Category: Military

The old line about the NCO corps being the backbone of the military is no lie. They’re the ‘middle management’ where the generic orders of the officers get turned into reality.
In making other ‘woke’ and ‘diversity’ criteria more important than expertise in the specialty and the ability to get the job done, the goobermint has forgotten the lessons of the immediate post-Vietnam 1970s military that was a hot mess until some serious minded Generals and service Secretaries took matters in hand and drastically increased standards.

BLUF:
We’re going to find out that identity politics will destroy the military readiness and combat effectiveness of what was once the world’s premier fighting force. The hard way.

This is How the Pentagon Wokesters are Eroding Non-Commissioned Officer Standards

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin’s “revolution in woke military affairs” continues apace. First, there was the ridiculous 60-day leadership stand-down as the taste of things to come in ferreting out “white nationalists” and other supposed bogeymen in the US military. That process accelerated with Austin’s appointment of fellow West Point graduate Bishop Garrison as “Senior Advisor to The Secretary of Defense on Human Capital and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.” Garrison’s portfolio includes implementing immediate actions to combat “patriot extremism,” as well as the development of the mid-term and long-term recommendations for the continued engagement to combat future patriot extremism in the ranks.” Improve military readiness and combat effectiveness? Fuhgeddaboudit.

Oh, by the way, according to Garrison, “patriot extremists” include those who voted for President Trump in 2020. Is that too extreme? Hardly, as FoxNews commentator Pete Hegseth cover the ongoing “patriot purge” here:

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At approximately 01oo hours over Normandy this day back in 1944, the U.S. 101st and 82nd Airborne divisions executed a parachute assault to delay and deter German forces from countering the Allied invasion forces landing from the sea.

The Rule Of LGOPs, (Little Groups Of Paratroopers)

After the demise of the best Airborne plan, a most terrifying effect occurs on the battlefield. This effect is known as the rule of the LGOPs. This is, in its purest form, small groups of young American paratroopers.
They are well trained.
They are armed to the teeth and lack serious adult supervision.
They collectively remember the Commander’s intent as “March to the sound of the guns and kill anyone who is not dressed like you.” – or something like that.
Happily they go about their day’s work.

Pentagon OKs Chinese Drones Previously Banned over Espionage Concerns

After years of citing potential spying by China via sophisticated drones, the Pentagon has approved the U.S. military to acquire two Chinese-made “Government Edition” drones.

A recent Pentagon report seen by the Hill found “no malicious code or intent” in two drone models manufactured by Da Jiang Innovations (DJI), a Chinese company, and one of the world’s foremost drone makers. The May 6 report, released on Tuesday, concludes that DJI’s drones are “recommended for use by government entities and forces working with U.S. services.”

“This U.S. government report is the strongest confirmation to date of what we, and independent security validations, have been saying for years — DJI drones are safe and secure for government and enterprise operations,” DJI spokesperson Adam Lisberg told the Hill.

Almost 80 percent of all drones used in the United States and Canada are made by DJI.

The Department of Defense green-lighting controversial drones comes after escalating concerns at the federal level around the security of DJI and Chinese drones more broadly.

DJI was added to the Commerce Department’s “entity list” — i.e., the list of bodies considered a “national security concern” — late last year, effectively blacklisting the company.

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An Honor Long Overdue:’ After 70 Years, Ranger Legend Ralph Puckett Receives Medal of Honor

President Biden presents Medal of Honor to retired Col. Ralph Puckett.

ralph puckett army ranger medal of honor

 

The President of the United States in the name of The Congress takes pleasure in presenting the MEDAL OF HONOR to

COLONEL RALPH PUCKETT JR.
UNITED STATES ARMY (RANGER)

for service as set forth in the following CITATION:

for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an armed enemy of the United Nations while serving as Commanding Officer of the 8th Ranger Company, 8213th Army Unit, 8th U.S. Army. First Lieutenant Puckett distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism in action against enemy aggressor forces near Unsan, Korea, on 25 and 26 November 1950.
With complete disregard for his personal safety, First Lieutenant Puckett led his company across eight hundred yards of open terrain under heavy enemy small-arms fire and captured the company’s objective. During this operation he deliberately exposed himself to enemy machine-gun fire to enable his men to spot locations of the machine guns.
After capturing the objective, he directed preparation of defensive positions against an expected enemy counterattack. At 2200 hours on 25 November 1950, while directing the defense of his position against a heavy counterattack, he was wounded in the fight shoulder. Refusing evacuation, he continued to direct his company through four more counterattacks by a numerically superior force who advanced to within grenade range before being driven back.
During these attacks, he left the safety of his foxhole in order to observe movements of the enemy and to direct artillery fire. In so doing, he repeatedly exposed himself to heavy small-arms and mortar fire. In the sixth counterattack, at 0300 hours on 26 November 1950, he was wounded again, so seriously that he was unable to move. Detecting that his company was about to be overrun and forced to withdraw, he ordered his men to leave him behind so as not to endanger their withdrawal. Despite his protests, he was dragged from the hill to a position of safety.
First Lieutenant Puckett’s extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Army.

Irresistible Revolution: Marxism’s Goal of Conquest & the Unmaking of the American Military

Irresistible Revolution is a timely and bold contribution from an active-duty Space Force lieutenant colonel who sees the impact of a neo-Marxist agenda at the ground level within our armed forces. In it, author Matthew Lohmeier provides answers to many important questions that Americans are currently asking: Is systemic racism a reality, or is much of our talk about race merely a rhetorical tool used to divide Americans? Why has the Defense Department suddenly shifted to a focus on extremism within the ranks? Is there really a white supremacy or white nationalist problem within our armed forces? Are the many Diversity and Inclusion trainings that are being conducted in our federal agencies helping solve these problems, or are they creating conflict where none previously existed? What is Marxism, and what does it have to do with all of this?

Though pundits often appear perplexed by current policy decisions being made in our country, our apparent missteps are part of a longstanding plot against America, patiently and methodically pursued by those with a mind intent on the overthrow of the US Government and its replacement with a communist dictatorship. Unfortunately, many of those now furthering that agenda do so unwittingly.

After becoming aware of the Marxist conquest of American society, you will never again look at things in the same way. Mainstream media, social media, the public education system (including universities), as well as federal agencies have all become vessels of various schools of thought that are rooted in Marxist ideology – an ideology bent on the destruction of America’s history, of Western tradition, specifically Judeo-Christian values, and of patriotism and conservatism. Marxism’s sinister and dark agenda has led the country into what some have called a cold civil war. The problem has become systemic, a tragedy considering that the defeat of Marxist-communist ideology was the very cause against which our nation spent great treasures of blood and iron during much of the twentieth century.

The book’s three-part framework begins with a discussion of the greatness of the American ideal (including the importance of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the notions of individual and civil liberties), transitions to an examination of the history and overarching narrative of Marxist ideology (specifically Marx’s and Engels’ Communist Manifesto wherein the oppressor vs. oppressed narrative is developed), and concludes by looking into the ongoing transformation of America’s military culture and military policy, while also providing a warning about where the country is headed if we choose to not make an immediate course correction.

Irresistible Revolution also covers a breadth of hot topics everyone is hearing and talking about – topics that actually have implications for our national security: woke ideology, cancel culture, identity politics, the Black Lives Matter movement, anti-racism, postmodernism, political correctness, and critical and cynical theories, to include critical race theory. Lohmeier’s penetrating and common sense look at current events within our military and across American society is a sublimely unique contribution that is certain to be shared, referenced, and discussed for years to come. Every American, including every US military servicemember, needs to read and understand the Irresistible Revolution.

You can be sure the SloJoe administration is focused like a laser on issues like this.

Space Force CO Who Got Holiday Call from Trump Fired Over Comments Decrying Marxism in the Military

A commander of a U.S. Space Force unit tasked with detecting ballistic missile launches has been fired for comments made during a podcast promoting his new book, which claims Marxist ideologies are becoming prevalent in the United States military.

Lt Col. Matthew Lohmeier, commander of 11th Space Warning Squadron at Buckley Air Force Base, Colorado, was relieved from his post Friday by Lt. Gen. Stephen Whiting, the head of Space Operations Command, over a loss of confidence in his ability to lead, Military.com has exclusively learned.

“This decision was based on public comments made by Lt. Col. Lohmeier in a recent podcast,” a Space Force spokesperson said in an email. “Lt. Gen. Whiting has initiated a Command Directed Investigation on whether these comments constituted prohibited partisan political activity.”

Lohmeier’s temporary assignment in the wake of his removal was not immediately clear.

Earlier this month, Lohmeier, a former instructor and fighter pilot who transferred into the Space Force, self-published a book titled “Irresistible Revolution: Marxism’s Goal of Conquest & the Unmaking of the American Military.”

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Is war in space inevitable?

Here on Earth, the air, land, and sea are zones of conflict, clashes and combat. There is a growing perception that next up is the ocean of space, transformed into an arena for warfare.

There is ongoing chatter regarding military use of space by various nations. The freshly established U.S. Space Force, for instance, is busily shaping how best to protect U.S. and allied interests in the increasingly contested and congested space domain.

What conditions could lead to clashes in space? Is such a situation a given, or can conflicts be short-circuited ahead of time? Could nations “slip into” off-planet muscle-flexing, quarreling and actual warfighting in space that might spark confrontation here on terra firma?

Space.com contacted several leading military space and security experts, asking for their opinions on the current status of the militarization of space.

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Military operations are the great equalizer. Combat cares not one whit about sex, creed, race, color, origin, orientation, or any of the 47 genders. If you have a force that can’t perform, no matter how diverse, woke, or politically correct, you lose. And “…in war, there is no substitute for victory.”

Nearly Half of Female Soldiers Still Failing New Army Fitness Test, While Males Pass Easily

More than seven months after the official launch of the Army Combat Fitness Test, or ACFT, nearly half of female soldiers are still falling short, with enlisted women struggling the most, Military.com has learned. The data again raises questions about whether the Army‘s attempt to create a fitter force is creating more barriers to success for women.

Internal Army figures from April show 44% of women failed the ACFT, compared to 7% of men since Oct. 1. “Female soldiers continue to lag male soldier scores in all events,” according to a United States Army Forces Command briefing obtained by Military.com.

FORSCOM data includes the results of 106,000 ACFTs taken in the first half of fiscal 2021. This amounts to 27% of women and 36% of men in the force who also have scores logged into the Army’s database, meaning the data could potentially be incomplete. FORSCOM tracks 3,400 new fitness tests per week on average.

The Army remains in a beta phase for the ACFT. Until March 2022, scores on the test will not affect soldiers’ careers; officials have said they may implement additional changes before then, including gender-specific standards.

The most difficult event for both male and female soldiers is the two-mile run, with 5% and 22% failing, respectively. The run must be completed within 21 minutes.

While the previous Army fitness test’s two-mile run actually had a more challenging minimum passing time for most age groups, the ACFT’s run takes place after five physically draining events, adding another level of difficulty.

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We’ve warned them enough in the past. They should have been sunk.

12+ Iranian Gunboats Swarm 6 U.S. Warships, Dozens Of Warning Shots Fired

Iranian military gunboats with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, a designated terrorist organization, swarmed several U.S. warships on Monday that were escorting a U.S. submarine.

“Over a dozen Iranian gunboats harass formation of six U.S. warships including guided-missile submarine Georgia,” Fox News Pentagon correspondent Lucas Tomlinson said. “U.S. Coast Guard cutter fired warning shots in response in Strait of Hormuz.”

The 13 Iranian military vessels reportedly came within 150 yards of U.S. Forces, which fired 30 warning shots at the Iranian vessels. Pentagon press secretary John Kirby called the incident “significant” since previous incidents had involved fewer vessels.

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11 days after Kamala Harris says that ‘Only the government should have assault weapons’, an Army trainee hijacks an elementary school bus full of children…….

The 23-year-old suspect was taken into custody.

A Fort Jackson trainee is in custody after allegedly hijacking a South Carolina elementary school bus with 18 children on board while carrying a rifle, authorities said.

The Forest Lake Elementary students and the bus driver are safe, Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said at a news conference.

The 23-year-old trainee’s weapon did not have ammunition, Fort Jackson Commander Brig. Gen. Milford H. Beagle Jr. said at a news conference, adding that the children and driver could not have known that.

Lott called this “one of the scariest calls that we could get in law enforcement.”

The incident began around 7 a.m. Thursday when the suspect allegedly hopped a barbed wire fence and fled Fort Jackson, according to Lott and Beagle.

The children had boarded the bus when the armed suspect, Jovan Collazo, got on and allegedly “told the bus driver he didn’t want to hurt him, but he wanted him to drive him to the next town,” Lott said.

The sheriff’s office released surveillance video from inside the school bus showing the suspect pointing a rifle at the bus driver and telling him to drive.

The bus driver started driving and Collazo brought the children to the front of the bus, Lott said.

“The kids started asking lots of questions to the suspect if he was going to hurt them or the bus driver,” Lott said.

“The suspect got a little frustrated,” Lott said, and the driver pulled over.

After six minutes on board with Collazo, the children and the bus driver got off safely, Lott said.

The suspect then drove the bus for a few miles before abandoning it, leaving the rifle inside, Lott said.

Collazo was spotted by deputies and civilians and was arrested without incident, Lott said. He faces charges including kidnapping, Lott said.

Beagle described the trainee, believed to be in his third week at Fort Jackson, as a quiet 23-year-old from New Jersey. He said it appeared the trainee was trying to get home.

“There is nothing that leads us to believe in his counseling, in his screening records coming in, that this had anything to do with harming others, harming himself or anything that links to any type of nefarious activity,” Beagle said. “We do experience several soldiers that over the course of initial stages have that desire, that anxiety, and due to separation from their families, to get home. We think that was truly his intent and nothing beyond that.”

Richland County School Board Chairman James Manning said, “I’ve been on the board now for over 10 years and I have never received a call that scared me as much as the call that I received this morning — that a bus had been hijacked with our students and staff.”

The students were taken to school “where they received support from school employees and counselors and were reunited with their parents/guardians,” the school district said.

Superintendent Baron Davis said in a statement, “Once we were certain all students were accounted for and physically safe, we immediately began deploying social and emotional counseling resources to the school so that our students could begin the process of healing as they are dealing with a traumatic event. We will continue to provide counseling services for the students and their families, our bus driver and employees as long as necessary.”

Lott praised the bus driver who he said “kept his cool” and “kept the situation calm.”

“His main concern was the safety of those kids and he did his job,” Lott said.

Senator Inhofe is the ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. He ought to know.

Combined China and Russian Defense Spending Exceeds U.S. Defense Budget.

Here’s a myth often repeated: “The United States defense budget is larger than the next 10 countries combined.” You hear it all the time from progressives, led by the Senate Budget Committee Chairman, in their arguments to cut funding for our military. It’s time to remove this false talking point from our vernacular. Here’s the truth: our defense budget is almost certainly smaller than the combined Chinese and Russian military budgets after you adjust for basic economic realities.

Let’s be clear. Because the Chinese and Russians manipulate their defense budgets, measuring their actual spending is very difficult. Both Beijing and Moscow lie about just about everything—the coronavirus, genocide, poisoning political opponents—so it should be no surprise they intentionally hide significant parts of their defense spending. For instance, the Chinese don’t report any research and development spending in their defense budget, and significant portions of their space program and basing costs are omitted. (By comparison, the U.S. R&D budget was about $100 billion, or almost 15 percent of our military budget last year.)

This isn’t a new problem – but our lack of study on it is.

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CHINA’S IRREGULAR APPROACH TO WAR: THE MYTH OF A PURELY CONVENTIONAL FUTURE FIGHT

David Knoll, Kevin Pollpeter and Sam Plapinger

Since early March, up to 220 boats from China’s maritime militia have been moored near Whitsun Reef in the South China Sea. The Philippine government has asked the Chinese government to direct the ships to leave its exclusive economic zone, but Beijing has denied that the ships are part of the militia, saying they are merely “fishing boats” sheltering from sea conditions. These actions fit a recent pattern of Chinese leaders turning to irregular warfare to achieve strategic aims in the South China Sea: China sends its maritime militia to a location in the South China Sea to reinforce Chinese sovereignty claims and then ratchets up control with little involvement by conventional forces.

The actions of the maritime militia are part of a body of evidence that Beijing has embraced irregular warfare as central to its military strategy. Despite this evidence, and a first-rate Irregular Warfare Annex to the US National Defense Strategy (NDS), many in the Pentagon believe that irregular warfare is a relic of the last two decades and that future war will be conventional. Before divesting too many irregular warfare capabilities, however, national security leaders should look closely at what Chinese officials’ words and China’s military actions say about how the People’s Liberation Army might actually fight a war. In fact, leaders should examine how US plans for distributed operations might not be reducing risk, but shifting risk from conventional to irregular threats.

In a recent CNA study, we found that in a future, large-scale conflict, Chinese forces will likely employ a modern and unique irregular warfare concept, focused on information and influence, tightly integrated with conventional capabilities. A return to great power competition does not portend a shift away from irregular warfare to conventional warfare, but rather an amalgamation of the two.

The Past as Prologue: Irregular Warfare as an Integral Part of Great Power Conflicts

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Is the Army Going to Extremes Over Extremism?

Recently, the United States Army Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) created the first-ever Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer position and ordered the Army Extremism Safety Stand-Down. These two measures meant to address what frankly very few within the ranks saw as an issue amongst their peers.

With no clearly defined mission and with absolute abruptness, these D&I officers were shoe-horned into the command structures of units Army-wide, specifically into USSOCOM subordinate units.

The first to hold the failed USSOCOM Diversity and Inclusion Officer position was Mr. Richard Torres-Estrada. He was supposed to be USSOCOM’s slam dunk to appease the ever-growing appetite for the woke social media criteria in today’s military.

Torres-Estrada’s tenure was short-lived. His diversity and inclusion beliefs made their way onto his social media accounts. They revealed him to be a Left Wing ideologue rather than a political moderate — which you would think would be a good idea for anyone you hire to promote things like diversity and inclusion.

Within hours of his appointment, his beliefs were discovered and made public. Within days, USSOCOM spokesman Ken McGraw made the statement, “USSOCOM is aware of the situation, and the command has initiated an investigation.”

McGraw then followed up with a less than meaningful, yet very common, statement to cover for higher-ranked leaders. Torres-Estrada has been reassigned to other duties pending the results of the investigation.

The soldiers wanted to know why this position was created in the first place.

Gold Star Spouses day will be observed on Monday, April 5, 2021.

The terms Gold Star family, Gold Star Spouses, and Gold Star Wives traditionally refer to the surviving loved ones of military members killed in the line of duty in combat. Gold Star Spouses Day was created to honor these loved ones.

Read the Shocking Pentagon Training Materials Targeting Conservatives in the Military

I have obtained a copy of all the materials regarding the sudden new threat of “Extremism” used for training in the United States military. Throughout the services, service members have been shocked at the Biden blitz to root out ideas and people who stand in the way of the administration’s transformative agenda.

One individual in the training told me, “The military is one of the last institutions left that hasn’t been radicalized by the progressives. That’s why it is being targeted now.”

All personnel are being subjected to a PowerPoint presentation packed with progressive ideology and misstatements of the Constitution. Designated officers are conducting the training on bases, stations, and ships at sea. The slides contain misstatements of the law and warped characterizations of fellow citizens who believe in constitutional principles.

The document crafted by the Pentagon for the Navy is called “Extremism Stand Down – Commander Engagements With All Service Members. Discussion Guide 19FEB21.” I have obtained both the slides shown to service members and the training guide for the officers presenting the training.

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