Strong Men Armed said:
Pretty sure that the end game for Trump in his selection of a SecDef and in weeding out "disloyal" flag officers is to insure that he can use the military to crush dissent whenever he wants.
He'll have his first chance when women have a mass protest at the Lincoln Memorial/Reflection Pool in Washington over abortion/reproductive rights.
Hoping that we don't have flag officers willing to sic the troops on the women exercising their First Amendment rights.
This is a fever dream.
The Army is not going to just abandon posse comitatus because MSNBC thinks Trump wants to turn the military into Brownshirts.
I am not a big fan of Presidents culling generals based on perceived political affinities -- but don't kid yourself that this has not already been happening.
Current or potential GOs got passed over if they opposed:
- Mandatory DEI curricula
- integrating women in combat arms, or promoting gender neutral standards to do so
- the declassification of gender dysphoria as a medically disqualifying condition (and all that led to)
- Manipulation of promotion and command selection lists based on desired sex and ethnicity outcomes
I'm not talking about publicly -- I'm talking about internal discussions over pros and cons and base principles. They may not have been fired, but they were most certainly passed over at the flag grades -- the political level of the Army.
And the current crop picks the future crop.
The Army and USMC did not open up the combat arms to women because it improved the effectiveness of the force, or to widen the recruiting pool -- it was 100% because of perceived inequity, because those branches produce the highest percentage of senior officers, and the Service Chiefs.
Frankly, if this is the decision civilian leaders believe was important as a civil rights issue, then roger that -- Generals salute and move out.
But don't gaslight the public that it improved our readiness or capability, or not negatively affected morale and cohesion.
And now the decision has been made, and the results are being seen -- and any officer openly questioning the utility of women in combat arms, the lack of gender neutral standards, or trans integration today will 100% see the end of their career as a result.
Is this OK?
