User Tag List

+ Reply to Thread
Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 11

Thread: Washington’s Dangerous Unseriousness

  1. #1
    Original Ranter
    Points: 859,042, Level: 100
    Level completed: 0%, Points required for next Level: 0
    Overall activity: 90.0%
    Achievements:
    SocialCreated Album picturesOverdrive50000 Experience PointsVeteran
    Awards:
    Posting Award
    Peter1469's Avatar Advisor
    Karma
    496580
    Join Date
    Jun 2011
    Location
    NOVA
    Posts
    241,693
    Points
    859,042
    Level
    100
    Thanks Given
    153,218
    Thanked 147,590x in 94,419 Posts
    Mentioned
    2552 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)

    Washington’s Dangerous Unseriousness

    History informs us of the probable high casualty levels the US military will suffer in the next peer-peer war in the opining phases.

    Washington’s Dangerous Unseriousness
    Contrary to some, military history’s “cash value” is not because it provides a recipe for success in battle, but, rather, because it offers perspective on similar issues from past conflicts that bear on contemporary matters. In 2023 a little history from North Africa during World War Two is appropriate.

    In the late summer of 1942, the Allies had yet to win a major land battle against the Axis powers. In the Pacific, the American fight against the Japanese at Guadalcanal was barely underway. In the Soviet Union, Hitler’s armies were soon to stall at Stalingrad but their defeat was months away. In North Africa, Rommel’s Afrika Korps threatened to drive the British out of Egypt. That was until Lt. Gen. Bernard Montgomery arrived on 13 August and immediately began to rectify a confused, chaotic British chain of command in the desert accompanied by defeatist plans and mentality.


    Montgomery wrote in his wartime journal:


    Early in August 1942 the Eighth Army was in a bad state; the troops had their tails right down and there was no confidence in the higher command. It was clear that Rommel was preparing further attacks and the troops were looking over their shoulders for rear lines to which to withdraw. The Army plan of battle was that, if Rommel attacked, a withdrawal to rear lines would take place, and orders to this effect had been issued.


    [I]The whole ‘atmosphere’ was wrong. The troops knew that they were worthy of far better things than had ever come to them; they also knew that the higher command was to blame for the reverses that had been suffered.


    In barely three weeks’ time after Monty assumed command of Eighth Army, his leadership – including the complete reversal of plans to withdraw – produced the first major victory on land for the Allies, stealing the initiative from Field Marshal Erwin Rommel and ruining his chances for taking Egypt. Within the American-British inner core of the alliance (U.S., Great Britain, U.S.S.R.), Montgomery arguably achieved the turning point of the war against the Axis (for the Soviets, it was Stalingrad). Whatever character flaws and later wartime reversals some historians have emphasized, Monty’s genius and determination in the desert were transformative.


    Fast forward to the last three decades. From the end of the Cold War until the last few years, U.S. military planning and operations emphasized regional conflicts, insurgencies, terrorism, and, for a time, “Military Operations Other Than War.” Competition termed “near peer” garnered little attention; the United States seemed peerless. That has changed. There is open, serious discussion in official circles of the possibilities of a near peer fight with either Russia or the PRC. Is the American military ready? Where is our Monty? Is there any “confidence in the higher command”?


    For several years, Russian and Chinese authoritarians have demonstrated both the will and ability to capitalize on American unseriousness regarding the security of her national assets and personnel, from an antisatellite weapon test that endangered the International Space Station as well as other spacecraft in the orbit of the space debris created (Russia, November 2021) to a near-collision of a navy jet with a U.S. Air Force (USAF) RC-135 in international airspace (China, December 2022) to – most recently – the violation of U.S. airspace by an unconventional surveillance balloon that went untouched until completing its mission (China, February 2023) to the intentional downing by an air force jet of a USAF MQ-9 remotely piloted aircraft in international airspace (Russia, March 2023).


    The last two incidents in particular have elicited administration responses that are not encouraging to serious-minded, friendly observers. Such responses, not only unserious but perhaps unparalleled in their unrealism, have little effect other than creating grave doubts in the minds of many U.S. military members and citizens as to the rationality of their senior leadership, military and civilian.


    Moreover, this unseriousness does not pass our adversaries unnoticed. While the administration offers silly claims of not having engaged the Chinese spy balloon earlier for fear of endangering persons or property on the ground; and it clearly objects far more to the “environmentally unsound” means which contributed to the MQ-9’s destruction (dumping fuel on it) than to the fact of an attack against a U.S. aircraft, surely the Chinese and Russians continue doing high-fives behind closed doors.


    Even more serious is the fact that our adversaries seem to understand far better than Washington does that there are cultural, psychological, and morale impacts within one’s military to ideologically-dictated lunacy on the part of leadership. As Monty confided in his journal, “The whole ‘atmosphere’ [is] wrong.”


    In September 1942, by which time it was clear that Rommel had been stopped, Montgomery wrote training instructions for the next phase of his planned offensive, including:


    Morale is the big factor in war. Officers and other ranks have got to be imbued with that infectious optimism which comes from physical well-being; they must be brought to that stage of physical and mental fitness which will enable them to take on Germans (or anyone else) with complete confidence; they must be full of offensive eagerness and have the light of battle in their eyes.[ii]


    In the U.S. military today, one wonders how much more damage to morale may be sustained by the thinning numbers of officers, junior leaders, and those in the ranks from the incessant attention granted by leadership to radical socioeconomic and far-left, domestic political priorities in lieu of legitimate national security ones. Every lofty announcement from a senior official, including at the Service secretariat level, that celebrates the latest so-called diversity or inclusivity initiative at the expense of meritocracy, or that touts the renaming of a military installation or a naval vessel as an act of high moral purity, dims a bit more “the light of battle in their eyes” and lowers “confidence in the higher command.”
    ΜOΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ


  2. The Following User Says Thank You to Peter1469 For This Useful Post:

    MisterVeritis (03-24-2023)

  3. #2
    Points: 32,562, Level: 44
    Level completed: 8%, Points required for next Level: 1,388
    Overall activity: 61.0%
    Achievements:
    VeteranSocial25000 Experience Points
    stephenpe's Avatar Senior Member
    Karma
    2784
    Join Date
    Feb 2019
    Posts
    5,685
    Points
    32,562
    Level
    44
    Thanks Given
    5,369
    Thanked 2,777x in 1,851 Posts
    Mentioned
    96 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    I love the thread title. But is our military prepared for the Godless communists. The eternal question. We know we have the technology to watch most of what they do and where they go. Considering over the last two decades we outspent them 10 to 1. If we arent we damn sure wasted a shttt ton of $$$$. as for all that Montgomery nonsense I saw this movie and know who fixed North Africa.

    LOBBYCARD340-2.jpg

    In the U.S. military today, one wonders how much more damage to morale may be sustained by the thinning numbers of officers, junior leaders, and those in the ranks from the incessant attention granted by leadership to radical socioeconomic and far-left, domestic political priorities in lieu of legitimate national security ones. Every lofty announcement from a senior official, including at the Service secretariat level, that celebrates the latest so-called diversity or inclusivity initiative at the expense of meritocracy, or that touts the renaming of a military installation or a naval vessel as an act of high moral purity, dims a bit more “the light of battle in their eyes” and lowers “confidence in the higher command.”
    Same shttt different day Leftist policies, diversity ruining our military.

  4. #3
    Original Ranter
    Points: 859,042, Level: 100
    Level completed: 0%, Points required for next Level: 0
    Overall activity: 90.0%
    Achievements:
    SocialCreated Album picturesOverdrive50000 Experience PointsVeteran
    Awards:
    Posting Award
    Peter1469's Avatar Advisor
    Karma
    496580
    Join Date
    Jun 2011
    Location
    NOVA
    Posts
    241,693
    Points
    859,042
    Level
    100
    Thanks Given
    153,218
    Thanked 147,590x in 94,419 Posts
    Mentioned
    2552 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Quote Originally Posted by stephenpe View Post
    I love the thread title. But is our military prepared for the Godless communists. The eternal question. We know we have the technology to watch most of what they do and where they go. Considering over the last two decades we outspent them 10 to 1. If we arent we damn sure wasted a shttt ton of $$$$. as for all that Montgomery nonsense I saw this movie and know who fixed North Africa.

    Attachment 56025

    Same shttt different day Leftist policies, diversity ruining our military.
    General Patton on Woke (capital W). Kill it. Wherever you find it.
    ΜOΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ


  5. #4
    Points: 21,633, Level: 35
    Level completed: 74%, Points required for next Level: 317
    Overall activity: 23.0%
    Achievements:
    10000 Experience Points1 year registered
    slideman's Avatar Infracted Member
    Karma
    1311
    Join Date
    Mar 2023
    Location
    a suburb of Seattle
    Posts
    6,931
    Points
    21,633
    Level
    35
    Thanks Given
    1
    Thanked 1,304x in 1,106 Posts
    Mentioned
    89 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    You guys are experts on the armed forces huh. I presume you both served as officers.

  6. #5
    Original Ranter
    Points: 859,042, Level: 100
    Level completed: 0%, Points required for next Level: 0
    Overall activity: 90.0%
    Achievements:
    SocialCreated Album picturesOverdrive50000 Experience PointsVeteran
    Awards:
    Posting Award
    Peter1469's Avatar Advisor
    Karma
    496580
    Join Date
    Jun 2011
    Location
    NOVA
    Posts
    241,693
    Points
    859,042
    Level
    100
    Thanks Given
    153,218
    Thanked 147,590x in 94,419 Posts
    Mentioned
    2552 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Quote Originally Posted by slideman View Post
    You guys are experts on the armed forces huh. I presume you both served as officers.
    We have officers and enlisted.

    I did both.
    ΜOΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ


  7. #6
    Points: 21,633, Level: 35
    Level completed: 74%, Points required for next Level: 317
    Overall activity: 23.0%
    Achievements:
    10000 Experience Points1 year registered
    slideman's Avatar Infracted Member
    Karma
    1311
    Join Date
    Mar 2023
    Location
    a suburb of Seattle
    Posts
    6,931
    Points
    21,633
    Level
    35
    Thanks Given
    1
    Thanked 1,304x in 1,106 Posts
    Mentioned
    89 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    The current crop of recruits has perhaps different attitudes toward so-called woke matters. The entire generation of 18 to 25-year-olds is now generally woke. They are much more sensitive to issues of race and non-conforming sexuality and climate change than previous generations.
    The military is merely adapting to reality.
    Adapt and overcome!

  8. The Following User Says Thank You to slideman For This Useful Post:

    stephenpe (03-31-2023)

  9. #7
    Original Ranter
    Points: 859,042, Level: 100
    Level completed: 0%, Points required for next Level: 0
    Overall activity: 90.0%
    Achievements:
    SocialCreated Album picturesOverdrive50000 Experience PointsVeteran
    Awards:
    Posting Award
    Peter1469's Avatar Advisor
    Karma
    496580
    Join Date
    Jun 2011
    Location
    NOVA
    Posts
    241,693
    Points
    859,042
    Level
    100
    Thanks Given
    153,218
    Thanked 147,590x in 94,419 Posts
    Mentioned
    2552 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Quote Originally Posted by slideman View Post
    The current crop of recruits has perhaps different attitudes toward so-called woke matters. The entire generation of 18 to 25-year-olds is now generally woke. They are much more sensitive to issues of race and non-conforming sexuality and climate change than previous generations.
    The military is merely adapting to reality.
    Adapt and overcome!
    That's why recruiting is up. Way up.

    Right?
    ΜOΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ


  10. #8

    tPF Moderator
    Points: 473,267, Level: 100
    Level completed: 0%, Points required for next Level: 0
    Overall activity: 58.0%
    Achievements:
    Social50000 Experience PointsTagger First ClassYour first GroupVeteranRecommendation First ClassOverdrive
    Awards:
    Master Tagger
    DGUtley's Avatar tPF Moderator
    Karma
    200775
    Join Date
    Jul 2016
    Location
    Northeast Ohio
    Posts
    52,928
    Points
    473,267
    Level
    100
    Thanks Given
    17,064
    Thanked 46,045x in 24,876 Posts
    Mentioned
    887 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    The entire generation of 18-25 year olds is not woke. Get out and talk to some. I hire some in that age group. They are having this nonsense, shoved down their throats and think it is silly. They keep their mouth shut, because their supervisors are told likewise.
    Any time you give a man something he doesn't earn, you cheapen him. Our kids earn what they get, and that includes respect. -- Woody Hayes​

  11. #9
    Original Ranter
    Points: 859,042, Level: 100
    Level completed: 0%, Points required for next Level: 0
    Overall activity: 90.0%
    Achievements:
    SocialCreated Album picturesOverdrive50000 Experience PointsVeteran
    Awards:
    Posting Award
    Peter1469's Avatar Advisor
    Karma
    496580
    Join Date
    Jun 2011
    Location
    NOVA
    Posts
    241,693
    Points
    859,042
    Level
    100
    Thanks Given
    153,218
    Thanked 147,590x in 94,419 Posts
    Mentioned
    2552 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Quote Originally Posted by DGUtley View Post
    The entire generation of 18-25 year olds is not woke. Get out and talk to some. I hire some in that age group. They are having this nonsense, shoved down their throats and think it is silly. They keep their mouth shut, because their supervisors are told likewise.
    He must live in a liberal bastion and actually think that represents America.
    ΜOΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ


  12. #10

    tPF Moderator
    Points: 473,267, Level: 100
    Level completed: 0%, Points required for next Level: 0
    Overall activity: 58.0%
    Achievements:
    Social50000 Experience PointsTagger First ClassYour first GroupVeteranRecommendation First ClassOverdrive
    Awards:
    Master Tagger
    DGUtley's Avatar tPF Moderator
    Karma
    200775
    Join Date
    Jul 2016
    Location
    Northeast Ohio
    Posts
    52,928
    Points
    473,267
    Level
    100
    Thanks Given
    17,064
    Thanked 46,045x in 24,876 Posts
    Mentioned
    887 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Quote Originally Posted by Peter1469 View Post
    He must live in a liberal bastion and actually think that represents America.
    probably.
    Any time you give a man something he doesn't earn, you cheapen him. Our kids earn what they get, and that includes respect. -- Woody Hayes​

+ Reply to Thread

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts