The Destruction of Our Military

 Pvt. Isabella Gonzales; 1st Lt. Tyler James Feehan; Sgt. Angel Rampersad; Sgt. Michael Emmanuel Swinton. The latest Americans killed in combat in the Middle East.

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is the least qualified person to lead the military since the creation of that position and it shows. He first came to Trump’s attention as a Fox News weekend host who advocated for the pardoning of three convicted or indicted war criminals. Trump obliged Hegseth’s request opining that “You know, we teach them how to be great fighters, and then when they fight sometimes they get really treated very unfairly.” Perhaps in his mind the convicted felon president thought that he was providing a lift to the morale of the military members. In fact, he was undermining the discipline and spirit of our warfighters. The actions of the three individuals pardoned were reported by uniformed personnel in their own units that saw what happened and knew it was wrong. Thus, the beginning of the demise of our professional military. It continues today on many fronts, not the least of which is Trump’s War in the Middle East.

There is so much un-American activity afoot under this administration that it is difficult to know what to worry about and where to focus. To me, it is incredibly dispiriting. Whether Trump is embarrassing us at the World Cup, stealing Venezuelan oil, putting a fifty percent tariff on Canada for invading our country with wildfire smoke or using his Truth Social account to sell information for insider trading to other members of the Epstein Class, the level of disregard for traditional American values, ethics and morality is truly astounding. One thing is clear however, Trump and his hand-picked flunky in the Pentagon are driving our much admired and truly spectacular Armed Forces into dangerous territory. Put plainly, Trump’s War against Iran is not going well. Additionally, Hegseth is systematically replacing respected senior officers that have real world experience with officers that seem to be chosen for their allegiance to Trump and Hegseth. Some top ranking officials have been fired, others have resigned, presumably because they did not agree with the direction that Hegseth was taking the institution.

So far, over two dozen generals and admirals have been fired. Additionally, one of the true institutions run as a meritocracy has been poisoned by Hegseth’s involvement in promotions for senior officers. Traditionally, the Secretary of Defense does not interfere with the selection process unless some new information comes to light after the selection boards make their choices — such as criminality or other major disqualifying activities. Hegseth routinely strikes officers from the list. Media accounts report that sixty percent of those taken off of the lists were women or minorities. For the first time in over a decade, no woman will be promoted to admiral in the U.S. Navy. All were de-listed by Hegseth. These actions have a direct impact on readiness, morale, and the stability of the force. Women and minorities are being shown that their service does not count. The message is simple. Pete Hegseth does not want you in his military. No matter how hard you work or the experience you have demonstrated in the most demanding of circumstances, you will not be rewarded with a leadership position. Go home.

Hegseth is, however, apparently in favor of gender affirming care. He announced that all service members aged thirty or over must undergo annual testing for “testosterone deficiency.” If the results are too low, testosterone treatments are available so that the troops can operate at their “absolute best.” Apparently, Hegseth wants to fire up his “warriors.” It is also part of his response to the “manosphere” that touts macho, macho men. I am not a physician, but I do understand that in some cases testosterone treatments are medically recommended. But for the whole force? It also does not take a physician to know that the process for testing for testosterone deficiency is spread over time as testosterone levels vary based on a number of daily factors. A quick look on the internet also reveals that treatment can have dangerous side effects such as blood clots, increased cardiovascular problems, accelerated prostrate cancer, mood swings and increased irritability, to name a few.

Hegseth began his tenure in the Pentagon’s top spot by giving away sensitive military operational details classified “SECRET” over a “Signal” group chat using his personal device. Included in the chat, by accident, was the civilian editor for the The Atlantic magazine. The information included the specifics of a pending attack by U.S. forces. He did a similar group chat on a commercial app with his wife, brother and personal lawyer, none of whom had any clearances for classified information. His leadership skills were evidenced by his lying about the whole thing and claiming that it was a “media smear.” Thankfully, the mission went off without any Americans killed or wounded.

Meanwhile, our troops are fighting in the Middle East and Trump and Hegseth continue to lie about the course of the war and the impact that it is having on our troops, our economy, and the people that live in the region. Until today, the Defense Department had not given a press briefing on the war since early May. Sadly, our troops are now under fire daily. Eighteen have died and almost 500 have been wounded, that we know about. We get more information from foreign sources and foreign media, including verified commercial satellite imagery used by the New York Times, than we do from our own government. That imagery shows wide-spread damage to U.S. bases and equipment throughout the region. Iranian strikes have hit Kuwait and the King Faisal Air Base in Jordan. Yesterday Iran hit Bahrain, homeport to the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet and launched the first ever Iranian ballistic missile to hit Saudi Arabia. Media reports indicate that the U.S. is departing some bases in the Persian Gulf region and consolidating forces in Israel to receive protection from drones and ballistic missiles under the Israeli Iron Dome air defense system. Hegseth confirmed to Congress this week that Russia and China are aiding the Iranians with new weapons systems and providing targeting data from their satellites. Yet, we take no action to pressure them to stop. Indeed, Trump calls their leaders good friends and openly admires them.

Meanwhile, the Iranians continue to control the Strait of Hormuz which is shutdown for all practical purposes. The Houthi forces in Yemen, under the encouragement of Iran, are threatening shipping in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait which is the southern exit from the Red Sea. Several tankers have already turned around rather than run that gauntlet. A barrel of oil is back over 100 dollars.

All is not well despite the stream of lies coming from the administration. I do not put that on the backs of our forces in theater. I put it directly on the backs of the leadership in Washington D.C. who have yet to articulate a strategy for winning the war. Bullying and bluffs from Trump do not get the job done. The Iranians are willing to wait out the barrage. They have nowhere to go. Modifying an old Afghan proverb, the Iranians believe that “the U.S. has the watch, we have the time.” They will wait us out. Persia has been an entity for centuries. They are not going to just go away.

Trump continues to express his lack of knowledge about military operations. He thinks he knows the language of war but he does not, and apparently he does not care to understand it. Worse, he has no respect for those serving in uniform. Before the dignified transfer ceremony yesterday at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, a very solemn occasion honoring the return of the four soldiers killed in action, he told reporters before hand that “all of them said very strongly, we cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon.” He honors them by putting political statements into the mouths of deceased warriors. This comes after his social media posts this week where he compares the eighteen military members lost in the Gulf so far to those of previous wars.

He is proud, as he said, that there are “only” eighteen dead in the Iran War. Only. I am sure that gives great solace to the families and friends of those killed in action. After all, in a campaign speech yesterday, he said the war against Iran is only a “skirmish.” Skirmish, conflict, or special operation, call it what you will, but for those on the front lines it is a war.

The country’s leadership still thinks only in terms of munitions expended and targets destroyed. The men and women of the U.S. military are doing a commendable and skillful job. But to what end? No nuclear weapons for Iran? Trump and Hegseth said that those capabilities were “obliterated” last summer. To open the Strait of Hormuz? It was open to free navigation for all nations before the war. In March Hegseth claimed that the U.S. had achieved an “overwhelming victory” that the Iranian military had been “destroyed” and “made combat ineffective.” In April he claimed that the operation achieved “every single objective.” They claim that the Iranian Navy sits at the bottom of the Persian Gulf. Yet, here we are. For eleven days now, and counting, the Iranians have engaged U.S. and regional forces, destroyed equipment and bases and killed and wounded our warriors. After nearly five months of fighting we are no closer to a resolution than we were at the start. In fact, our military as a whole, is less ready to take on another adversary than we were six months ago. Munition stocks are seriously depleted. Forces and equipment need rest and maintenance. What was supposed to take four weeks (at most!) has surpassed four months and we are worse off than before.

In hearings this week, Senator Gary Peters (D-Mich) summed it up nicely in a direct exchange with Hegseth. “Because I use the word ‘failure’ to their leaders. You sir are the failure, not the men and women who are on that front line, not the men and women who hold up their honor with distinction, but if there’s a lack of a winning strategy, they’re in harm’s way. Their leaders have failed them, and that’s what’s happening. You don’t have a strategy. You don’t have a long-term plan to actually win this war.”  Hegseth responded by accusing the Senator of having Trump Derangement Syndrome.

They definitely do not have a real, viable plan. All they know how to do is post threats on social media.

If they are truly concerned about nuclear weapons in the Middle East, then why did the administration announce yesterday that they signed a deal with Saudi Arabia to help them build nuclear power plants? Especially when the deal explicitly contains language that exempts the Saudis from international inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) or any other international inspection teams. This clearly gives the Saudis a path to enriching their own uranium. The Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia (sometimes known as “Prince Bone Saw” for ordering the murder and dismemberment of Jamal Khashoggi a journalist critical of the regime) has openly expressed his desire for a nuclear weapon if Iran gets one. The agreement goes against all previous U.S. policies concerning nuclear development that requires strict controls and compliance with conventions often called the “Gold Standard” of nuclear non-proliferation. I am sure that the billions of dollars invested by Saudi Arabia in Trump family businesses had nothing to do with the special treatment. Late today, Trump put a condition on the deal which was not in the original signed yesterday and may be a deal breaker for the Saudis. To come to fruition, Trump says that Saudi Arabia must normalize relations with Israel through the Abraham Accords. We will see if a few more billion dollars headed west makes that condition go away.

Every day there is a new outrage. Some policies are just plain bad but can be overcome. Monetary and economic policies can be adjusted or changed. The number one job of a government is to keep its citizens safe. Screw up national security policy and degrade our military and it is extremely difficult to recover before other nations take advantage of our weaknesses, real or perceived.

Please vote in November.