Follow the Line … or Else

CACrabtree
CACrabtree
3412
 

During my days in the military, I was a Senior NCO, which meant it was my responsibility to see that all policies and regulations dictated by DOD and USAF were followed. Sometimes it was as picayune as haircuts and uniforms; sometimes it dealt with more important areas such as communications security. Whatever the issue, it was imperative that it be handled in a professional manner; even if I considered the regulation to be somewhat foolish.

Sometimes this could be difficult. My junior enlisted folks were not stupid and they instinctively knew when someone was trying to blow sunshine up their nether regions. I always strived to be the type of NCO that could be counted on for honesty, if not popularity.

Late last week at the McClatchy website, I read there were a number of enlisted troops who questioned the DOD’s latest moves geared toward rooting out “extremists” in the ranks. Many, if not most, of the questions concerned the equivalence between the events of January 6 at the Capitol and the riots of last summer in several US cities.

Evidently, senior leadership at the Pentagon was flummoxed by the questions (as well they should have been). So, it was up to the Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (AF Chief Master Sergeant Ramon Colon-Lopez) to try to put a happy face on this idiocy. In a statement to reporters, the Chief stated:

Those are very, very tough conversations to have with people because sometimes they’re emotional about the subject…. We cannot confuse a First Amendment grievance because of social injustice organization (BLM) and some of the criminals that latched on to go ahead and loot, destroy and commit other crimes. There’s two clear, distinct groups right there.

So, there we have it. Since Chief Colon-Lopez was clearly speaking for the Joint Chiefs, it is now a certainty that our military has plunged into the world of “woke” politics with both feet.

To me, this is indescribably sad. The military has absolutely no place in justifying killing, looting, and burning in our cities. Yet, one of the highest-ranking enlisted people in our military is doing just that. Chief Colon-Lopez is no REMF; he is a highly decorated combat veteran who has risked his life for our country. Now, he has become part of the woke circus that has permeated the very organization that we depend on to defend us.

Even more ominous is the news that the Pentagon is “also weighing whether any additional mechanisms are needed, such as ways for service members to confidentially report potential extremist behavior within their units.” It used to be that unit cohesion was one of the most important things that we strived for. Now, it appears that the leadership is looking for ways to tear units apart.

There will be only one way to stop this madness. Somewhere in our military, people with stars on their shoulders will need the moral courage to stand up and say, “Enough.”  As I look through our military, I am not seeing these people.

Sad; totally sad.

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  1. KCVolunteer Lincoln
    KCVolunteer
    @KCVolunteer
    4:28 PM EDT ⋅ Mar 24, 2021

    Those are very, very tough conversations to have with people because sometimes they’re emotional about the subject…. We cannot confuse a First Amendment grievance because of social injustice organization (BLM) and some of the criminals that latched on to go ahead and loot, destroy and commit other crimes. There’s two clear, distinct groups right there.

    I thought it was interesting, his use of the term “latched on”. That’s seems awfully sexist. I’ve mostly heard it used in the sense of, latched on to the teat. So, fitting that the criminals are given a pass, because they’re latched on to the mother organization.

    Not to mention that there were no real attempts to stop the looting, even though small entrepreneurs, many people of color, were the ones disproportionately damaged by the crimes. But that would seem to be a feature, not a bug. Target can survive a few of their thousand(s?) of stores being looted, but not Mom and Pop. Each small store lost decreases the size of the middle/independent class.

    It’s all part of their goal to leave only two classes. The ruling class and the lower class.

    • #31
  2. Chuck Coolidge
    Chuck
    @Chuckles
    9:08 PM EDT ⋅ Mar 24, 2021

    Skyler (View Comment):

    CACrabtree (View Comment):

    Chuck (View Comment):

    I shared a link to this discussion with my best friend, whom I have known since his birth. Here is what he had to say:

    The military has been gradually becoming more “woke” as the years roll by. If you remember I wrote Air Force promotion tests until I retired in 2014. We kepts stats on every question on every test. If a question was missed by a disproportionate percentage of minorities it was reviewed by a select panel of my peers to ensure it wasn’t written in a way that was ‘unfair” to anyone not white. Whites were not allowed on the panel. All of us test writers, regardless of color, used the same test writing standards and the questions were reviewed many times before they became a part of any test. But we would still get challenges saying certain questions were biased. The upper ranks, both enlisted and officers, have always been, for lack of a better word, political. The Senior Enlisted Advisor mentioned in the article didn’t get that position because of his undeniable bravery in combat or leadership abilities, he got it because he would do what he was told or as the title says, “Follow the Line..or Else.”

    Interesting comments about Air Force promotion tests. Thanks.

    I’m pretty sure promotion boards work the same way. I never served on a promotion board. I suspect it would not have gone well if I had and procedures such as this were in place.

    I see from https://s3.amazonaws.com/static.militarytimes.com/assets/pdfs/1616433520.pdf there is now an assigned Manager of Equal Opportunity (CMEO)within the different commands which is expected to battle “harassement and discrimination” on account of “race, color, gender (including gender identity), sexual orientation, national origin, and religion.” Just curious when this came about, I did find a Navy directive on it from 2007.  Could this be the harbinger of the Political Officer that @GeezerBob suggested?

    • #32
  3. Skyler Coolidge
    Skyler
    @Skyler
    11:23 PM EDT ⋅ Mar 24, 2021

    Chuck (View Comment):

    Skyler (View Comment):

    CACrabtree (View Comment):

    Chuck (View Comment):

    I shared a link to this discussion with my best friend, whom I have known since his birth. Here is what he had to say:

    The military has been gradually becoming more “woke” as the years roll by. If you remember I wrote Air Force promotion tests until I retired in 2014. We kepts stats on every question on every test. If a question was missed by a disproportionate percentage of minorities it was reviewed by a select panel of my peers to ensure it wasn’t written in a way that was ‘unfair” to anyone not white. Whites were not allowed on the panel. All of us test writers, regardless of color, used the same test writing standards and the questions were reviewed many times before they became a part of any test. But we would still get challenges saying certain questions were biased. The upper ranks, both enlisted and officers, have always been, for lack of a better word, political. The Senior Enlisted Advisor mentioned in the article didn’t get that position because of his undeniable bravery in combat or leadership abilities, he got it because he would do what he was told or as the title says, “Follow the Line..or Else.”

    Interesting comments about Air Force promotion tests. Thanks.

    I’m pretty sure promotion boards work the same way. I never served on a promotion board. I suspect it would not have gone well if I had and procedures such as this were in place.

    I see from https://s3.amazonaws.com/static.militarytimes.com/assets/pdfs/1616433520.pdf there is now an assigned Manager of Equal Opportunity (CMEO)within the different commands which is expected to battle “harassement and discrimination” on account of “race, color, gender (including gender identity), sexual orientation, national origin, and religion.” Just curious when this came about, I did find a Navy directive on it from 2007. Could this be the harbinger of the Political Officer that @ GeezerBob suggested?

    That’s been in place for decades.  

    • #33
  4. KCVolunteer Lincoln
    KCVolunteer
    @KCVolunteer
    4:52 AM EDT ⋅ Mar 25, 2021

    I’m not sure how this revolution happens. Can the wealthy and corrupt really lead the masses to accept a peoples’ state with them at its head? I know they have managed to keep most ignorant of the benefits of capitalism, but have they also managed to keep the same people blind to the true religion of Marxism? If they pull this off calling us sheep will be an insult to sheep.

    • #34
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