The US Military – A Fish Rotting from the Head

NO! This is a terrible article, and disrespectful to our President, civilian leadership and many military leaders! Sure - we have problems with budgets and challenges going forward, but this sort of alarmist, politically-slanted blame-mongering is not an accurate picture of our current leaders or our military capabilities!!

CSM, I couldn't take it. This article reminds me of that "SoldierofSteel" guy who bitched and moaned about the Army and when it all was stripped away, he was bitching about not making SFC, so he gets out. The military does have many of the problems the author mentions, always have, always will. What he didn't mention that in order to keep a military at a "top notch" level of readiness, it costs money. We're running low on it, and even with us like we are, we're still spending more than the next 10 countries combined? The problem is where are we spending the money. If you took out the BS pet programs, the needless TDY's, put teeth into contracts that make severe penalties for non compliance or missed POA&M's, that's money we can invest back into our services. If we did an honest reassessment of our global responsibilities and where are we needed vs. where we want to go, we'd see that we are not needed as much as we think we are, and the argument of using us as "influence" falls flat. Can't be doing too much influencing doing a long ride through Europe to show that "we're still here"....today, and next month it'll be someone else. Russia damn sure didn't feel the need to do a "ride" through anywhere. China is doing it's thing in the Pacific, and the countries over there are asking for US to intervene? Why don't you use this new high speed idea....send your OWN Navy out there and rattle a few sabers for a change. I'm DAMN sure there are many leaders in the services who would LOVE to get out and do some cool shit in the field, do an all day gunnery, even a night one. Just go to the crew serve range and just allow the troops to unleash some frustration with the .50cal. Move the tanks more than six feet to ensure they move on their own before putting them back on line. But we can't. Too many hands in a small pot, and the hands that are in there are civilian pushing the military ones out. I also disagree with the military "rotting" away. There is NOT a shortage of troops in this country. There isn't a shortage of men and women who are willing to come back and beat the brakes off anyone who messes with us. We're not rotting at all. But unless we can really dig in hard, do that check up from the neck up, we're going to remain stagnant no matter who is in office next year. I remember visiting big posts and looking at the motor pools thinking WOW.... freaking awesome. I've seen some more and now I still think WOW...they haven't moved those POS in at least two weeks with all that dust on them.
BTW is there any way someone can tell 2CR to stop destroying everything they own? It was funny the first fifty times on FB, but between them and I believe 173rd with the airborne vehicles that weren't jump qualified turning into dirt darts, maybe it's best that they do leave everything alone, in place, on line in the motor pools?

I read this article and this person wants to harken back to the days the military had virtually unlimited funds, you didn't had to be PC or sensitive to a service members needs, and everyone "stayed in their lane and "knew their role."
Sadly, this ain't the post WWII military.
The military has, is, and will continue to change. Stating that the US military is a fish rotting from the head" is disrespectful to the leadership, potentially toxic rhetoric to subordinates, and typical of someone that will not suffer the consequences for saying things like this.
Do we have toxic and sub-standard leaders in our military? Yes and we always will BUT that is a battle that should be waged by those leaders STILL in The Uniform, not some armchair quarterback that will suffer no blowback if some young Trooper parrots this...individual's opinion.
BLUF if you aren't a part of the solution, you are a part of the problem and sadly this person doesn't want a well though out and rational solution but a salted and scorched earth approach. Like it or not, the military will keep changing long after we're gone and whining about it not being the military you remember is just that: whining.