department, the U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA, and the U.S. Coast Guard.

This plan will not happen because military leaders are opposed to making reductions in spending for State Department and the USAID; additionally, many members of Congress are opposed to cutting the EPA and Coast Guard budgets to pay for an increase in defense. As Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-SC) said, that the proposal was “dead on arrival.”

Source: 5 Ways to Better Manage U.S. Defense Spending – Center for American Progress

There are few good ideas in that report….and good ideas are in short supply coming out of the Trump administration…..but my guess is he will NOT listen to any good ideas….just the ones that do more harm than good.

Closing Thought–01Mar17

Stand up and be counted!

When Obama nominated Chuck Hagel for SecDef I was excited…..you see he is a Vietnam war vet also and was an NCO during his days in the military which, in my opinion, gave him a more unique view of the situations that the SecDef would have to handle….and I was disappointed when he resigned and we can see why I was so…..Just look at the crap all these toads from the neo-lib camp have turned our foreign policy into…a joke.

Source: Say Good-Bye To Chuck – In Saner Thought

Source: Chuck Hagel–A Sign Of The Time? – In Saner Thought

Below is an interview with the ex-secretary and his advice on how the new SecDef can deal with the intricacies of his hob in the age of Trump…..

Chuck Hagel was Barack Obama’s Secretary of Defense in 2013 and 2014: a period spanning several international conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the apex of Syria’s civil war. Before that, he was a centrist Republican senator who was often maligned by the right flank of his own party. Few others know so intimately the challenges Trump’s DoD pick, General James Mattis, will face in his new job. Ditto the travails of centrist GOP senators, balancing party loyalty and patriotic duty. Now a senior adviser at Gallup and a distinguished executive-in-residence at Georgetown University, Hagel spoke to Daily Intelligencer by phone last week on everything from the real reason we need our NATO allies and the right way to fend off government leaks to why trade is actually a national-security issue.

Source: Ex-Pentagon Chief Hagel on How Mattis Can Stand Up to Trump

I believe that the US lost what could have become the best and most forward looking SecDef when we lost Hagel.

That’s it for me today my friends…..I will be back in true form tomorrow….until then…be well, be safe….chuq

NATO Should Not Enter Syria

When Obama nominated Chuck Hagel as SecDef I was very pleased…..for one, he and I served in the same unit in Vietnam and two, he was a sergeant in the Army…..for me that made him more than qualified because he was not some bureaucrat that spent his time behind a desk and never tasted what war feels like close up…..plus I was disappointed when he resigned his position but I understand why….he could not be part of this war in Syria….he preferred another approach than the “big stick” philosophy.

He has weighed in on whether the US and NATO should get involved ass deep in the Syrian civil war…

Former SecDef Chuck Hagel believes that NATO should not have a military role in Syria.

“I would be very careful to advise a president of the United States to get NATO actively involved in Syria.” Hagel said Tuesday at the Atlantic Council. “I think we can help, we should help, and many of us are, in our own way. But that problem in the Middle East is so deep, so wide, so combustible, so rift with so many uncontrollable elements, that it ain’t gonna be solved by NATO.”

Source: Chuck Hagel: NATO Should Not Enter Syria

Hagel makes a lot of sense and should have been allowed to make his mark on US foreign policy…..but sadly it was more important to make the M-IC happy so Hagel had to go to make room for a “yes man”…….Carter.

America lost the best man for the job of SecDef……but that is the way we do things…..replace competence with a “yes man”…..