15 November 2024

SECRETARY OF DEFENSE HEGSETH'S MISSION

SECRETARY OF DEFENSE HEGSETH'S MISSION

By Andy Weddington

Friday, 15 November 2024


From caring comes courage.  - Laozi 


The Defense Secretary's bottom line mission is to field, lead, and ever strengthen a without peer fighting force.

The enemy's mere thought of having to face so terrifying there's little likelihood of engagement. 

Peace through strength it's called. 

As the late Marine Colonel Mike Lowe, USMC, a friend, said to a class of new lieutenants some 20+ years ago, "Running into a Marine outfit in combat will be your worst nightmare."

Win wars!

That has not happened in a long time. 

Why?

Regardless unit size, warfighting business or not, tone from the top critical. 

Leadership. 

Tone from the top - Secretary of Defense. 

Then, admirals and generals (commonly, GOFOs). 

Presently, America's armed forces not what must be.

Sick Secretary of Defense.

Sick GOFOs. 

Sick culture. 

Sick warfighting capabilities - pax to stuff; suffer or do not exist. 

Etc. 

All known.

The department tasked with our national security and defense - killing enemies and breaking things - is broken. 

Always begin at the beginning, and at the core.

That is what the Secretary of Defense Hegseth intends to do.  

There is circulating talk a panel will be established to screen GOFOs.

Lots of them, sick, no questions asked, must be immediately retired. 

The rest (and all recently selected for promotion), individually ...

"Admiral/General, in one minute make your case for staying in a duty status." 

That one minute will tell the Defense Secretary all he needs to know.

Retain or retire. 

Assign with unambiguous guidance.  

Now, the matter of women in combat is, yet again, bubbling. 

Pete Hegseth, veteran of combat, is clear his position - no women. 

Well, his unpopular position is in good - the best of - company.

Another combat veteran was asked to opine, under oath, 33 years ago. 

The late General Robert H. Barrow, USMC ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fy--whDNNKk

Timeless testimony germane. 

Somehow, Pete Hegseth needs visibility.  

The critics of Hegseth's nomination say the job too "complicated" for his resume. 

Complicated? Human invention to dismiss simplicity. 

Leadership is not complicated. 

It's simple art.

Pete Hegseth cares; deeply. 

Courage already proven. 

Make America respected and feared again! 


1 comment:

Jim said...

Personally, I think his job would be very easy; in fact, I'd love to participate. LOL. All one needs to do is look at the numbers and start asking for justification for the ratio of active duty personnel to the number of four star GOFO's. Do any of those numbers seem strange to anyone? They sure do to me. I don't mean to disparage any service, but how in the hell did the military's newest force i.e., the Space Force get 3, and USAF has 14?
Service Active Duty Ratios
USA 452,689 1:37,724
USN 336,978 1:37,442
USAF 321,848 1:21,457 - WOW
USMC 177,200 1:59,067
US Space 9,400 1:31,133 - WOW