Has the military been undermined under the current administration?

2015-07-30T09:43:08-04:00

I hesitated in posting this but it is a powerful article, it just needs to be taken in context:

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/jul/29/james-lyons-military-undermined-by-budget-reductio/

Do you think the military has truly been undermined and that our allies no longer trust us and our enemies no longer fear us?

JAMES LYONS: Military undermined by budget reductions, social engineering

When President Obama announced that he was going to “fundamentally transform” America, not many Americans understood the full depth of that statement. Based on an assessment of his policies over the last six and half years, clearly one of Mr. Obama’s objectives has been to diminish America’s standing and leadership role throughout the world. One result has been that our allies now don’t trust us and our enemies don’t fear us — the worst...

Response by Sgt David G Duchesneau made Jul 30 at 2015 9:44 AM

2015-07-30T09:44:10-04:00

Yes it has!

Response by Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS made Jul 30 at 2015 9:57 AM

2015-07-30T09:57:28-04:00

By definition the military cannot be undermined by the government in that it is a tool of the Government. This is a cart before the horse issue.

The government, through its policies may make it a less effective tool, that is true, but the same can be said of the People and the Government. It's when we reverse the order there is a problem.

I hate to phrase it this way, but it doesn't matter if the government "undermines" the military. It only matters if the military fully supports the policies of the government. It's when we don't, that is when our system is broken beyond repair.

If SecDef says "We're going to start enlisting Lions tomorrow. Figure out integration." the answer is "Aye, Aye Sir" We don't have to like. That's not a requirement for what we do. Historical data shows that an extremely "regimented" (pun intended) society, like the military, is just adverse to change. Change has to be forced upon us. Racial integration had to be forced upon us. Gender integration had to be forced upon us. Orientation integration had to be forced upon us. And guess what, in every single one of those, we adapted and overcame, because that's what we do.

As for allies & enemies. That is a separate issue, and falls more on the political spectrum, than the military side. Again, the military being a tool of diplomacy (the government).

Response by LTC Kevin B. made Jul 30 at 2015 10:04 AM

2015-07-30T10:04:29-04:00

No, I don't agree with his perspective. Our military is still a very effective combat force, and both our allies and enemies know that. The budget reductions have been a bipartisan impact, since both parties helped with implementing the Budget Control Act of 2011, both parties failed to reach a consensus on how to reduce the deficit (which led to the sequestration), both parties passed the temporary 2-year budget under the Ryan-Murray plan, and both parties are unwilling to reach a bipartisan solution to the budget moving forward. The book is still out on how/if the "social engineering" will impact the military. I have seen no evidence that shows it has positively or negatively impacted morale, readiness, and/or combat power. Some people are unhappy about it, that's for sure. However, individual unhappiness is not evidence of reduced morale, readiness, and/or combat power.

Response by SMSgt Tony Barnes made Jul 30 at 2015 10:08 AM

2015-07-30T10:08:29-04:00

The military is undermined every time a Democrat gets into office...at least in the last 40 years.

Response by LTC Bink Romanick made Jul 30 at 2015 10:22 AM

2015-07-30T10:22:27-04:00

Absolute bullshit. The Washinton Times is a right wing rag with little credibility. We got it .. The democrat black president tried to break the stranglehold that the interest groups have on the country's common man and the interest groups tried to neuter any change.

I read an article this morning about declining intelligence in the officer corps.. Guess that it was correct.

Response by SSgt Alex Robinson made Jul 30 at 2015 10:52 AM

2015-07-30T10:52:18-04:00

The military and law enforcement have not been given black eyes by the current administration. They're us as tools and not people.

Response by MSgt James Mullis made Jul 30 at 2015 11:08 AM

2015-07-30T11:08:04-04:00

No the "Military" has not been undermined, but its not for lack of trying. I believe that many of the decisions and actions taken by the Obama Administration have been aimed at ensuring that the United States no longer has the ability to take unilateral action against an enemy. Has it worked in a substantive or permanent way? I doubt it. Very few civilians understand the awesome power of massive institutional momentum and the DoD is one massive organization.

Response by PO3 Steven Sherrill made Jul 30 at 2015 11:56 AM

2015-07-30T11:56:21-04:00

First off, the "deafening silence from the joint chiefs of staff" is understandable. If anyone civilian, military, or other were to tell their boss that he was making horrible decisions one after another, they would be fired. In the case of the Joint Chiefs, you are talking about ending your military career in humiliation, 20 plus years flushed down the toilet. So I do not blame them for being silent. Unspoken words cannot be held against you.

40,000 military layoffs is the only number you need to look at to say that absolutely Mr. Obama not has, but IS undermining our U.S Military, our national honor, our standing in the world, our ability to fight a war, and our ability to avoid a war simply because of our military might.

I did a paper in third grade on Millard Fillmore. I had a hard time finding anything significantly good that he did. Mr. Obama is worse than that. I can list things that he has done to bring our nation into decline.

Worst of all, his undermining of the United States Military is not even his worst offense. Under his administration, the nation has no faith in itself. Between race wars, police shootings, the (not so) "affordable" health care act, his "beer summit," and more he has shown that he is so far removed from the American People that he cannot effectively lead them.

Making this whole thing worse is that neither party has the balls to stand up to him. The democrats don't want to rock the boat, and the republicans are just biding their time until the next election cycle.

We The People are PISSED OFF! Why else would a crazy person like Donald Trump be a front running candidate for either party? It is because the American People do not want another politician in the White House. I am a firm believer that every president, senator, representative, and supreme court justice should be mandated to carry a copy of the U.S. Constitution on their person at all times. They should be required to demonstrate a working knowledge (not memorization, but at least knowing where to find the information) so they can use that as a guide. I know that is a dream, but that would be the first thing I would do if I was elected to office. Hel, you could use that as political tool if you wanted to. Imagine the publicity an elected official in Washington would receive if that person from their PERSONAL funds purchased a copy of the constitution for all of their colleagues. That would be newsworthy. They would be all over the press. Free advertising. IF they actually used the constitution for something other than leveling coffee tables and toilet paper, we could have avoided the situation that we find ourselves in right now.

Response by SSgt Khanh Pham made Jul 30 at 2015 12:45 PM

2015-07-30T12:45:55-04:00

Not exactly. We need a strong economy to support an expensive military. I notice most military are concerned with inflating budget for their own need, but neglect the total need for the nation. The army with $1trillion budget will get that money from what bank account? Shall the nation take out additional loans on top of our current loan to bankroll the military expenditure?
Downsizing cannot be avoided at this time. For many many reason, most of all sustainability of our national bank account which is massively in the red.
Before we worry about the massive military budget as is, we probably need to address the corruption inside the rank. Corruption posses are greater threat than any funding issue (US military still has more asset that its closest enemy or ally. For every 1,000 troops, 800 are parasites/passing through, 100 are industrious, 100 are undoing the work by the industrious (this is really close to reality). The age of bureaucracy have reached its natural point of termination.

If you read this article, understand that the author has it out for Obama. THe issue has nothing to do with Obama. He's a name for a position. The Washington machine does not revolve around Obama. The faction to reduce military budget existed before and after Obama.

Military thinker permeates every level of government these days. There is not an agency not influenced by military mindset. THe problem may be the poor quality of those military mindset in position of influence all over government.

As for military priority, America Military biggest disadvantage is its requirement to follow law. At the same time, its biggest advantage is the lawful requirement of that army, making it legit and just. However, the heritage of the profession of arm is lost. I hold personally high regard to the ranks of generals. They are well read, well tempered, and know much of the working of our world. The revolving door, politics in regard to ensuring the revolving door works in their favor have undermined operation from the lowest rank to the highest rank. the quality military man are few and far in between.
The famous line my corrupt MSgt with a Master degree stated, "I may have to work for these people after I retire, I don't want to burn ANY bridges". Base on that logic, what kind of military do you think we will have? in time of peace? in time of invasion? in time when their family are held hostage?
Again, I think the military should move the discourse away from budget decrease. Focus on accountability, transparency, and reestablish the military as a "Professional" military ARM of the government.

Response by Sgt Mitchell Sporar made Jul 30 at 2015 8:28 PM

2015-07-30T20:28:44-04:00

The military itself is still the best trained, best insertion, best defense, and best reactionary force in the world.

However - with regards to the budget, politically, and publicly - the current administration undercuts the military at every turn.

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Jul 31 at 2015 4:19 PM

2015-07-31T16:19:49-04:00

I blame them partly for making the ME worse off now. ISIS came out of a destabilized Syria. We give the green light to Turkey and they are killing Kurds who are essentially the only entity to fight and beat ISIS. What do they have, interns providing the campaing vision to the generals?

Response by PO1 John Miller made Aug 1 at 2015 9:04 AM

2015-08-01T09:04:30-04:00

To a certain extent yes, particularly the nuke deal with Iran.

The rest of the points of the article, not so much. Gays and transgender especially. They have been serving the military pretty much since it's inception, so I really don't see the problem there.

Response by CW5 Mark Smith made Dec 4 at 2022 3:41 PM

2022-12-04T15:41:56-05:00

Yes. Wokeism.