Politics

[Red Leg]

Just listened to Hegseth's remarks. I have no problem with them. Indeed, I strongly support the renewed focus on warfighting. That said, I am not sure it was necessary to get everyone in the same room, but it I assume it will make more news than a zoom call.

In the Army in which I served, height - weight - and fitness standards were an important part of the self-discipline required of being a warfighter. Those slowly eroded as the GWOT continued and recruiting and retention numbers began to fall. This was particularly obvious in non-combat commands and MOS's. The National Guard and reserves became a real mess. Our previous chairman could not have possibly met the then current physical fitness standards, though I am confident every division commander would right now. I also support the single standard for actual combat positions rather than gender normed ones. Try breaking track or pulling the final drive as part of a three-person MLRS crew when two of them are female. Even in a staff role like Chief of Legislative Liasson in the early 2000's, I ran a bit over three-miles from the Pentagon to the Supreme Court and back every noon and took a PT test annually.

Props to the Marine Corps for better resisting the looser standards.

 

[deewayne2003]

Update on the illegal school super intendent from Iowa..... He was also a registered voter in Maryland while also serving as a school principle there.

When a federal audit found that Maryland had 2,400 deceased voters & 300 duplicate registrations; the DOJ asked Maryland to hand over their voter registration information; the Maryland head of elections replied......

"I'd first like to know if this information will be used for immigration enforcement against Maryland residents?"

So again the things that we are told are not happening in our elections are proven to be factual.

 

[spike.t]

The promo he has halfway through is annoying....but can fast forward...

 

[Newboomer]

Imagine the reaction if the mannequins were inverted.

Sick, sick, sick and disgusting.

 

[Brent in Az]

Trump told military officials today that he will be investing over $1 trillion dollars next year to strengthen the armed forces
The biggest investment in military history.

https://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/donald-trump-military-spending-quantico/2025/09/30/id/1228428/

 

[Wheels]

Update on the illegal school super intendent from Iowa..... He was also a registered voter in Maryland while also serving as a school principle there.

When a federal audit found that Maryland had 2,400 deceased voters & 300 duplicate registrations; the DOJ asked Maryland to hand over their voter registration information; the Maryland head of elections replied......

"I'd first like to know if this information will be used for immigration enforcement against Maryland residents?"

So again the things that we are told are not happening in our elections are proven to be factual.

But I was told this wasn’t happening

 

[Hunt anything]

But I was told this wasn’t happening

People we’re ridiculed for even suggesting this was happening!

 

[Rocked and Loaded]

People we’re ridiculed for even suggesting this was happening!

Even worse was that people were told they were un-American for even asking about it.

 

[375 Ruger Fan]

 

[roverandbrew]

Trump told military officials today that he will be investing over $1 trillion dollars next year to strengthen the armed forces
The biggest investment in military history.

https://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/donald-trump-military-spending-quantico/2025/09/30/id/1228428/

Hopefully it makes it down to the operational units who need it and currently do not have it.

 

[mdwest]

Hopefully it makes it down to the operational units who need it and currently do not have it.

Spot on.

From my perch what Im seeing is a ton of money being spent and planned on being spent on "materials".. while at the same time there are huge cuts being made to "services" which would include training and professional services that directly support operational units..

restocking munitions, buying more planes, ships, etc..etc.. is important.. as is the development of technology that will shape the future battlefield..

but if soldiers dont have the money to train and/or have operational support.. those pretty new tools are of limited value..

Im hoping the DoD will find a balance..

At the end of May SECWAR signed an order that reduces the amount of money the DoD will spend on professional services by 37% next year.. that is not an insignificant amount in either dollars or percentages.. and has the potential to seriously harm the units that critically rely on those services..

For example, there is a global pilot shortage.. its been in effect since roughly 2019.. there simply arent enough pilots trained to keep our airframes adequately manned and flying.. the USAF's solution for the last several years has been to contract out professional services that are typically conducted by junior officers in the fighter wings, so that those junior officers can be in the cockpit more and keep the airframes flying/functional..

putting those junior officers back in a cubicle for substantially more hours every week and out of the cockpit presents A LOT of problems that arent easily or quickly fixed..

Again, what good is a new F35 if you dont have enough pilots to fly them and dont have another solution for all of the ground support that pilots otherwise have to be involved in?

 

[Betterinthebush]

U

I have 40 years of experience in surgery, everything from Level 1 Trauma Care to Rural General surgery
most of it all at the same period of time. The worst thing that ever happened to patient care was the governments progressive regulations and so-called "Obama Care". The Affordable Care Act has crippled the system and at the same time made the insurance industry rich along with the pharmaceutical companies who make more than 90% of their drugs in India and China, leaving us in a National Security crisis.
I can walk into a pharmacy in Africa (and much of the world) and buy drugs & medications without a prescription for a few pennies on the dollar what they cost in the US, all made in the same India & China, many in the same containers I see here.
Since "Obama Care" I can no longer give charity care to those who can't afford neither my bill or the hospital's, it's against the law!
Hospital administrative costs have gone up 10-20x since Obama Care. Ask any practicing nurse about the massive increase in "administrator nurse managers" and their salaries compared to nurses that actually provide patient care. You will be shocked!
A 360-bed level II trauma and general medical care hospital in my area, has 4 employed Cardiovascular Surgeons and 3 full time Neurosurgeons. Their total salaries are significantly less than their Hospital Administrators (CEO) salary. And that Hospital Administrator (CEO) has never provided one minute of patient care in his life and takes no call, no nights or weekends and has never made a life-or-death decision ever. With a salary of 7.5 million dollars plus an annual "bonus" he is just one of 13 administrative people under him with salaries $300K to $1.2M.
Think about that the next time you wait 4-6hr to have a laceration repaired in the ER by a NP, PA or ER physician and you get a $4,000 dollar bill! Those who provide care to you with years of training and experience are miniscule portion of that bill. This all brought to you via Obama care and government regulation.

Thank you for your post. I’ve been waiting for a professional breakdown so folks might understand.

My youngest son is a professor of medicine and an Anesthesiologist/Intensivist.

Edited to credit my kid’s actual credentials. And.. to say, he’s going to Caprivi with my wife and I along with his wife and soon to be first born son, (our first grandchild) in ‘27 for his first safari.

 

[Brent in Az]

When the clock strikes midnight.......

 

[Brent in Az]

This is pretty funny, especially since it's true

 

[Brent in Az]

Schumer sold his soul......what little that was left of it

 

[Mountainshadows]

From an Army perspective, I have personally witnessed that they do. Perspectives are odd aren't they.

My apologies. I'm a few pages behind on this thread. My post wasn't meant to disparage commands that actually do work long hours, and yes I've been around those too (I am taking war zones out of this). I know that "most" of the flag officers get there for a reason. My personal experience, and yes, I was only a lowly NCO with a 10 year career, seen commands who worked their 8 hour a day or less shift. I was tasked at one time to be a driver for an 0-6 who was a deputy commander for this unit. He was an awesome individual who I had the utmost respect for and still do to this day. Typical day: "Hey Sgt. the colonel needs picked up." It's 0930. I pick the colonel up at his house on post. He says we have to go the the airfield and pick up general "Xyz", another man who I got to know in just a short period who I had, and still uphold the most respect for. We pick the general up and I'm engaged in conversation with both the colonel and the general for the drive back to HQ. Their itinerary was a quick meeting and then lunch. After lunch was a 2 hour meeting and then there was time for a round of golf before the general had to fly back to DC.
With the above paragraph, and learning the history of these two fellas (if I recall right they both graduated the same class), I still have the upmost respect for them because of what they accomplished in their career.
Yes, both of these men made it to where they were for a reason. Did they "work" a 12-14 hour day? Not then they didn't. Had they done so before (and probably still did from time to time) I have no doubt!
We have had a presidents in our recent past who have appointed yahoos up in rank in our military because of their political affiliation.
I will give you general Milley who is an absolute disgrace to the long tab!
If the current regime says "Hey, we are going to have a meeting with all of you, so you get it in your heads we are not the same doldrums as before" then, I do not have problem with that.
My good friend @mdwest says he would not like his time wasted. I agree, but, is the time wasted to really make these commanders understand, "Wow, things are different in our military now"? How better to make them understand than I can call your ass to a meeting and you better show up because it is an order?
I got a little long winded with this one. I personally don't see the big hoopla over the big meeting with all of the DOD commands. All of them guys don't have a problem leaving their commands for some sort of branch related convention, so why would this be any different.
From the US Military aspect, everyone has a different view point. I do not disregard that. My experience has been different than others.

 

[spike.t]

Europeans are in denial about the real causes of America's surging prosperity https://share.google/SHkX92YnhXQkALhtt

 

[spike.t]

‘Could have been an email’: Officials balk at Hegseth's generals meeting - POLITICO https://share.google/ZwrhG6GwTqWup4pMe

 

[Altitude sickness]

I liked the message Hegseth gave. I went into the Navy the same time Ward Carroll did. And in the early years of my time in the Military, The leadership were all Vietnam war vets. So when I fell asleep in a classroom I can’t recall being knocked off my chair. All I remember is the instructor standing on my chest screaming at everyone else. I wondered what mortal sin I committed I did not even know I was sleeping, of course.

But you can bet your ass I never fell asleep in training again.

Eventually, the social experimentation crept in.

So if I were still in the military, I would appreciate the message given that the woke crap is gone, and if we ever go to war, the rules of engagement won’t get people killed needlessly.

The rules of engagement that Obama put in place resulted in a lot of people dying that did not need to die.



Now Trump following up Hegseth was actually an embarrassment. Why he has to stick his nose and mouth into everything is getting old. He stepped all over Hegseths message with what sounded like a 12 year olds rambling campaign speech.

I’ll bet his secret Service is listening to music in their earbuds to block out the same campaign speech they hear five times a day.

 

[VertigoBE]

A question to our (retired or not) professional members of the US military.
Having read through the pages of comments on this gettogether of the top military with their commander, I fail a bit to understand why there would be such a cold receipt and negativity to this. Costs, time wasted, etc.

Granted, I come from the purely private corporate world, but organising once in a while a get together of "our top-brass" across BU's, is not that uncommon. One of the principal ways large and complex organisations can work well, is by having extensive informal (invisible) netwerks between all the top leaders. Especially between those parts (BU's) that often do not work together much. In all those occassions, there will be "The Speech by the leader/CEO", which will set the tone, but the true purpose is all the networking that will happen around it.

As far as I can tell, the US military is one of the least "top-down hierarchical only" militaries out there. Speaking out across rank, division, etc. is stimulated and appreciated (I assume, and within reason of course), more so than in let's say the Chinese or Russian militaries. Hence also the US success.

Why would there then be such a pushback from the military, to participate to such an event? It's probably going to be the highlight of the year, getting the opportunity to speak to so many other professionals from such different theaters and back grounds. The pay-off for whatever few million dollar of cost and time, will likely prove to be far greater.