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The Purge Is Picking Up Steam
All of us who have served in the military know the drill; when a (lawful) order is given, that order will be carried out even if we think it’s a load of bull. And, many times, we knew that we might have to “sell” that order to our subordinates, as long as it was not at the cost of our own credibility. If we could not do that, then it was time to look for another line of work.
Last week, at the 11th Space Warning Squadron, at Buckley Air Force Base, CO, a Space Force O-5 (Lt. Col.) found out what the price was for not “toeing the line.” LTC Matthew Lohmeier was relieved of command of his squadron due to “loss of trust and confidence in his ability to lead” (which is the all-purpose reason for such actions in the military).
The real reason? A “70-page booklet of talking points” concerning “extremism” that was given to Lohmeier with the expectation that he immediately disseminate it to his troops. For Lohmeier, it was a bridge too far. He slapped together a self-published book titled, Irresistible Revolution: Marxism’s Goal of Conquest and the Unmaking of the American Military and, somewhat unwisely, proceeded to discuss the book on a podcast. (Interestingly enough, the book is becoming a best seller on Amazon and at Barnes & Noble; highly unusual for a self-published work.)
As we all know, in the military, the nail that sticks out is swiftly pounded down. In Lohmeier’s case, his beliefs were determined to be wildly out of touch with the prevailing view in DOD, so it was determined that his career had to be shelved.
We can only expect more of the same. With the creation of a new post at the Pentagon (“Senior Advisor to the Secretary of Defense for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion”), there has come a clear mandate that all “extremists” must go immediately. I believe that person, Bishop Garrison, will become the military’s Torquemada and will ruthlessly expel any military member, from O-10 to E-1, who is deemed to have “extremist” views. (Particularly troubling is the newly-minted category of deviancy known as “Patriot Extremism.” What?)
Will the purge reach the levels of Pre-WWII Stalinist Russia? Stay tuned.
Published in General
If something can be done within authorized channels, then great; but if not, doesn’t the public deserve to know? And who else is going to tell us? Certainly not the higher-ups!
Clifford, Boss, both of you are correct; LTC Lohmeier was out of line with his actions. That being said, I believe that there’s more to this particular situation; much more.
I thought back to some of the more notorious examples of insubordinate behavior; Billy Mitchell and Douglas McArthur; then more recently John Singlaub and Stanley McChrystal. (All were examples of intelligent men whose loose talk, rightly or wrongly, ended their careers.)
With the above individuals, it was relatively easy to see that they crossed a bright line; one that had been clearly established. Now, I believe that line is being moved depending on political whims and that our military has to be concerned not only with speaking out of line but thinking out of line.
Boss, I don’t believe that LTC Lohmeier was ignorant of his operational environment. Based on what I’ve been reading this morning, he has a pretty good grasp of what’s going on. He’s not an idiot; before transitioning to the Space Force, he was an instructor pilot and a F-15 fighter jock. His academic background is solid; he’s punched all of his tickets, AFA grad, Air Command and Staff College. His paper: “The Better Mind of Space” (below link) indicates to me that he is definitely not a second rate mind.
I believe that he made a conscious choice that what he was doing was a potential career-ender; he may even have his end-game in mind.
Clifford, I’m not sure that, in today’s environment, the IG route was even a possibility. In fact, I think that if LTC Lohmeier had gone to the IG, it would have ended his career, perhaps a bit slower. The same goes for the route that COL McSally took. The paradigm has changed; perhaps forever.
I saw today that the “Extremism Steering Committee”, chaired by Bishop Garrison, is establishing a social screening pilot program which will “continuously” monitor military personnel for “concerning behaviors”. Does that sound like the military that we have served in?
https://www.airuniversity.af.edu/AUPress/Display/Article/2363974/the-better-mind-of-space/
https://theintercept.com/2021/05/17/military-pentagon-extremism-social-media/
That’s the question that should be answered when judging the Colonel’s chosen approach. What was his objective and was this the best way to get there? To say he should have followed the disciplined example may not meet the objectives sought.
Indeed, maybe what he did was “like sending up a flare,” to quote Star Trek (TOS).
I ran across an interesting quote this morning (pertaining to LTC Lohmeier) while I was scanning some military bulletin boards:
“The society that separates its scholars from its warriors will have its thinking done by cowards and its fighting by fools.” – Thucydides
Is that where we are heading?
I don’t doubt it. I know some of the guys that have been pulled over to Space Force; not a dummy among them. I believe he knew what would happen. What I don’t know is his risk/reward calculus.
I think we are there. Trump revealed a lot regarding law enforcement and intelligence gathering at the federal level. Work has been going on within the military for at least a couple of decades and lookout what has been going on with voting. Maricopa County is corrupt and several states have the same indicators if we go by the last election. I think the Colonel got this about as right as he could.
I think we’ll be finding out shortly. I noticed that he didn’t waste any time getting on FOX news to plead his case. I think we’ll get the most information from the Senior NCOs of his squadron when/if they speak out.
Well, we do know the situation right now is very critical for our country and, within the military ranks, the purpose of the new directions is to weed out the ‘extreme’ patriots who stand by their oath to the republic and the Constitution.
They’re handing out free genitalia?
In some places that’s also getting to be a good reason – at least financially – for going to prison: “three hots and a hot” (but no avocado toast, except maybe in the People’s Republic of California) and they’ll pay for your “transition” drugs and surgery!