A Retired General as SecDef?

[Gdjjr]

I was enlisted I know...

So was I- your point? Does that mean I don't know?

 

[Gdjjr]

Biden will always make the wrong decisions.

He's a puppet- he doesn't make decisions.

 

[Gdjjr]

Of course, that is because that is what it takes to get to the upper echelons...

Then what's the point? To be a leader? Or a fund raiser? To be a decision maker, or a puppet? To be a man or be a parrot?

 

[Canon Shooter]

One of Obama's dumbass affirmative action Negroes.

Biden will always make the wrong decisions. He can't help himself.

That worthless Negro will help to decimate the military just like was done during the Obama administration and turn the military into a Gay club.

Anybody that voted for Obama is an idiot. A Useful Idiot.

Austin's got a stellar 41 year career under his belt. He's hardly "One of Obama's dumbass affirmative action negroes".

He's a solid choice...

 

[Gdjjr]

He's a solid choice...

Why? Our gov't is supposed to be civilians in charge of the military- ex career military is drawing a military pension- where do you feel that comes from? He's a political puppet- Period.

 

[Flash]

Biden will always make the wrong decisions.

He's a puppet- he doesn't make decisions.

Just like when that worthless sonofabitch Obama was President. He was way in over his head. More interested in doing the basketball playoff brackets than doing his job. That commie Iranian Valarie Jarrett was making all the decisions.

You are correct. This Biden asshole will be even worse. The Chinese will be calling the shots through their Democrat Party operatives.

 

[Gdjjr]

The Chinese will be calling the shots through their Democrat Party operatives.

AIPAC isn't made up of Chinese- just sayin.

 

[Flash]

The Chinese will be calling the shots through their Democrat Party operatives.

AIPAC isn't made up of Chinese- just sayin.

I will never understand why 70% of American Jews are so goddamn stupid as to support Democrats.

It is like they have never learned anything from their history.

Of course you can say that about every other Useful Idiot that voted Democrat.

 

[Canon Shooter]

He's a solid choice...

Why? Our gov't is supposed to be civilians in charge of the military- ex career military is drawing a military pension- where do you feel that comes from? He's a political puppet- Period.

Gimme' a fuckin' break.

First, where does is say that "our government is supposed to be civilians in charge of the military"? Where is that written? Other than you, who has ever suggested it?

As for his pension, so what? He gets that whether he's Secretary of Defense or not, and he doesn't get more of a pension if he's Secretary of Defense.. His pension is a complete non-issue.

The fact of the matter is that you didn't even know there was a General Austin until Biden nominated him, and you sure as fuck don't know anything about his record or his career.

You know, every time troops are committed to battle, there's always a segment of the public which bitches about how the President and Pentagon leadership have no military experience, so they have no business committing troops to battle.

I honestly never dreamed I'd see the day where someone took issue with a retired flag officer being named Secretary of Defense...

 

[DGS49]

Let's be serious. The people doing the fighting don't want war, but the careerists certainly do. They may be "in the field" and commanding combat troops but for the most part they are far from the actual fighting, and the only time they get injured or killed is by some random rocket attack or a helicopter crash.

I was (among other things) an awards and promotions sergeant in Vietnam. Every officer who went over there wanted a Combat Infantry Badge (a "CIB"). How did they get it? They sat in a concrete bunker - perfectly safe - giving orders to ground troops for 181 days (minimum required for a CIB), then they got the hell out of there and made room for another lieutenant to get his CIB. The Vietnam War was the best thing that ever happened for career officers. They got promoted twice as quickly as they would have in peacetime.

And in my experience, the real combat commanders rarely make it to General. They top out at Light Colonel and Colonel, because they are not good at kissing ass.

I repeat, we do NOT want a military careerist as SecDef. If our forebears had wanted that, they would have made Chairman of the Joint Chiefs (or Commanding General of the Armies) a cabinet position. But they didn't. They made him subordinate to the civilian Secretary of War.

 

[Canon Shooter]

Since there are so many people who seem opposed to this, I'd like to ask: What is it about Austin's career that makes you believe he's not a good choice, and please be specific. Replies like "He's just a Biden lackey" et al will be dismissed...

 

[danielpalos]

Since there are so many people who seem opposed to this, I'd like to ask: What is it about Austin's career that makes you believe he's not a good choice, and please be specific. Replies like "He's just a Biden lackey" et al will be dismissed...

In my opinion, having a general officer at that level should provide some improvement to organizational structure if not discipline.

 

[night_son]

For example, a soldier knows that the best times for soldiers are when we are at war

You think most soldiers would prefer to go to war?

Yes, we do . . . actually. Sitting around playing cards in the motor pool, winning six packs of beer from enlisted pukes only cuts it for so long.

 

[night_son]

Generals don't go to war anymore.

He made a pretty broad statement though. I hardly consider a four star general a soldier. They're the administration. They lead soldiers from a safe distance.

What an uniformed opinion. The vast majority of flag rank officers began their careers as butter bar platoon leaders, many of them in line units and many led their platoons in combat or at least during wartime over the past three decades. Smells like you have never worn a uniform.

 

[Canon Shooter]

Generals don't go to war anymore.

He made a pretty broad statement though. I hardly consider a four star general a soldier. They're the administration. They lead soldiers from a safe distance.

Yeah, because they instantly become 4-star generals out of West Point.

You'd probably be a bit more impressive if you'd actually put some thought into what you're going to say...

 

[night_son]

Apparent President-Elect Biden has tentatively named retired 4-Star General Lloyd Austin as his nominee for Secretary of Defense.

While not knowing anything about this Austin fellow, after spending eight years in DoD - military and civilian - I have always questioned the idea of having a retired general as Secretary of Defense. The reason why the Joint Chiefs are subordinate to the Secretary of Defense is because we want CIVILIANS calling the shots in war, not soldiers. Soldier have different training, different life experiences, different motivations, and a different perspective overall than civilians. For example, a soldier knows that the best times for soldiers are when we are at war - declared or otherwise. That is when the careerists get the medals, promotions, and battlefield experience that pads their military resumes and ultimately enhances their careers.

Having a military quasi-civilian in that post is simply poor public policy. Find me an executive who spend two or three years in the military as an enlisted man, then got out. That is what SecDef should have on his resume...a combination of respect and disdain for military service.

What's your military experience? Have you ever been in combat? Have you ever been fired upon without result?

I can assure you that the "best times for soldiers" is when they are with their families and friends, stateside, without the worry of some sand-monkey trying to kill him with an IED.

As much disdain as I hold for Biden, I applaud his choice. A soldier (or sailor or marine or airman) needs to know that the guy at the helm of the DoD is someone who understands what it takes to win a war. His military record is above reproach.

"Two or three years"? Yeah, that would make someone an E-3 or an E-4 which, I promise you, is not someone you want to have running the Department of Defense. Those guys are far more interested in getting drunk and getting laid than they are concerned with protecting our country.

General Austin is a fine choice...

I disagree . . . somewhat. The answer everyone wants to hear is the one you provide above: the best times are back in battalion and/or home with family; company cookouts, football games—even fucking battalion runs. But the truth, at least in my case and now that I have recently ETS'd for good (possibly), is that the best of times were deployments. It's like this, right? The other day my wife and I met my sister and her kids for a hike in a state park with very remote, very deep woods. We all arrived later than planned and the park's gates close at dusk. Nevertheless I led my wife and family members deeper and deeper into the woods as daylight faded. The whole time my wife and sister were freaking out, terrified we'd get locked into the park for the night. But all along I'd had our route planned out, the trails we took chosen ahead of time. So we just barely made it back to our vehicles by dusk. My wife unloaded on me after I explained to her I had it all planned out and I knew we would make it. Later she admitted that hike was one of the best times she'd had in recent memory. And that is why deployment is the best of times in uniform. The only difference? Sometimes you never make it back to the car no matter how well planned it all was.

 

[bodecea]

Apparent President-Elect Biden has tentatively named retired 4-Star General Lloyd Austin as his nominee for Secretary of Defense.

While not knowing anything about this Austin fellow, after spending eight years in DoD - military and civilian - I have always questioned the idea of having a retired general as Secretary of Defense. The reason why the Joint Chiefs are subordinate to the Secretary of Defense is because we want CIVILIANS calling the shots in war, not soldiers. Soldier have different training, different life experiences, different motivations, and a different perspective overall than civilians. For example, a soldier knows that the best times for soldiers are when we are at war - declared or otherwise. That is when the careerists get the medals, promotions, and battlefield experience that pads their military resumes and ultimately enhances their careers.

Having a military quasi-civilian in that post is simply poor public policy. Find me an executive who spend two or three years in the military as an enlisted man, then got out. That is what SecDef should have on his resume...a combination of respect and disdain for military service.

What's the problem? He's a civilian now.

 

[Flash]

This worthless dumbass affirmative action Negro will another embarrassment to the US, just like everybody else that Biden i proposing in his illegitimate cabinet.

 

[Flash]

Obama got rid of all the military leaders with balls and intelligence and replaced them with weak ass kissing yes men, women and queers.

This sonofabitch flourished under the Obama administration so that tells you all you need to know.

 

[Moonglow]

I was enlisted I know...

So was I- your point? Does that mean I don't know?

Had I intended to mean that I would have said that.