by Andy Weddington
01 July 2017
PowerPoint makes us stupid. General James N. Mattis, USMC
Geez, what a way to welcome the July 4th weekend.
Last evening, just before retiring, arrived in email a Department of Defense press (for immediate) release titled Statement by Chief Pentagon Spokesman Dana W. White on Transgender Accessions.
Dated June 30, 2017 ...
Secretary Mattis today approved a recommendation by the services to defer accessing transgender applicants into the military until Jan. 1, 2018.
The services will review their accession plans and provide input on the impact to the readiness and lethality of our forces.
Seriously?
The operative element being "impact to the readiness and lethality of our forces."
That requires further review?
Need sundry obvious variables be detailed?
Not wasting my time.
And so the bottom line is how, exactly, will transgender accessions increase force readiness and lethality?
More so, enhance survivability?
As the cynical, somewhat salty lieutenants of the 32nd MAU (Marine Amphibious Unit), MARG (Marine Amphibious Readiness Group) 3-81 coined after repeated lack of sound and timely decisions (a leadership principle, by the way) from leadership, "Indecision is the key to flexibility."
Could the Defense Secretary's (a retired Marine general - publicly promoted for his no nonsense demeanor) decision be but politics?
There's no need for (continued) review and (grander) PowerPoint.
Make a decision. Brief the President. Announce. Carry on rebuilding the ("depleted," as President Trump describes) forces.
But ...
Clink, clang, clang, clink, cling, clang ... clink.
There's that familiar irritating road noise - of indecision safeguarding flexibility, and complemented by the (intended) consequential dust cloud of confusion.
Stupid.
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2 comments:
Andy, we who have been there, done that, knew this was coming. But in the general's tradition, he waited till 30 June, the day before it was to go into effect to openly tell "Ash and Trash" Carter he was nothing more than a political hack who was trying to tell the world (who laughed aloud) this would improve the force. Meanwhile, we were asking "What force are you referring to Mr Secretary of Defense?" Perhaps, the delay may have made "Ash and Trash" think it was going to happen. LOL God Bless this once great nation on it's road back to being great again. And God bless you General Mattis!
Mattis is smart. He deferred the decision so that he can squash the issue later. Mattis has to deal with Congress, something combat leaders almost never do. Congress now knows what the decision will be. When the actual decision is made there will be less opposition and furor.
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