Our New Politicized Leftist Military

Many of you probably know that I spent quite a few years in the uniform of our nation’s military. It all started in 1962 when I attended the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University and spent a year in the Army ROTC. Then I managed to fool a lot of seemingly important people and obtained a congressional appointment to the United States Naval Academy. I actually survived four years there, and was finally handed a BS degree and a commission as a Navy Ensign. I spent the next 11+ years as a naval aviator, but then resigned my regular Navy commission and entered the Naval Reserve. For the next 15 years I served in a variety of reserve commands, and was blessed to serve as a commanding officer of three different commands. Eventually I retired from the reserves as a Navy Captain in 1994.

Among the reasons for leaving the regular Navy in 1978 was the presidency of Jimmy Carter. His gross incompetence had a horrendous effect on the very Navy in which he once served. President Carter was an embarrassment to me and really to anyone who served in the military during those four years. He was actually an embarrassment to the entire nation even though many Americans were far too ignorant (aka, stupid) to realize they should have been embarrassed. The Reagan Revolution of 1980 was a refreshing change that had a near miraculous impact on our nation’s military. The result was the remaking of our military and a surge in the morale of every soldier, sailor, airman, and marine. It was a marvelous thing to witness. 

My, how things have changed. I believe President George Bush began the descent by his determination to do the impossible, to convert Muslim nations to some form of Western democracy. Such a effort was, of course, doomed to failure, and our nation suffered the loss of far too many lives and spent too much treasure.The true villain, however, was President Barack Obama. Obama “reformed” the senior officer corps of the U.S. military by ensuring only easily manipulated officers would rise to senior levels in the military. The result, of course, is the presence of such incompetent, “woke” fools as our current Chairman of the Joints Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley. 

Believe me, the vast majority of flag officers (i.e., those who are generals and admirals) are no different from General Milley. If they were any different, they would have resigned in protest. But they cling to their high-ranking positions, hoping for lucrative, post-military positions in what President Eisenhower called the “military-industrial complex.” How right he was. For 15 years now our most senior officers  have been groomed to cave to the political realities of our expanding far-left political leadership. The U.S. military today is in a state of flux. The leadership is politicized, but those they lead are still non-political warriors who actually take their oath to support the Constitution (not the President) seriously. I won’t try to predict what will happen, but can only hope that we will experience (and vote for) a change in national leadership that will once again restore our military to its Constitutional mission of defending our nation from its true enemies.

Priorities

An old friend sent me the below tribute in honor of those who have devoted their lives to defending our country. I don't know who wrote it but the author suggested we pass it along to others, so I thought I'd simply post it on my blog, along with a few of my own comments. 

I'm not a big fan of professional athletics. I haven't watched a major league baseball game in years and haven't attended one in decades. The NBA and NFL have both lost me as well. The NFL, for example, has displaced religion in the lives of many Americans, who would much rather devote their Sundays to football than to "keep holy the Sabbath Day." Indeed, this fanatical focus on professional (and college) sports, along with all the other celebrity worship that permeates our society, is symptomatic of our nation's moral decline. When we remove the "cult" -- the religious foundation -- from our culture, we are left with nothing.

I find it remarkable that so many of our professional athletes, who have reaped rewards unavailable elsewhere, seem to despise the nation that provided them with the opportunity to achieve such material success. One would think they would be overwhelmed by a sense of gratitude. Instead they pay homage to groups like "Black Lives Matter," a movement founded by committed Marxists whose stated goal is not the saving of all, or even most black lives, but the destruction of the family and religious faith, two major obstacles to the power they seek. It's all very sad, and so we pray for them, knowing we have a loving God who has promised to be with us "until the end of the age."

As for me, I was honored to have been able to serve my country and its citizens for many years as a officer in the U.S. Navy. During all those years, and even afterwards, I lost many Naval Academy classmates and close friends. Some lost their lives in combat, others in aircraft accidents, and some as a result of the lingering effects of wounds or agent orange. But none died in vain, despite what the current crop of neo-Marxist protesters and rioters scream at us as they try to destroy our nation and its history, while belittling all the good the United States has brought to the world.

The tribute (and its fitting rebuke) follows: 
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To the NFL and its players,

If I have brain cancer, I don't ask my dentist what I should do. If my car has a problem, I don't seek help from a plumber! Why do you think the public cares what a football player thinks about politics? If we want to know about football, then depending on the information we seek, we might consult with you, but even a quarterback doesn't seek advice on playing his position from a punter.

You seem to have this over-inflated view of yourselves, thinking because you enjoy working on such a large-scale stage, that somehow your opinion about everything matters. The NFL realizes the importance of its "image" so it has rules that specify the clothes and insignia you can wear, the language you can use, and your "antics" after a touchdown or other "great" play. But somehow you and your employer don't seem to care that you disgrace the entire nation and its 320 million people in the eyes of the world by publicly disrespecting this country, its flag, and its anthem! The taxpaying citizens of this country subsidize your plush work environments, yet you choose to use those venues to openly offend those very citizens.

Do you even understand what the flag of this country means to so many of its citizens before you choose to "take a knee" in protest of this country during our national anthem?

You may think because you are paid so much that your job is tough, but you are clueless when it comes to tough. Let me show you those whose jobs are really tough.

You are spoiled babies who stand around and have staff squirt Gatorade in your mouths, sit in front of misting cooling fans when its warm, and sit on heated benches when its cold. That's not tough, that's pampered.

You think you deserve to be paid excessively high salaries because you play a "dangerous" game where you can incur career-ending injuries. Let me show you career-ending injuries!

You think you deserve immediate medical attention and the best medical facilities and doctors when injured. Let me show you what it's like for those who really need and deserve medical attention.

You think you have the right to disrespect the flag of the United States, the flag our veterans fought for, risked limbs and mental stability to defend, and in many cases died for. Let me show you what our flag means to them, their families, and their friends.

You believe you are our heroes, when in reality you are nothing but overpaid entertainers, who exist solely for our enjoyment! Well, your current antics are neither entertaining nor enjoyable, but rather a disgrace to this country, its citizens, all our veterans and their families, and the sacrifices they have made to ensure this country remains free. You choose to openly disgrace this country in the eyes of the rest of the world, yet with all your money, still choose to live here rather than any other country. People with even the slightest amount of "class" will stand and respect our flag. Where does that put you? You want to see heroes...here are this country's heroes!

You can protest policies, the current government, or anything else you choose. That is your right. But when you "protest" our flag and anthem, you insult the nation we all live in and love, and all those who have served, been wounded, or died to keep it free. There is nothing you can do or say that will make your actions anything more than the arrogance of a classless people, who care about themselves more than our country or the freedoms for which our veterans and their families have sacrificed so much, all to ensure you have the right to speak freely. Our country is far from perfect, but if you can point to any other country with greater freedom and opportunity, then you just might want to go there and show respect for their flag! 
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That's all of it...a fitting tribute to those who, since the Battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775, have sacrificed their lives and their livelihood for this remarkable nation.

God bless America, folks. 

Defend the Nation

As someone who spent almost 30 years in the uniform of the United States Navy as an active duty and reserve officer, I certainly support the concept of national defense. And given the state of today's world, and the multiple threats to our way of life, supporting the defense of our nation should be among the top priorities of every citizen.

Unfortunately, our military, those tasked with the actual defense of our nation, have become increasingly isolated from the rest of America. Unlike the past, most American families today have no close connection with the military. Most have little personal experience with military life and the challenges and hardships it brings to families. The military has become almost a separate entity. The nation looks to its members and says, "Thank you for your service," and at the same time wonders why anyone would want to live that life.

Even more troubling: the number of veterans in our two houses of Congress. Just look at the numbers:

These are the people who must decide how the nation will be defended and how the military will be equipped to carry out that defense. We have given them, together with the president, the authority to send our fellow citizens into harm's way. Lacking the experience and first-hand knowledge of military capabilities and limitations, they are far more likely to make serious mistakes.

I've long believed that President Nixon's greatest mistake -- yes, greater even than Watergate -- was the elimination of the draft. Instead of a military made up largely of citizen soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines, from all walks of life, we have created a professional military. For me this is troubling and could, in certain circumstances, lead to the politicization of the military. Indeed, we've already seen evidence of this happening in the FBI and other agencies. If military leaders are selected based on politics or ideology, and the professionals in the ranks are even further isolated from the citizenry, we could be in trouble. Can one's oath to support the Constitution become blurred by one's duty to follow the orders of one's leaders, includeing the Commander in Chief? I would hope not, but it's a different world out there from the one I knew so long ago.

Is there a solution? I really don't know. No politician who hopes to be re-elected (and, sadly, that includes virtually all of them) would ever suggest reinstating the draft. Perhaps the only thing we can do is encourage the military itself to continually educate its members on their constitutional role and the meaning of lawful orders.

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Of course, if you, the typical American citizen, believe you are asked by your government to sacrifice too much, just read the order Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia issued back in 1935 when Mussolini's Italian Army invaded his nation:

"Everyone will now be mobilized and all boys old enough to carry a spear will be sent to Addis Ababa. Married men will take their wives to carry food and cook. Those without wives will take any woman without a husband. Women with small babies need not go. The blind, those who cannot walk or for any reason cannot carry a spear are exempted. Anyone found at home after receipt of this order will be hanged."

Talk about defending the homeland!

I actually saw Haile Selassie in person back in November 1963. I was a member of the Naval Academy Catholic Choir and we sang the Navy Hymn -- "Eternal Father Strong to Save" -- on the White House lawn during the funeral of President John F. Kennedy. I recall noticing the Ethiopian Emperor, standing there among all the dignitaries and heads of state. At 5'2" he looked very small, even with all his impressive regalia, largely because he stood next to Charles de Gaulle who was 6'5".

De Gaulle (center) and Selassie (right) saluting JFK

Just Obeying (Politically Correct) Orders

“But a Constitution of Government once changed from Freedom, can never be restored. Liberty, once lost, is lost forever.” - John Adams

“Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” - John Adams

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I spent a good portion of my life wearing the uniform of the United States Navy: four years as a Midshipman at the U. S. Naval Academy; 12 years as a regular Navy officer; and then 15 years as an officer in the Naval Reserve. It wasn't always a bed of roses, but I wouldn't trade a minute of it for anything else. As you might expect, out of this experience I developed tremendous respect for those who serve our country and willingly risk their lives so we can enjoy the freedoms enumerated by our Constitution. And keep in mind, when they enlist, it is that Constitution the members of our military swear to "support and defend against all enemies, foreign and domestic...[and] bear true faith and allegiance to the same." In that same oath of allegiance the enlisted service member also agrees to obey the orders of the President and superior officers, but always "according to the regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice." Commissioned officers take a similar oath, in which they too swear to "support and defend the Constitution." In other words, the Constitution and the law demand first allegiance, the orders of people second. As John Adams reminded his countrymen we are “a government of laws, and not of men.” (Click here to read the oaths administered to enlisted service members and military officers.)

This is why I am more than disturbed by the rapidly spreading plague of political correctness that has infected our military in recent years. Not only is this infection destroying morale, it is also destroying readiness, something about which we should all be worried. Every segment of the military is being restructured by the social engineers of the left who could not care less about the role of the military as guardians of our national security. Achieving their ideological ends trumps everything else, including our survival as a free nation. Indeed, freedom and that pesky Constitution are abhorrent to them because these are the most obvious barriers to their plans. 

The military is, of course, an easy target for a Commander-in-Chief who can order his compliant service secretaries, chiefs of staff, and other senior officers to obey his commands. It began during the Clinton presidency but has been rapidly advanced by the current administration's social engineers determined to transform a military manned by warriors into an army committed to radical cultural change. Feminism, LGBT radicalism, multiculturalism, enforced atheism, sensitivity training, and a host of other touchy-feely theories have been dumped into a cauldron of weirdness from which the troops are required to feed. Although every service has been infected, the Army has perhaps suffered the most. Of one thing you can be sure: the Army that Norman Schwarzkopf led to rapid victory in 1991 no longer exists.

Sometimes this political correctness is so bizarre it's hard to believe. For example, at Arizona State University, Army ROTC male cadets were allegedly pressured by leadership to walk around in high heels to "raise awareness of sexual violence against women." I suspect it did nothing but humiliate the cadets and destroy what little morale they might have had.

And just this past week we saw the video of retired Air Force Senior Master Sergeant Oscar Rodriguez, who had been asked to speak during the flag-folding ceremony at the retirement of another master sergeant. When Rodriguez mentioned God in his comments he was physically dragged from the retirement ceremony by several enlisted members of the command who were following the orders of their commanding officer, Lt. Col. Michael Sovitsky. And this is especially disturbing because retirement ceremonies are very personal affairs and what is said during the flag-folding is up to the retiree, not the Air Force. Oh, yes, when you read those oaths of office you'll notice the last four words in each: "So help me God." Don't you just love the hypocrisy inherent in political correctness?

I've included a video about Oscar Rodriguez below.

These are not isolated incidents but just two of thousands of similar events in which the PC is forced down the throats of our military. But perhaps my greatest concern is the silence of our senior officer corps, a cowardly bunch concerned more with their perks and retirement than with the nation's security and the welfare of their troops. Their excuse? "Oh, I can do more by working quietly behind the scenes doing what I can to obstruct the most egregious changes." This is, of course, garbage because they have done absolutely nothing. "By their fruits you will know them." 

Perhaps what we need is the mass resignation of a few dozen flag officers. That just might wake up the nation.

Pray for the United States of America and pray for all who serve our country in the military.

Syria, Prayer and Fasting

On Saturday Pope Francis joined 100,000 people gathered in St. Peter's Square for a four-hour prayer vigil. The vigil was in response to the pope's call for a day of prayer and fasting for peace. The focus of this call for peace is, of course, on the civil war in Syria and the planned strike now being debated here in the U.S. Throughout the world the Church's bishops joined Pope Francis in proclaiming the fast and holding similar prayer vigils. The response, however, extended well beyond the Church. Even in St. Peter's Square the crowd was swelled by many non-Christians who expressed solidarity with the pope. One man, a Hindu, said, "This is already a success, the fact that all of us here, Hindus, Christians, Buddhists, atheists made an effort to fast, not to do many things, and come here from all over Italy and Europe. This is already a success." Muslims, too, were present. Indeed, several hundred members of Italy's Arab community joined in the prayers. And in Damascus, in the very heart of Syria, the grand mufti wrote a letter thanking Pope Fancis for all he had done and invited Muslims to fast as well. In his remarks to the crowd the pope said,

"This evening I ask the Lord that we Christians, and our brothers and sisters of other religions and every man and woman of good will, cry out forcefully: Viloence and war are never the way to peace." 

Earlier in the week the pope issued a plea for peace in the plain and clear language to which we have become accustomed:

"There are so many conflicts in this world which cause me great suffering and worry, but in these days my heart is deeply wounded in particular by what is happening in Syria and anguished by the dramatic developments which are looming. I appeal strongly for peace, an appeal which arises from deep within me. How much suffering, how much devastation, how much pain has the use of arms carried in its wake in that martyred country, especially among civilians and the unarmed! I think of many children who will not see the light of the future! With utmost firmness I condemn the use of chemical weapons: I tell you that those terrible images from recent days are burned into my mind and heart. There is a judgment of God and of history upon our actions which are inescapable."

The pope offers the world a strong moral argument favoring restraint. But there are also geopolitical arguments that should be raised. At this point we must ask ourselves whether a strike on Syria will achieve anything positive. Will it lessen the fighting? Will it stop the civil war? Will it stop the use of chemical weapons by either the Assad regime or the rebels or both? Will it bring about a significant shift in the balance of power in the country and the region? If an air strike leads to the eventual end of the Assad regime, what will replace it? Who exactly are the rebels and what are their motivations and goals? Are any of the armed rebels truly moderates? If we attack Syria, what might be the short- and long-term ramifications on our key ally in the region, Israel? How will Assad's ally, Iran, react? And then there's the wild card, Russia, a nation ruled today by a former KGB apparatchik. Can anyone predict the full range of unintended consequences of an American attack on Syria?

The fact that the answers to these questions do not come easily only reinforces Pope Francis's argument for restraint. That few if any of these questions have been answered publicly by the Obama administration is additional cause for concern. Indeed, one gets the idea that strategic issues are decidedly secondary, that the president's primary motivation is to save face, to salvage his personal credibility regardless of the consequences.

The above comments were written last Sunday morning before the real weirdness set in, before Secretary of State Kerry's gaff, before Putin's diplomatic coup, before the president's odd speech to the nation, before Putin's New York Times op-ed...before this strange concatenation of events. It all leads me to believe that prayer and fasting have had a positive result. Keep it up. And while you're praying, take a moment to read this story about Fatima and world peace.

The Draft and the Professional Military

Back on June 26, 1963, when I entered the Naval Academy, I had in my wallet what was called a draft card. In those days every able-bodied young man became eligible for the military draft at age 18, and possession of the draft card was proof that one had registered with the local Selective Service office. More than that, though, obtaining a draft card was a kind of "coming of age" ritual through which a boy made the transition to manhood. I can recall my older high school classmates opening their wallets and proudly displaying the coveted card to those of us who were still 17. Because of my September birthday, I was among the youngest in my senior class, and didn't turn 18 until I had already begun my freshman year at Georgetown University. By then, of course, there was little reason to celebrate openly since most of my new college friends had preceded me. For them, it would have been a ho-hum moment.

Conscription remained the law of the land for another decade and the draft was eventually stopped by President Nixon in January of 1973. By that time I had spent four years at the Naval Academy and had been a commissioned officer in the U. S. Navy for almost six years. Although it might be hard for me and my contemporaries to believe, as a nation we have now had a professional, all-volunteer military for forty years.

All of this came to mind when I recently heard a senior officer make what was quite likely an off-hand comment by saying, "I do what my Commander-in-Chief tells me." Although I suspect it was taken out of context, it still bothered me, reminiscent of the "I was only following orders" excuse used in the past to rationalize some rather horrendous behavior by other, more authoritarian governments. It also led me to ask myself some questions I don't feel particularly competent to answer. But I believe they are questions our nation must ask itself and at least try to answer. For example:

Can an increasingly centralized federal government, one that has usurped many of the powers previously reserved to the states and local communities, more easily command the unquestioned loyalty of the military? Will we ever get to the point where our military leadership is more beholden to the Commander-in-Chief than to the Constitution it is sworn to uphold?

And then I asked myself another question: Does the presence of a professional, all-volunteer military eventually create a gap in both values and understanding between the citizenry and the armed forces? After 40 years, does this gap already exist? Can it lead to the kind of isolation that might cause the professional soldier to feel a degree of disdain toward civilians who do not share the values of the warrior? Would the reinstatement of the draft alter this? I recall a joke told to me by a retired Marine friend that's germane to these questions.

The young lieutenant turned to the gunnery sergeant and said, "Gunny, there's a base open house on Saturday and our platoon has been assigned to assist with crowd control. I'm putting you in charge of keeping visitors out of unauthorized areas."

"That could be a problem, sir. Are these visitors all civilians?"

"Yes, of course. Why's that a problem?"

"Well, sir, how do I get the word to them? From what I understand, civilians don't have squad leaders."

Perhaps I'm wrong, but I doubt that this joke would have been around when we still had the draft.

Christopher Dawson

I am a student (a very poor student) of history, and this week I've been re-reading a book written by a most remarkable historian, Christopher Dawson (1889-1970). The book, The Age of the Gods, was written between the two great wars of the twentieth century and first published in 1928. In it Dawson examines the spiritual and social development of our stone-age ancestors along with that of the early civilizations in Egypt and the Near East. This morning, as I read Dawson's description of the decline of Egypt's New Kingdom, I came across the following:

"Thus the fundamental weakness of the New Kingdom in Egypt was revealed in its ultimate consequences. The combination of the ancient theocratic culture with the warrior state of the Bronze Age proved a failure because no organic union of the two was possible. The military class remained external to the civilization which it defended, as a parasitic growth with no roots in the life of the nation" [The Age of the Gods, p. 300].

Will we ever get that far? I doubt it. The New Kingdom of Egypt and the American Republic are very different, culturally and politically. But since it's inevitable that our society will eventually go the way of all its predecessors, one can only wonder about the cause.

Atheist Military Chaplains?

Here's one you might have missed. Apparently some atheists in the military want to have their own chaplains and lay leaders. It seems they're bummed out that they're deprived of whatever it is they think believing chaplains provide for their faithful.

I'm just trying to understand what exactly an atheist chaplain would do. Would he or she conduct services during which the unfaithful would gather together and do what? They obviously wouldn't pray. Would they sing hymns to the great emptiness of the universe..."A mighty fortress is our void..." Maybe they'd simply sit around and discuss the meaninglessness of their lives as biological accidents with a future devoid of any vestige of hope. Boy, that would sure be uplifting.

Would an atheist chaplain provide some form of solace to a mortally wounded soldier on the battlefield?

"Well, son, you're obviously dying and about to enter the nothingness of death. If you're in pain you might as well put a bullet in your head now. After all what's a few more minutes of life if it's a miserable few minutes?"

Or maybe the atheist chaplain would take a more pragmatic approach to the whole idea of the military and simply counsel all his faithless followers to desert. I can hear his sermon now:

"We've all been fools to join the military. After all, we're atheists. We have only this one life. We all know that there's no living source of moral or ethical behavior. Nature is completely amoral. Morality and patriotism and self-sacrifice are all a part of the sham perpetrated by these phony religions just to exert power over the people. Are you going to sacrifice your life, your one and only life, for these power-hungry charlatans? I say, 'No!' Let's go AWOL and head for Vegas."

As someone who spent many, many years in uniform, it all seems a bit odd to me. Let's hope our increasingly politically correct military rejects the idea.

Being is good, because God is.