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Submitted via IRC for Runaway1956
The Pentagon could be poised for a rapid about-face under the Trump administration, with the Obama administration's push for social reform surrendering to what could be an old-school emphasis on combat readiness and the spirit of the United States military, experts told FoxNews.com.
Under President Obama, the military sought to integrate transgender persons into the ranks, allow women into special operations forces and purge the nomenclature of gender-specific words, adopting what some critics say was a "politically correct" liberal agenda. That's a contrast to the traditional U.S. military approach.
In addition, some Navy ships have been named for civil rights activists. And while the Obama administration has taken an inclusive approach on some issues, it has also worked to minimize expressions of Christianity in the ranks. For example, several officers have been disciplined for displaying Bibles or gospel verses in their quarters.
Veterans and military experts told FoxNews.com that, while some of Obama's civil rights advancements may be locked in, neither Trump nor his choice for secretary of defense, Gen. James "Mad Dog" Mattis, are likely to make social experimentation a priority.
Source: Fox News
(Score: 3, Interesting) by hendrikboom on Friday January 13 2017, @10:19PM
As I understand it, under Obama the U.S.'s combat readiness improved markedly. The previous administration had used up the military on futile wars.
Admission of women and gays has nothing to do with combat readiness except that it increases the pool of volunteers to recruit from.
(Score: 2) by Username on Friday January 13 2017, @10:29PM
From my understanding the military always admitted gays. It was just don’t ask don’t tell.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 13 2017, @10:47PM
Don't be dense.
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 13 2017, @10:55PM
The "Don't ask don't tell" was a liberal policy that was pushed on a largely unwilling military. Before that, IIRC people could actively be investigated and charged if there was enough evidence that they were gay.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Friday January 13 2017, @11:10PM
Don't ask, don't tell was a construct offered to the military by Bill Clinton. Prior to that pearl, being homosexual was grounds for discharge. In the bad old days, I believe a homosexual got an Undesirable discharge. In my day, homosexuals were mostly given General discharges, with the phrase "Convenience of the Navy" attached.
Acceptance of homosexuals was coming, no matter what the old skool, hard corps soldiers and sailors had to say. My own complaints aren't that homosexuals are serving - my complaints are targeted at Obama's general interference in the military's way of doing things. Being conservative doesn't mean we don't change - it means we change slowly, with a lot of thought and planning in the changes. Liberals in general seem to believe that the whole world owes it to them, to change overnight.
Abortion is the number one killed of children in the United States.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 14 2017, @12:06AM
> Liberals in general seem to believe that the whole world owes it to them, to change overnight.
Conservatives in general seem to believe that the whole world owes their personal inconvenience more weight than the actual suffering of people who are not them.
(Score: 1, Flamebait) by Runaway1956 on Saturday January 14 2017, @12:28AM
Yes - I can see that people who aren't permitted to serve are suffering. So, did you even TRY to enlist? Or, are you just cry-bullying without any special qualifications?
Abortion is the number one killed of children in the United States.
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 13 2017, @10:32PM
The previous administration had used up the military on futile wars.
We're currently involved in several different unnecessary military interventions. Most democrats seem to love war like republicans, but just express that love with smaller wars and bombings.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Friday January 13 2017, @11:04PM
"As I understand it"
Well, Obama is most certainly going to tell you that. Some liberal minded people have motivation to tell you that. The people who profit from the military industrial complex are going to tell you the same.
Meanwhile, our government spends ungodly sums of money on unproven hardware. Many senior NCO's have complained that standards are being lowered. The numbers of soldiers and sailors has dropped - the term "dramatically" seems to apply.
I realize this is a tech site, and most of us are in love with technology. We, as a group, like to believe that all that technology somehow improves our combat readiness. But, I remind you that bombs don't win wars - boots on the ground win wars. The grunts, the people at the sharp end of the stick, enforce our will. Bombs and other technology can sometimes break the will of the enemy, but they can't be counted on to do so.
Osama bin Laden was dug in, in the mountains, and we dropped load after load after load of bombs on him. With all of our technology, we couldn't get bin Laden. He sat in his trenches, and mocked us. We were afraid to pick up that sharp stick, and go get him.
Combat readiness. It all depends on how you measure combat readiness. Why don't we ask some grizzled old master sergeants what they think of our readiness? I may make that a project in the near future.
Abortion is the number one killed of children in the United States.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 13 2017, @11:16PM
You could have got OBL in no time if you had sent in the 1st Transgender Battalion (their motto: "Hell in a skirt, or pants... whichever one God didn't intend us to wear when we were born")
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Friday January 13 2017, @11:40PM
You may be making a better point than you think. ISIS/ISIL/DAESH soldiers seem to truly fear being killed by the Kurd's women soldiers. Being killed by a "mere" woman threatens their chances of getting into paradise. A transgender batallion would have a bunch of Muslims quaking in their boots.
Abortion is the number one killed of children in the United States.
(Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Friday January 13 2017, @11:47PM
If you think about it, shouldn't men wear skirts and women wear pants? I mean, ONE of us has got external genitalia and it's not me. Maybe men would be less pissy and angry if their wedding tackle weren't always smashed up into their body cavities by their clothes. Let it breathe a little, you know? They wear 'em in Scotland and everyone's fine with it (except the sheep).
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Friday January 13 2017, @11:25PM
? It's been about 30 years since I obsessed about military subjects, but I recall having a technical edge makes a very large difference in your military success. The Third Reich rolled right over Poland not because their guys were so much braver and better than the Poles, but because the latter were leading cavalry charges against panzers, Stukas, and mechanized infantry. Having a fleet of nuclear submarines and many carrier battlegroups has been quite helpful to the United States as a superpower. Yes, you can't expect to drop those advanced weapons in a field and expect them to operate themselves, but neither could you drop SEAL team 6 naked in front of jihadis wielding AK's and expect them to do anything but get mowed down pretty instantly.
There is a lot of graft, corruption, and excess in military procurement. It should and must be better policed. But when you really think about the price we'd pay for not constantly honing our military technical edge, it's a cost much higher than we'd probably be willing to bear.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Friday January 13 2017, @11:44PM
Oh come on now, that's liberal commie pinko illegal Muslim Jew atheist Mexican traitor-speak. You don't need machines; you need to make Runaway Commander In Chief Plus Infinity Plus One. Then he'll win all the wars. It's like what would happen if a bald eagle with a couple of thermobaric explosives in the shape of Mountain Dew bottles strapped to its waist would do if it could put in the Konami Code.
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Phoenix666 on Saturday January 14 2017, @12:02AM
It reminds me of the scene from All Quiet on the Western Front when the protagonist gets leave to go home, where the old men treat him to advice on how to win the war.
Yeah, I don't know if including trans- or gays in the military is necessarily what the Pentagon should spend its time thinking about, but neither could it hurt military readiness as much as underpaying your soldiers to the point where they need foodstamps to survive or invading countries you don't need to invade...
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 14 2017, @12:50AM
Yaaa, the military shouldn't blame the people, they should blame congress. I'm glad the soldiers are being squeezed (don't lynch me just yet!) because at least they are getting the American experience so they're less likely to blindly follow everything when the shit hits the fan.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 14 2017, @12:48AM
Careful now, if you pop Runaway's little bubble to fast his hands will shrink and he'll start talking at a 3rd grade reading level.
(Score: 2) by bradley13 on Saturday January 14 2017, @09:22AM
"As I understand it, under Obama the U.S.'s combat readiness improved markedly. The previous administration had used up the military on futile wars."
Futile wars? You mean, Obama hasn't had any of those? You must be living in a different reality from me... [mintpressnews.com] That articles doesn't include all the minor little conflicts, military advisors, etc. As for combat readiness? Certainly one way to improve combat readiness is to have combat-experienced troops, so you may well be right.
"...used up the military..."
That is such a silly statement I hardly know where to begin. Go learn some military history. At least have a look at military deaths [militaryfactory.com]. US casualties have been very low in every conflict since WWII, and the size of the US economy means that logistics are also not a genuine issue. The way the US loses wars is through lack of civilian or political support. Which is not a bad thing, mind you, but it has nothing at all to do with the military itself. In fact, it would be even better if lack of civilian/political would prevent the US from entering these conflicts in the first place.
Everyone is somebody else's weirdo.
(Score: 1) by Chrontius on Saturday January 14 2017, @11:44AM
I'm gonna stop you - by only looking at military deaths, you ignore the fact that we're making cyborgs at an alarming rate, because our guys are surviving what would have been mortal injuries thanks to advances in body armor, field medicine, and prompt surgical treatment.