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Legit question: How/what did Obama due to gut the officer corps? Was it policies implemented that caused people to leave because they didn?t like the direction or something else?Originally Posted by Singlestack
Policies implemented, key appointments with particular values (senior flag level positions are nominative with senate conformation), leads to service policy changes, mandatory trainings, etc. The military is an up or out type system, you can only be passed over for promotion 3 times before they say farewell.
It was a massive top down cultural shift. You see it manifested now in the political class of retired generals and admirals who have lost their principles for the favor of the DC bubble.
Spent 25yrs total in an Army uniform, never met an ?extremist?. Met people who were from every corner of this country, and some foreign countries, who just wanted to serve. Had a few bad apples from a conduct side (alcohol, drugs, domestic challenges, etc) but the military is not free from societies foibles. Extremists? Never met a single one. Then again, the depends on how the left defines that term for this purpose.
Just my take on what I saw before retiring in 2015.
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Thanks, I assumed it was something more subtle than what is being described in the article. I appreciate the insight.
Family member was a mustang in the army. Mustang is enlisted that becomes officer. West Point no less. Army purged out almost all mustangs out of officer corps in 2016. No reason given. he was contemplating joining a possible class action lawsuit as it destroyed his dream of completing his 20 and then teaching at west point. In retrospect he now suspects it was politically driven instead of a standard drawdown.
That?s messed up to dump people actually committed to the mission.
Officers are indef, I believe. They can serve 20+ (assuming rank gates) or as needed. It’s different with enlisted.
His “mustang” status (which originally meant a battlefield promotion I think?) is immaterial. He was an officer. They serve as needed.
Might have been political. Might have been he wasn’t a true blue ring knocker. Might have been needs of the Army. No way to know this side of the curtain.
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It is terrible to contemplate how few politicians are hanged. - The Cleveland Press, March 1, 1921, GK Chesterton
No, not necessarily, or even usually, a battlefield promotion. Just enlisted who went to OCS, or sometimes enlisted who got out, went to college on their GI bill, and then re-enlisted. There are a WHOLE lot of mustangs who did the 4-yr enlisted tour, then college with or without ROTC. It's much more common than most people think, but still a minority of the total officer corps.
My cousin Rob did a stint in the Army as enlisted to Iraq and Afgh. early in the GWOT, went airborne, then SF. Got out after 6, got his BS on the GI Bill, and then a law degree and went back in as a JAG CPT.
A chick I used to know did 4yrs as enlisted, got her BS aerospace engineering degree on the GI Bill then re-enlisted and got flight school and a direct commission in Naval Aviation.
"The only real difference between the men and the boys, is the number and size, and cost of their toys."
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My main point was that prior enlisted experience is immaterial to someone’s officer status, not the rarity of an O with prior E. They’re simply officers and have no set ETS date. They only incur service obligations but can submit REFRAD (release from active duty) at any time (which may be denied or approved). Plenty of officers get purged with their year group and it has nothing to do with personal politics (though certainly is impacted by national politics).
Re: the term mustang, I never really heard the term used while in. Given the sturdy glass ceiling which once existed, most mustangs were battlefield commissioned until recent social memory. The term might now be more broadly applied, but the historical reality is college and service academies were generally for a certain class of individual and most mustangs were promoted due to heroics and demonstrated leadership.
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It is terrible to contemplate how few politicians are hanged. - The Cleveland Press, March 1, 1921, GK Chesterton
I'm sure that's what it was. There are a lot of things to bitch about in the military but politics from the White House generally stops with the FO/GOs. What we've seen however is a general shift in values reflective of the general shift in society at large. No surprise there, officers and enlisted still generally see the same movies, watch the same TV shows, listen to the same musicians as the rest of the population. It may take longer but the Leftist indoctrination that has taken over mass media, the education system, the legal system, the entertainment industry, even "science" has infiltrated into the services albeit at lower levels.
I still see kids who want to serve the country but they may be less quick to see Soviet-style propaganda at work, more ready to accept pronouncements from late night comedians and TV reporters than us old farts.
I was (and still am) offended by the allegations against military members and veterans coming out of the Clinton and Obama White Houses. It does seem like there are more violent groups with military-style training than there used to be but we've had video games, YouTube videos, and boot camps for people to learn skills. Beyond that, I still say the experience this past summer shows it's the Leftist groups that seem the most violent -- I don't give a damn what lies the media spews.
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