Politics is the water the military flags live in. So, this general is by definition a politician. Whether it is his default position or something he overcame to get to where he is now is a legitimate question. The WSJ opinion page of late more resembles the NYT opinion page than in the past. So, if they are sliming him, odds are the are doing so at the behest of "the swamp" and current disgruntled flags...and a few who recently retired (some early). I'd personally do a deep dive on him if they were proclaiming "he is exactly what the Army needs!". Sad to say, finding a "good" apple in a barrel with a lot of rotten ones is no easy task. But it is where the US military finds itself today.
When I read the inexperience quote, my head immediately went to Arleigh Burke as well. And then on the rule-following point, I remember having to have a meeting of a bunch of our chiefs and officers because of the prevalence of sailors wearing colorful fun socks instead of black boot socks. Many khakis defended them on grounds of morale and mental health. What happened to standards? Sigh.
Right. There’s good precedent for these things, like we would do Fun Hat Fridays underway (never when pulling in or out of port) and you could wear a different ball cap than the command cover. But it was command approved, not rogue sailors.
Several years ago I saw a picture of some soldiers in A'stan in the field who appeared to be under fire. One of them was wearing a bright red shirt that would have been conspicuous on the deck of an aircraft carrier. To this day I cannot imagine how any NCO or officer allowed that man to possess such a garment, much less wear one IN THE FIELD. And "tossing cans of beer at the soldiers running in formation"? A "hard line" attitude seems to be long overdue.
If I had to pick a bone it would be his two advancements under Biden. That would signal me that the woke ideology was carried out with a bit more enthusiasm than suggested. OTOH, I am enthusiastic about having more senior officers from other commissioning paths than the academies.
"What about the booing at All-American Week?" If General LaNeve had have told the whole gathering, "Drop and give me 50!" he'd have been a legend and a shoo-in now to be the next Army Chief.
"Ummm…I think “…strictly enforcing rules…” is pretty much an officer’s job, especially in garrison. Why the other two items are even up for debate is silly. "
Because it's actually depend on situation, and there were a lot of historical examples of officers who insisted on enforcing meaningless rules "because they are rules!", without actual consideration, how those rules relate to specific situation. I do not argue that it's the case with LaNeve, just that it may be a possible explanation.
I would like to point out to The Porch that members of the Left-Handed Lithuanian Navigator Association have higher than average test scores, fewer members who have had to receive remedial training, and fewer incidents at sea than other Navigators.
My daughter is a QMC underway as of yesterday. She’s a member of the ‘Swedish Meatball Society of Immigrants of the 1880’s’ who brought their amazing recipes from the old country.
And she says ‘there’s the right way, the wrong way, and the Navy way!’
Obeying orders. Enforcing standards. I feel like a lot of NCOs have let down their commanders, which is where the micromanaging comes from. Dude sounds like a good choice.
Consider the plight of our USN and how a cabal of Chiefs on the Manchester decided to set-up their own betting parlor within the Chiefs Mess by installing a Starlink antenna and then lying about it when confronted; never mind obvious OPSEC issues. If such news like this broke cover, how many other either more serious or more trivial issues parallel other goat lockers, no wonder certain O's feel they have to be more 'hands-on'
My daughter is a QMC underway as of yesterday. She’s a member of the ‘Swedish Navigator Meatball Society of Immigrants of the 1880’s’ who brought their amazing recipes from the old country.
And she says ‘there’s the right way, the wrong way, and the Navy way!’
The general does have a point about beards. Beards and gas masks (or firefighting masks) do not go well together. Vaseline can help, but when you need a mask, you really need it, and matting down the beard with goo takes time that may not be available.
Dating myself here, I had a beard for some time while on active duty. When I got put on the firefighting team, I shaved it off and stayed clean shaven from then on. My OBA had enough issues with keeping a good seal without having facial hair interfering.
Sal, you are gravely mistaken in believing that the WSJ represents serious journalism.
It is a mouthpiece of the Koch Brothers and others like them who want open borders and free trade to secure cheap labor and goods.
Hit pieces on Trump or his lieutenants in the WSJ are just their way of asymmetrical warfare.
They want the GOP to be the party of Wall Street not Main Street and they are weeping over the RINOs who are dropping like flies Their motto is damn the American people full speed ahead.
Sadly the WSJ which used to be a bastion of conservative (not necessarily GOP) viewpoints amongst the media's broadsheets, has matched The Bulwark in its attempt to be 'the opposition of reason'
Lara has a BA in English literature which tells you all you need to know about her qualifications. She probably wants revenge for the sacking of Admiral Lisa who has a degree in journalism.
My memory is that Lara had a top-tier reputation in her niche of military reporting. Moving to the WSJ was not as bad as going to, say, The Atlantic, or the Washington Post, or even the NYT. But it was not a good move, reputationally. IMO
I suppose that Lara's moving to the WSJ from Politico was a step up for her. Her reporting has not reflected any improvement. I made a comment to her once about that, and she took offense. Sorry, Lara, but the Gold Standard WSJ of twenty years ago no longer exists. The WSJ is biased against Trump, and it shows in the news and opinion pages.
There is zero chance that Lara's reporting will not have to adhere to the current WSJ standards. Unless she wants to be job hunting again.
Politics is the water the military flags live in. So, this general is by definition a politician. Whether it is his default position or something he overcame to get to where he is now is a legitimate question. The WSJ opinion page of late more resembles the NYT opinion page than in the past. So, if they are sliming him, odds are the are doing so at the behest of "the swamp" and current disgruntled flags...and a few who recently retired (some early). I'd personally do a deep dive on him if they were proclaiming "he is exactly what the Army needs!". Sad to say, finding a "good" apple in a barrel with a lot of rotten ones is no easy task. But it is where the US military finds itself today.
Senior officers are political appointees. They must be approved by the Senate.
I saw this article next to one by a propagandist paid by NGOs (and somehow still writing freelance for the WSJ) and shook my head.
As the WSJ should know, when you start throwing shit around, you inevitably get covered in it yourself.
I appreciate your pushback on this trash.
I love your close regarding him having “skin in the game”. If only more of our leadership and journalist classes did!
When I read the inexperience quote, my head immediately went to Arleigh Burke as well. And then on the rule-following point, I remember having to have a meeting of a bunch of our chiefs and officers because of the prevalence of sailors wearing colorful fun socks instead of black boot socks. Many khakis defended them on grounds of morale and mental health. What happened to standards? Sigh.
It's called a uniform for a reason.
That said, I find no issues with the USAF tradition of morale patch Fridays (which does have rules).
Right. There’s good precedent for these things, like we would do Fun Hat Fridays underway (never when pulling in or out of port) and you could wear a different ball cap than the command cover. But it was command approved, not rogue sailors.
"Many khakis defended them on grounds of morale and mental health."
This is the kind of thing a likely female kindergarten teacher would say
I've heard them referred to as Coffee cup holders LOL
Several years ago I saw a picture of some soldiers in A'stan in the field who appeared to be under fire. One of them was wearing a bright red shirt that would have been conspicuous on the deck of an aircraft carrier. To this day I cannot imagine how any NCO or officer allowed that man to possess such a garment, much less wear one IN THE FIELD. And "tossing cans of beer at the soldiers running in formation"? A "hard line" attitude seems to be long overdue.
If I had to pick a bone it would be his two advancements under Biden. That would signal me that the woke ideology was carried out with a bit more enthusiasm than suggested. OTOH, I am enthusiastic about having more senior officers from other commissioning paths than the academies.
note that he got the 82nd to command. likely the premier job for a light inf guy. clearly, he wasn't tarnished by Jan 6
Maybe he can read the wind well.
He also had a chain of command above him and had to obey orders. I did things that I was ordered to do that I didn't agree with.
"What about the booing at All-American Week?" If General LaNeve had have told the whole gathering, "Drop and give me 50!" he'd have been a legend and a shoo-in now to be the next Army Chief.
"Ummm…I think “…strictly enforcing rules…” is pretty much an officer’s job, especially in garrison. Why the other two items are even up for debate is silly. "
Because it's actually depend on situation, and there were a lot of historical examples of officers who insisted on enforcing meaningless rules "because they are rules!", without actual consideration, how those rules relate to specific situation. I do not argue that it's the case with LaNeve, just that it may be a possible explanation.
I would like to point out to The Porch that members of the Left-Handed Lithuanian Navigator Association have higher than average test scores, fewer members who have had to receive remedial training, and fewer incidents at sea than other Navigators.
My daughter is a QMC underway as of yesterday. She’s a member of the ‘Swedish Meatball Society of Immigrants of the 1880’s’ who brought their amazing recipes from the old country.
And she says ‘there’s the right way, the wrong way, and the Navy way!’
She’s actually a stickler for the rules too.
Obeying orders. Enforcing standards. I feel like a lot of NCOs have let down their commanders, which is where the micromanaging comes from. Dude sounds like a good choice.
Consider the plight of our USN and how a cabal of Chiefs on the Manchester decided to set-up their own betting parlor within the Chiefs Mess by installing a Starlink antenna and then lying about it when confronted; never mind obvious OPSEC issues. If such news like this broke cover, how many other either more serious or more trivial issues parallel other goat lockers, no wonder certain O's feel they have to be more 'hands-on'
My daughter is a QMC underway as of yesterday. She’s a member of the ‘Swedish Navigator Meatball Society of Immigrants of the 1880’s’ who brought their amazing recipes from the old country.
And she says ‘there’s the right way, the wrong way, and the Navy way!’
She’s actually a stickler for the rules too.
The Lithuanian Navigators have nothing on her.
Super well written: thanks.
Hold on a minute... Military style discipline in the military? What WILL they think of next?
The general does have a point about beards. Beards and gas masks (or firefighting masks) do not go well together. Vaseline can help, but when you need a mask, you really need it, and matting down the beard with goo takes time that may not be available.
Dating myself here, I had a beard for some time while on active duty. When I got put on the firefighting team, I shaved it off and stayed clean shaven from then on. My OBA had enough issues with keeping a good seal without having facial hair interfering.
And then getting all that goo out of your beard. That sounds like about an hour in the shower to me.
cant imagine having a petrol product on my face in a fire zone
You must have been part of the Zumwalt era if you had a beard.
Oh, apparently I should have just read the comments before asking my question. 🤣
Thanks for answering 8 hours before I asked! 🤣
Sal, you are gravely mistaken in believing that the WSJ represents serious journalism.
It is a mouthpiece of the Koch Brothers and others like them who want open borders and free trade to secure cheap labor and goods.
Hit pieces on Trump or his lieutenants in the WSJ are just their way of asymmetrical warfare.
They want the GOP to be the party of Wall Street not Main Street and they are weeping over the RINOs who are dropping like flies Their motto is damn the American people full speed ahead.
Sadly the WSJ which used to be a bastion of conservative (not necessarily GOP) viewpoints amongst the media's broadsheets, has matched The Bulwark in its attempt to be 'the opposition of reason'
Trump’s greatest accomplish may well be restoring the two party system. No more uniparty.
Not yet. The old country club Republicans remain a force. MAGA needs to get rid of ties to that group and define itself as a separate party.
Lara has a BA in English literature which tells you all you need to know about her qualifications. She probably wants revenge for the sacking of Admiral Lisa who has a degree in journalism.
My memory is that Lara had a top-tier reputation in her niche of military reporting. Moving to the WSJ was not as bad as going to, say, The Atlantic, or the Washington Post, or even the NYT. But it was not a good move, reputationally. IMO
I suppose that Lara's moving to the WSJ from Politico was a step up for her. Her reporting has not reflected any improvement. I made a comment to her once about that, and she took offense. Sorry, Lara, but the Gold Standard WSJ of twenty years ago no longer exists. The WSJ is biased against Trump, and it shows in the news and opinion pages.
There is zero chance that Lara's reporting will not have to adhere to the current WSJ standards. Unless she wants to be job hunting again.
The feminization of the WSJ is complete. A silly and unserious article.