Growing the US Navy becomes a problem when it can’t maintain its current enlisted end strength. The Navy missed its enlisted sailor first term recruitment goal by 7,464 In 2023.
Because the trust has been broken with the fleet due to the experimental forced jabs and the continued trajectory of loss of confidence and faith in navy flag officers.
Add the lie of "free healthcare for life if you do your 20", "high 3 and 40% at 20", the complete hollowing out of Navy hospitals, Bengazi, Wokeism, and who can forget (or should forget) the exit from Afghanistan? No, our military is like the New York Mets without a Casey Stengel. I never knew anyone personally who was spit on returning from Vietnam, sure it happened, but not to me. Saw a brass band greet ships in Subic Bay coming back from Eagle Pull/ Frequent Wind. Had a brass band greet my ship coming back from Desert Storm. Our Commander in Chief checked his wristwatch 3 times while the caskets of the 13 dead from the Kabul bombing passed by. Have heard enough anecdotal stories to believe that merit is no longer a lead factor in promotion. This wound to recruitment was self-inflicted.
Well said, Dale. Curious about your inclusion of "the lie of "free healthcare for life if you do your 20", "high 3 and 40% at 20"". I dont see the lie in those, what am I missing?
Good catch, COL, more a "semi-lie" or maybe a bait & switch. Every diligent Command Career Counsel I ever met (and I was one myself for several years) had a tickler file and knew who was coming up on an EAOS (ETS for everyone non-Navy). The promise was always "free healthcare for life" as an incentive to do 20. I retired in July 1991 after 26 years. In September 1991 I got a letter from the Navy inviting me to join an HMO, for which my retirement check would be dunned, or I could "Go eff myself" and find my own healthcare. I am paraphrasing, of course, but that's how it read to me. It was about a year after that, that MOH winner Colonel Bud Day was in court here in Pensacola arguing the people's case that retirees had been promised "free healthcare for life" since almost forever by recruiters and career counselors and that Congress was wrong to abrogate that. God bless Colonel Day, a magnificent man to watch in the courtroom and an American hero. The government won with the argument that there was nothing in writing...just some promise made by little people not in the know. I was grandfathered in to a decent retirement and got 65% at 26. Those who joined after me got 40% of their base pay at 20 based on an average of their last 3 years base pay. They all knew Congress sort of screwed them even if they were part of the new all volunteer military and joined willingly. So yes, it was no lie. Did the Civil Service take such a cut? I don't think so. Military folks know when the Big BOHICA comes around. They can perceive how valuable they are to TPTB. They only have to look around and see illegal border crossers who get big debit cards, free travel and lodging and very likely a life of indolence in perpetuity at the taxpayer's expense. When my gizzard gets galled I tend toward hyperbolizing. Sorry.
Roger, makes sense now. I came a good bit later than you and, by that time the messaging about retirement and veterans benefits pretty much matched the reality. The gripe or disparity was largely about the quality of execution of those benefits, not their basic terms. I also did most of my time during an era of increasing (not constricting) veterans benefits which also colors my perspective.
PS - I'm adding "buy Dale Flowers a night's worth of beers and just listen" to my to-do list.
Federal Civil Service retirement was radically changed for anyone hired after 1982. Under the old Civil Service Retirement System, you could pull the plug at 55 years of age/30 years service, get about 55% of your high three years. More, if you stayed longer.
The Federal Employee's Retirement System gave people a pension of about half that, plus TSP (a 401k-like program), plus Social Security (Ha!).
Yes, as alluded to in my 2nd comment - the major issue w/ veteran retirement and benefits now is shit delivery, rather than misleading representation of what the benefits are, as it sounds like was the case during Dale's service era
Certainly, this is a first-world problem however, "free" is a couple of hundred dollars a year plus co-pays of $36 each time outside of military treatment facilities. No dental unless you join FEDVIP, again outside with co-pays. Space available at mil treatment facilities, however DHA is downsizing staff (so no space available) so only active duty is provided care and, in some cases, even active duty are referred out to network because there isn't staff.
I was on a Med hold at Nuke school in Orlando and would make weekly trips over to the hospital. It was always great to see the retirees there. You would get some excellent sea stories in the waiting room.
China is a Great Power, and has its own interests. If those are opposed to the permanent interests of the United States, opposing them happens. Our concern is when it goes beyond things that can be written off, and starts looking like organized hostile intent.
But I was thinkg about speaking softly and carrying a big stick as oppsed to making noises when most of your ships can't make it out of port or even defeat the rag tag Houthis.
It is interesting that, if we can believe The Other Sal's report today, both Russian black fleet tankers and vessels squawking that they are "Chinese owned" are getting a pass through the Bab al-Mandab. Will vessels flying the Chinese flag in the 21st century create the same pause among pirates and regional powers that the British flag did in the 19th century? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RSH3jhSvHM
The idea that Russia or China would ever side with us against the other was always a Foggy Bottom fever dream.
Only people who do not understand Russia would buy into that.
Russia is really good at lying and telling our diplomats what they want to hear.
Foggy Bottom is really good at projecting and assuming everyone else shares our values. They are also subconsciously racist and assume the 'white' Russians are just like all other Europeans.
There was a time, about 15 seconds long, when there was the potential for Russia to come closer to Europe and the US, right after the USSR collapsed, but it was a Roulette wheel moment, and the actual chance that might have been accomplished was always minute.
Russia, and the Russian elite, are NOT Europeans, never have been. Not culturally, and they certainly don't see themselves that way.
Russia will be an enemy, open or closeted, of the USA until the day China becomes the dominant global super-power, at which point they will slowly shift.
But the idea that Russia would be anything other than a partner to China while the USA is the global superpower, or even still in the running, is simply nonsensical, and is based on an assumption that Russian elites will think like and value the same things as western elites.
They DON'T.
Keep in mind, I think team Biden are IDIOT'S.
But they didn't 'drive Russia to China'.
In fact, I think team Biden is more pro-China than most understand, and our inadvertent support of Ukraine (Biden and Co. wanted Russia to win initially, and the problem to go away, and got trapped into supporting Ukraine) simply peeled back the layers of lies a bit, to reveal that the authoritarian countries which see the US as an impediment to their perceived rightful place in the world are always going to find a way to use their relationship to hurt us.
I'm not saying they are bound to be best buddies or allies. but they will always find ways to cooperate to our detriment, and neither will ever openly help us against the other.
Nixon and Kissinger were WRONG. They brought about the China we face today.
With respect, your assessment of Russia as our 'ally' is incorrect.
Imperial Russia was an ally of the Western powers against Germany in WW1. Imperial Russia ceased to exist with the start of the Russian Revolution, and we entered the war 2 months after that. The new USSR withdrew from the war and made peace with Germany. The US was never formally 'Allied" to Russia during WW1. We also sent small numbers of troops to aid the Czarist forces (White Russians) against the Red's in 1919-1921. That worked out GREAT and helped cement the idea in the minds of the Russian elite that America was an enemy.
Also, Imperial Russia was GOVERNED by a Russian Elite that was far more Euro-centric than the elite which arose after the Revolution and the oligarchy of the current Russian 'Federation'. Most of those Euro-Russians of the late 19th century were killed off during the revolution or fled to Europe. The resulting 'new elite' are purely Russian and virulently anti-European and anti-American.
In WW2, the USSR was an ally of convenience only. They started out as an ally of Germany (Molotov-Ribbentrop, anyone?), and only when Hitler attacked them did the US and UK start to treat Stalin as an ally, but it was always a 'lesser evil' and there were many who felt we should have styed at war with the USSR once Germany surrendered.
The people of Eastern Europe paid a price for our war fatigue. My in-laws grew up in Ukraine and Romania respectively under communism. Trust me when I say most Americans have no clue how bad life under communism in Eastern Europe was post WW2.
And even during WW2, internal USSR records show they perceived their alliance with the US as temporary, and that they anticipated fighting us in the future.
As Lenin once said "The capitalists will sell us the rope with which we hang them."
You are correct and incorrect at the same time. Putin is not Stalin, but he has the same approach to accumulating and keeping power, and while he is no communist, he IS an authoritarian who believes Russia's rightful place was denied to it by the USA, and is intent on reforming the USSR (minus communism) as a new Russian Empire.
I'm not making this up. Putin and his lackeys say this shit ALL THE TIME. When someone tells you who they are, believe them.
As far as methods, Putin and Stalin are near twins. Neither has ANY sense of the value of individual human life, and is willing to achieve their aims over a carpet of bodies, be they Russian or enemy.
Chairman XI is MORE like Mao than ANY Chinese leader since Mao. He is not the same person, true, but he is far more authoritarian, has stayed in power far longer, and continually expresses support for Maoist thinking and philosophy.
So in fact, of ALL the people who have led Russia and China since Stalin and Mao, Putin and Xi are the MOST like those previous leaders.
At the end of the day, EVERY authoritarian thug is another Hitler. The only thing that made Hitler special was that he happened to have a great deal of early success and that he specifically targeted the Jews resulting in the modern perception of the Holocaust
...btw, I'm a hard core supporter of Israel and the Jews. I'm simply saying that Stalin and Mao both killed more people than Hitler. Hitler just is remembered for the special horror that was his targeted killing of one specific people (even though he killed many more who were not Jews as well).
Pol Pot, Idi Amin, Mao, Stalin, Hitler, Saddam, The Ayatollah, Assad, Putin, The North Korean family of butchers, etc..
At the end of the day, the only difference is the numbers killed and what groups they came from, and that has far more to do with where they operated and the means available to them, than with how good or evil they were.
Sounds to me like Putin wants to make Russia great again.
I have no doubt that there is evil in the world, but like Lincoln at his Second Inauguration I would be careful about passing judgment on others or as Muhammed Ali once said "No Vietcong ever called me n*****."
"At the end of the day, EVERY authoritarian thug is another Hitler." Like the Highlander, there can only be one Hitler. I agree that Hitler is the poster boy for evil. If you look at just wholesale killing of the general population, Hitler is a distant third. I'm not defending Hitler, I am just pointing out how overused the comparison is. Most people don't even recoil when Stalin and Mao are mentioned; it's as if Hitler sucked all the air out of the Evil Room. It will be interesting, in an academic way, to find out how many have perished in North Korea under the rule of the Kim family.
I am generally an anglophile, but I've always been shocked and amazed that three of Victoria's grandsons could have launched, inadvertently or not, the near apocalyptic destruction of Europe brought about by the two world wars (I tend to view the second as the conclusion to the first).
We got involved in WWI and WWII, and then stayed involved in Europe after the latter, because we really, really didn't want any one power to dominate Europe.
I generally concur, although I think through the 60s and 70-s there was enough opportunity for friction between China and USSR to make various overtures to each. I also think that brief period in the early 90s was the only chance to maybe bring the Russians closer to the West for a while
I found Pillsbury's 100 Year Marathon to be an interesting overview of the mistakes made wrt China over the past many decades ( https://thehundredyearmarathon.com/).
Russian is not the US' friend, but the US didn't have to make it its enemy. Maybe when US Senators stop spouting off about the "killing Russians the best money ever spent" nonsense can things cool off. But Russia will never yield to the Globo-HomoEmpire.
Russia made themselves the US enemy. Czar Putin has made clear to his domestic audiences that the US is the enemy of Russia for more than a decade. His spokespersons on Russian TV routinely describe the US as their enemy
There are literally only 2 ways in which you could not understand this, and neither is very flattering for you.
Maybe if Russia stopped threatening all their neighbors and acting like they were entitled to set policy and chose the leaders in neighboring countries, then so many of them wouldn't feel like joining NATO in order to have some degree of protection from Russian aggression.
RUSSIA are the ones driving smaller countries to NATO and Russia is the one making the US an enemy.
Oh, and to add to my point below, neither Russia nor China has ANY problem admitting clearly to their people, their military or the world that the USA is their #1 enemy.
Why do people insist on pretending that we should not return the favor?
Russia has made the USA the center of their domestic rabble rousing claptrap since before 9-11.
Both nations DESPISE what the USA represents and our place at the head of the global economy. Both nations see the world in zero-sum terms (typical of authoritarian mindsets) that dictate they CANNOT achieve the greatness they believe they are destined to achieve UNLESS the US is dethroned. They are incapable of seeing a world in which they can be successful alongside us.
Ergo, right or wrong, their zero-sum perspective becomes forced reality, because no amount of 'believing' in the alternative will change their actions.
So, either the USA remains the global economic superpower, or China (more likely) or Russia (less likely) knocks us from our perch and we suffer - greatly.
That's the real world. Could I be wrong? Of course the potential always exists, but history and the data strongly suggest I am not. And the consequences of false belief that this is not true are that the USA is economically destroyed.
The leftwing equivalent to "neocon chicken hawks" must be progressive desk jockeys who think if we simply refuse to acknowledge reality, it will change.
It'd be great if we could choose between civil servants who are neither John Bolton nor Cornelius Fudge.
Sal, I agree. Overall, this is far better than it could have been - for that matter, than we have any right to expect from a service chief in this administration.
I also would like to point out 3 words I did NOT see, anywhere in this missive.
Diversity, Inclusion, Equity
That may not seem like a big deal, but given how overbearing the DIE commissars are, the fac that this made it out without ANY reference to that nonsense suggests to me that Adm. Franchetti may actually be someone serious.
No doubt, there were voices in her staff that implored her to name-check those issues.
She didn't. She made clear a purpose focused on (in my words, not hers) "breaking shit and killing people on behalf of the US of A"
This was a breath of fresh air (tinged with the optimistic potential for the smell of napalm)
Per Navy Times article, Navy's plan (typical knee jerk effort) is to offer $$ to increase SWO retention. I did not know anyone in the service that was there for the $$, except for a few that were looking at what is essentially a golden retirement package. (esp. since the civilian world has almost totally gone to 401K's vs a define benefit package). What is needed is an improvement in Quality of Life issues. Housing, pay/expense reimbursement reliability and efficiency, robust & ease of internet connections (secure & non-secure), longer PCS stays, focus on family life assistance, reduce meetings/paperwork BS, etc. Not magic, but none of the services seem to GAS about Quality of Life, just throw $$ at the problem.
I’m not disagreeing, but I think quality of life has been conflated with quality of service. If serving was fun, if serving was meaningful and if serving was rewarding personally then a lot of this would take care of itself. If leadership was genuinely concerned for their Sailors, rewarded them, had the resources to provide meaningful material improvements with top rate equipment, provided their Sailors with discipline and were allowed to exercise their judgment and authority at the lowest levels, then maybe quality of life would follow the increased quality of service.
If I had to choose between the two, I’d take QOS every time.
I agree, though In my mind the QoL was QofS- it they were data on a Venn diagram the variance would be minimal. Serving does involve sacrifice, and doesn't mean that it cannot be fun. That sacrifice has to be for a meaningful goal, not just to meet some social metric or primarily to improve the advancement for their superiors.
I guess I was lucky during my four years. Other than the occasional and inevitable FUBAR, I had fun, job satisfaction and believed in my mission, what I and my crew were accomplishing. Admittingly, this was during the early 70's so it was a different time. I peaked at E-5 so my world view was thru that soda straw.
The navy’s decline in the last 15 years has been exponential. The forced social justice training and the emphasis on looking for a problem that doesn’t exist institutionally such as labeling your subordinates as potential rapists, racists and extremists has inculcated a ROT in the ranks. The flags have not only condoned it silently, they perpetuate it by demanding the stop light charts be green in all areas of this so called “ training” when they are too ignorant or complicit in seeing that it’s not training, it is actually indoctrination. The group punishment because of the actions of one had also manifested itself in the festering puss wound of Marxism. As one ensign once wisely described it to me: “one person shits his pants, we all have to wear the diaper..”.
OK. So, when do we get to see the actual on-the-deckplates changes that will be needed to implement these fine ideas? Or will this simply be more Potomac Fleet hand waving? If this one can resolve the problems we see with rusting ships and overworked, unqualified, and in some cases unprofessional crews, I’ll be impressed. Otherwise, she’s just keeping the seat warm until her relief reports onboard.
I'd hate to run this through a plagiarism detector. Impression is it's pretty standard boilerplate, and doubt anything much different would be approved for release. Regarding naming of names, as a very large chunk of our naval resources are in / recovering from / or fragged to go to the middle east, don't see any mention of the former Persian Empire. Off limits? North Korea not mentioned either, but I suppose we could lump them in with the PRC. No mention of DEI, double plus points for that. Wonder how much recruiting numbers are concerning the senior staffs these days...
Yea, verily on "warfighter". ditto "hero" (unless it's for actual valor)...and, sigh.....the "thankyou for your service" routine (just my VietNam take)
and so; the article. Lots of talk, lessee the walk.
(and, I'll go first.....heck with little 'ol CNO.......Nomination for next/new SECDEF! )
I also agree on the overuse of hero. What really gets my goat though is flying the flag at half staff for every minor person/incident. It should be reserved for profound individuals and events.
More people and ships, definitely. How fast, though? OSVs with NSM strapped down and a couple SeaRAM and MGs? Others with towed arrays and ASW helicopters? Or just get more people, train them as techs and keep the maintenance up on what we've got?
A lot of people on this site have said or will say that they are happy there is no mention of DEI in this message. I would not be uncorking the champagne bottles just yet as I know how the far Left works. I suspect that the pollsters have told the WH that DEI has become a losing issue espeically among ethnic whites and the word has gotten out to tone down the rhetoric during this election season. I think it would be best to judge the new CNO by what she does and not what she says.
Or, it could be the fact that under President Biden's administration the United States has the strongest economy in the developed world.
There are objective measurements. Compared to pre-pandemic levels, households are now less likely to be delinquent on their credit card bills and mortgages, and more likely to have health insurance. Households are facing fewer evictions and foreclosures than there were before the pandemic, and bankruptcy rates are lower as well.
It is a simple verifiable fact. You can look up bankruptcy filings, and they are a measure. Before the pandemic they were higher than now.
It’s funny that the righties hate Biden for all the things conservatives say they value; caution, carefulness, and slow deliberation.
"A new ATTOM report paints a concerning picture, with foreclosure filings reaching 124,539, which marks a 28% surge from the last quarter and a significant 34% rise year-over-year. Delving deeper into the monthly data, September alone saw an 11% increase in foreclosure filings, up to 37,679 properties."
Credit card debt is at record highs. Only 49% are paying their cards off each month.
Subprime auto loan delinquencies are at the highest rate since 2008.
Yes, let's look to see if a bunch of the commissariat are let go over the next few months. Otherwise, it's just a lack of words that might annoy people, but no change in policy
Growing the US Navy becomes a problem when it can’t maintain its current enlisted end strength. The Navy missed its enlisted sailor first term recruitment goal by 7,464 In 2023.
Thats a entire aircraft carriers worth and more.
Because the trust has been broken with the fleet due to the experimental forced jabs and the continued trajectory of loss of confidence and faith in navy flag officers.
Add the lie of "free healthcare for life if you do your 20", "high 3 and 40% at 20", the complete hollowing out of Navy hospitals, Bengazi, Wokeism, and who can forget (or should forget) the exit from Afghanistan? No, our military is like the New York Mets without a Casey Stengel. I never knew anyone personally who was spit on returning from Vietnam, sure it happened, but not to me. Saw a brass band greet ships in Subic Bay coming back from Eagle Pull/ Frequent Wind. Had a brass band greet my ship coming back from Desert Storm. Our Commander in Chief checked his wristwatch 3 times while the caskets of the 13 dead from the Kabul bombing passed by. Have heard enough anecdotal stories to believe that merit is no longer a lead factor in promotion. This wound to recruitment was self-inflicted.
Well said, Dale. Curious about your inclusion of "the lie of "free healthcare for life if you do your 20", "high 3 and 40% at 20"". I dont see the lie in those, what am I missing?
Good catch, COL, more a "semi-lie" or maybe a bait & switch. Every diligent Command Career Counsel I ever met (and I was one myself for several years) had a tickler file and knew who was coming up on an EAOS (ETS for everyone non-Navy). The promise was always "free healthcare for life" as an incentive to do 20. I retired in July 1991 after 26 years. In September 1991 I got a letter from the Navy inviting me to join an HMO, for which my retirement check would be dunned, or I could "Go eff myself" and find my own healthcare. I am paraphrasing, of course, but that's how it read to me. It was about a year after that, that MOH winner Colonel Bud Day was in court here in Pensacola arguing the people's case that retirees had been promised "free healthcare for life" since almost forever by recruiters and career counselors and that Congress was wrong to abrogate that. God bless Colonel Day, a magnificent man to watch in the courtroom and an American hero. The government won with the argument that there was nothing in writing...just some promise made by little people not in the know. I was grandfathered in to a decent retirement and got 65% at 26. Those who joined after me got 40% of their base pay at 20 based on an average of their last 3 years base pay. They all knew Congress sort of screwed them even if they were part of the new all volunteer military and joined willingly. So yes, it was no lie. Did the Civil Service take such a cut? I don't think so. Military folks know when the Big BOHICA comes around. They can perceive how valuable they are to TPTB. They only have to look around and see illegal border crossers who get big debit cards, free travel and lodging and very likely a life of indolence in perpetuity at the taxpayer's expense. When my gizzard gets galled I tend toward hyperbolizing. Sorry.
Roger, makes sense now. I came a good bit later than you and, by that time the messaging about retirement and veterans benefits pretty much matched the reality. The gripe or disparity was largely about the quality of execution of those benefits, not their basic terms. I also did most of my time during an era of increasing (not constricting) veterans benefits which also colors my perspective.
PS - I'm adding "buy Dale Flowers a night's worth of beers and just listen" to my to-do list.
Federal Civil Service retirement was radically changed for anyone hired after 1982. Under the old Civil Service Retirement System, you could pull the plug at 55 years of age/30 years service, get about 55% of your high three years. More, if you stayed longer.
The Federal Employee's Retirement System gave people a pension of about half that, plus TSP (a 401k-like program), plus Social Security (Ha!).
So yes, the Federal workforce got hit, too.
The health care is from the VA.
Good luck
Yes, as alluded to in my 2nd comment - the major issue w/ veteran retirement and benefits now is shit delivery, rather than misleading representation of what the benefits are, as it sounds like was the case during Dale's service era
Certainly, this is a first-world problem however, "free" is a couple of hundred dollars a year plus co-pays of $36 each time outside of military treatment facilities. No dental unless you join FEDVIP, again outside with co-pays. Space available at mil treatment facilities, however DHA is downsizing staff (so no space available) so only active duty is provided care and, in some cases, even active duty are referred out to network because there isn't staff.
My point is that my generation of retirees were never promised free comprehensive health care for life.
I was on a Med hold at Nuke school in Orlando and would make weekly trips over to the hospital. It was always great to see the retirees there. You would get some excellent sea stories in the waiting room.
I believe it was ill-advised for her to name names.
It only draws those names closer together.
The worst thing this administration did was undoing Richard Nixon's greatest accomplishment of separating Russia from China.
The neocon chicken hawks in their think tanks do not seem to understand that we cannot fight the entire Eurasian land mass.
China is a Great Power, and has its own interests. If those are opposed to the permanent interests of the United States, opposing them happens. Our concern is when it goes beyond things that can be written off, and starts looking like organized hostile intent.
Then we should just say what our interests are and why rather than going out of our way to antagonize another nation.
The Kaiser was brilliant when it came to antagonizing other nations and it help turn former foes into close allies against Germany.
I’m not clutching my pearls. A spade is a spade. About time we were direct and blunt.
Remember what Teddy R. said.
"A good Navy is not a provocation to war. It is the surest guaranty of peace?" 🤪
Good one.
But I was thinkg about speaking softly and carrying a big stick as oppsed to making noises when most of your ships can't make it out of port or even defeat the rag tag Houthis.
It is interesting that, if we can believe The Other Sal's report today, both Russian black fleet tankers and vessels squawking that they are "Chinese owned" are getting a pass through the Bab al-Mandab. Will vessels flying the Chinese flag in the 21st century create the same pause among pirates and regional powers that the British flag did in the 19th century? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RSH3jhSvHM
Respectfully disagree.
The idea that Russia or China would ever side with us against the other was always a Foggy Bottom fever dream.
Only people who do not understand Russia would buy into that.
Russia is really good at lying and telling our diplomats what they want to hear.
Foggy Bottom is really good at projecting and assuming everyone else shares our values. They are also subconsciously racist and assume the 'white' Russians are just like all other Europeans.
There was a time, about 15 seconds long, when there was the potential for Russia to come closer to Europe and the US, right after the USSR collapsed, but it was a Roulette wheel moment, and the actual chance that might have been accomplished was always minute.
Russia, and the Russian elite, are NOT Europeans, never have been. Not culturally, and they certainly don't see themselves that way.
Russia will be an enemy, open or closeted, of the USA until the day China becomes the dominant global super-power, at which point they will slowly shift.
But the idea that Russia would be anything other than a partner to China while the USA is the global superpower, or even still in the running, is simply nonsensical, and is based on an assumption that Russian elites will think like and value the same things as western elites.
They DON'T.
Keep in mind, I think team Biden are IDIOT'S.
But they didn't 'drive Russia to China'.
In fact, I think team Biden is more pro-China than most understand, and our inadvertent support of Ukraine (Biden and Co. wanted Russia to win initially, and the problem to go away, and got trapped into supporting Ukraine) simply peeled back the layers of lies a bit, to reveal that the authoritarian countries which see the US as an impediment to their perceived rightful place in the world are always going to find a way to use their relationship to hurt us.
I'm not saying they are bound to be best buddies or allies. but they will always find ways to cooperate to our detriment, and neither will ever openly help us against the other.
Nixon and Kissinger were WRONG. They brought about the China we face today.
Good points, but I said "separating."
Funny how Russia has been out ally in the past - 1914-1917 and 1941-5.
Wal Mart and Wall Street created the China of today not Nixon and Kissininger.
To the best of my knowledge, neither Julie nor Tricia ever got a billion dollar investment from China.
With respect, your assessment of Russia as our 'ally' is incorrect.
Imperial Russia was an ally of the Western powers against Germany in WW1. Imperial Russia ceased to exist with the start of the Russian Revolution, and we entered the war 2 months after that. The new USSR withdrew from the war and made peace with Germany. The US was never formally 'Allied" to Russia during WW1. We also sent small numbers of troops to aid the Czarist forces (White Russians) against the Red's in 1919-1921. That worked out GREAT and helped cement the idea in the minds of the Russian elite that America was an enemy.
Also, Imperial Russia was GOVERNED by a Russian Elite that was far more Euro-centric than the elite which arose after the Revolution and the oligarchy of the current Russian 'Federation'. Most of those Euro-Russians of the late 19th century were killed off during the revolution or fled to Europe. The resulting 'new elite' are purely Russian and virulently anti-European and anti-American.
In WW2, the USSR was an ally of convenience only. They started out as an ally of Germany (Molotov-Ribbentrop, anyone?), and only when Hitler attacked them did the US and UK start to treat Stalin as an ally, but it was always a 'lesser evil' and there were many who felt we should have styed at war with the USSR once Germany surrendered.
The people of Eastern Europe paid a price for our war fatigue. My in-laws grew up in Ukraine and Romania respectively under communism. Trust me when I say most Americans have no clue how bad life under communism in Eastern Europe was post WW2.
And even during WW2, internal USSR records show they perceived their alliance with the US as temporary, and that they anticipated fighting us in the future.
As Lenin once said "The capitalists will sell us the rope with which we hang them."
You are correct. I meant "we" as in the Allies. I admit I am an Anglophile.
You can also argue that there really are no permanent alliances just permanent interests.
The capitalists will even lend the Bolseheviks the money necessary to buy the rope.
I am sorry for your family, but Putin is not Stalin and Xi is not Mao and not every thug in the world is another Hitler.
You are correct and incorrect at the same time. Putin is not Stalin, but he has the same approach to accumulating and keeping power, and while he is no communist, he IS an authoritarian who believes Russia's rightful place was denied to it by the USA, and is intent on reforming the USSR (minus communism) as a new Russian Empire.
I'm not making this up. Putin and his lackeys say this shit ALL THE TIME. When someone tells you who they are, believe them.
As far as methods, Putin and Stalin are near twins. Neither has ANY sense of the value of individual human life, and is willing to achieve their aims over a carpet of bodies, be they Russian or enemy.
Chairman XI is MORE like Mao than ANY Chinese leader since Mao. He is not the same person, true, but he is far more authoritarian, has stayed in power far longer, and continually expresses support for Maoist thinking and philosophy.
So in fact, of ALL the people who have led Russia and China since Stalin and Mao, Putin and Xi are the MOST like those previous leaders.
At the end of the day, EVERY authoritarian thug is another Hitler. The only thing that made Hitler special was that he happened to have a great deal of early success and that he specifically targeted the Jews resulting in the modern perception of the Holocaust
...btw, I'm a hard core supporter of Israel and the Jews. I'm simply saying that Stalin and Mao both killed more people than Hitler. Hitler just is remembered for the special horror that was his targeted killing of one specific people (even though he killed many more who were not Jews as well).
Pol Pot, Idi Amin, Mao, Stalin, Hitler, Saddam, The Ayatollah, Assad, Putin, The North Korean family of butchers, etc..
At the end of the day, the only difference is the numbers killed and what groups they came from, and that has far more to do with where they operated and the means available to them, than with how good or evil they were.
EVERY name on that list is EVIL.
Sounds to me like Putin wants to make Russia great again.
I have no doubt that there is evil in the world, but like Lincoln at his Second Inauguration I would be careful about passing judgment on others or as Muhammed Ali once said "No Vietcong ever called me n*****."
"At the end of the day, EVERY authoritarian thug is another Hitler." Like the Highlander, there can only be one Hitler. I agree that Hitler is the poster boy for evil. If you look at just wholesale killing of the general population, Hitler is a distant third. I'm not defending Hitler, I am just pointing out how overused the comparison is. Most people don't even recoil when Stalin and Mao are mentioned; it's as if Hitler sucked all the air out of the Evil Room. It will be interesting, in an academic way, to find out how many have perished in North Korea under the rule of the Kim family.
I am generally an anglophile, but I've always been shocked and amazed that three of Victoria's grandsons could have launched, inadvertently or not, the near apocalyptic destruction of Europe brought about by the two world wars (I tend to view the second as the conclusion to the first).
They weren't alone. The forces at work were bigger than any one man.
Agreed
F**k the British and their agendas. The US declared independence, not clear why it keeps getting roped in to fight some British feud.
We got involved in WWI and WWII, and then stayed involved in Europe after the latter, because we really, really didn't want any one power to dominate Europe.
The Kaiser deserves the lion's share of the blame for his blank check to Austria and violating Belgium's neutrality.
I generally concur, although I think through the 60s and 70-s there was enough opportunity for friction between China and USSR to make various overtures to each. I also think that brief period in the early 90s was the only chance to maybe bring the Russians closer to the West for a while
I found Pillsbury's 100 Year Marathon to be an interesting overview of the mistakes made wrt China over the past many decades ( https://thehundredyearmarathon.com/).
Russian is not the US' friend, but the US didn't have to make it its enemy. Maybe when US Senators stop spouting off about the "killing Russians the best money ever spent" nonsense can things cool off. But Russia will never yield to the Globo-HomoEmpire.
Russia made themselves the US enemy. Czar Putin has made clear to his domestic audiences that the US is the enemy of Russia for more than a decade. His spokespersons on Russian TV routinely describe the US as their enemy
There are literally only 2 ways in which you could not understand this, and neither is very flattering for you.
Maybe if Russia stopped threatening all their neighbors and acting like they were entitled to set policy and chose the leaders in neighboring countries, then so many of them wouldn't feel like joining NATO in order to have some degree of protection from Russian aggression.
RUSSIA are the ones driving smaller countries to NATO and Russia is the one making the US an enemy.
In the immortal words of Obi-Wan Kenobi...
"You have done that yourself"
Wow, the tone deafness here is epic!
Oh, and to add to my point below, neither Russia nor China has ANY problem admitting clearly to their people, their military or the world that the USA is their #1 enemy.
Why do people insist on pretending that we should not return the favor?
Russia has made the USA the center of their domestic rabble rousing claptrap since before 9-11.
Both nations DESPISE what the USA represents and our place at the head of the global economy. Both nations see the world in zero-sum terms (typical of authoritarian mindsets) that dictate they CANNOT achieve the greatness they believe they are destined to achieve UNLESS the US is dethroned. They are incapable of seeing a world in which they can be successful alongside us.
Ergo, right or wrong, their zero-sum perspective becomes forced reality, because no amount of 'believing' in the alternative will change their actions.
So, either the USA remains the global economic superpower, or China (more likely) or Russia (less likely) knocks us from our perch and we suffer - greatly.
That's the real world. Could I be wrong? Of course the potential always exists, but history and the data strongly suggest I am not. And the consequences of false belief that this is not true are that the USA is economically destroyed.
We cannot afford to think this is not true.
You may be completley right, but I would still prefer to keep the official rhetoric toned down.
The leftwing equivalent to "neocon chicken hawks" must be progressive desk jockeys who think if we simply refuse to acknowledge reality, it will change.
It'd be great if we could choose between civil servants who are neither John Bolton nor Cornelius Fudge.
Something is wrong. No mention of Diversity or Climate. Memo will need to be recalled when the administration finds out.
No mention of DEI. I'll take it.
This looks like something I'v read before???
Apologies to Mr. Pace; did not see his comment before posting.
Sal, I agree. Overall, this is far better than it could have been - for that matter, than we have any right to expect from a service chief in this administration.
I also would like to point out 3 words I did NOT see, anywhere in this missive.
Diversity, Inclusion, Equity
That may not seem like a big deal, but given how overbearing the DIE commissars are, the fac that this made it out without ANY reference to that nonsense suggests to me that Adm. Franchetti may actually be someone serious.
No doubt, there were voices in her staff that implored her to name-check those issues.
She didn't. She made clear a purpose focused on (in my words, not hers) "breaking shit and killing people on behalf of the US of A"
This was a breath of fresh air (tinged with the optimistic potential for the smell of napalm)
Sad commentary on our times to say that we are so relieved that the CNO did not include any Marxist claptrap in her latest pronouncement.
Noticed the same absence of the DEI nonsense. A step in the right direction. Let's see if her direct reports get the message.
Closest reference was clever “rich fabric of America”
That was a nice turn of phrase. It would have been a strong, powerful, sentence if she had not stuck in the W word.
",,,rich fabric of America" sounds like DEI light. Didn't Jesse Jacks n use a similar metaphor?
Per Navy Times article, Navy's plan (typical knee jerk effort) is to offer $$ to increase SWO retention. I did not know anyone in the service that was there for the $$, except for a few that were looking at what is essentially a golden retirement package. (esp. since the civilian world has almost totally gone to 401K's vs a define benefit package). What is needed is an improvement in Quality of Life issues. Housing, pay/expense reimbursement reliability and efficiency, robust & ease of internet connections (secure & non-secure), longer PCS stays, focus on family life assistance, reduce meetings/paperwork BS, etc. Not magic, but none of the services seem to GAS about Quality of Life, just throw $$ at the problem.
https://bit.ly/3tJAFlZ
I’m not disagreeing, but I think quality of life has been conflated with quality of service. If serving was fun, if serving was meaningful and if serving was rewarding personally then a lot of this would take care of itself. If leadership was genuinely concerned for their Sailors, rewarded them, had the resources to provide meaningful material improvements with top rate equipment, provided their Sailors with discipline and were allowed to exercise their judgment and authority at the lowest levels, then maybe quality of life would follow the increased quality of service.
If I had to choose between the two, I’d take QOS every time.
I agree, though In my mind the QoL was QofS- it they were data on a Venn diagram the variance would be minimal. Serving does involve sacrifice, and doesn't mean that it cannot be fun. That sacrifice has to be for a meaningful goal, not just to meet some social metric or primarily to improve the advancement for their superiors.
I guess I was lucky during my four years. Other than the occasional and inevitable FUBAR, I had fun, job satisfaction and believed in my mission, what I and my crew were accomplishing. Admittingly, this was during the early 70's so it was a different time. I peaked at E-5 so my world view was thru that soda straw.
The navy’s decline in the last 15 years has been exponential. The forced social justice training and the emphasis on looking for a problem that doesn’t exist institutionally such as labeling your subordinates as potential rapists, racists and extremists has inculcated a ROT in the ranks. The flags have not only condoned it silently, they perpetuate it by demanding the stop light charts be green in all areas of this so called “ training” when they are too ignorant or complicit in seeing that it’s not training, it is actually indoctrination. The group punishment because of the actions of one had also manifested itself in the festering puss wound of Marxism. As one ensign once wisely described it to me: “one person shits his pants, we all have to wear the diaper..”.
OK. So, when do we get to see the actual on-the-deckplates changes that will be needed to implement these fine ideas? Or will this simply be more Potomac Fleet hand waving? If this one can resolve the problems we see with rusting ships and overworked, unqualified, and in some cases unprofessional crews, I’ll be impressed. Otherwise, she’s just keeping the seat warm until her relief reports onboard.
I'd hate to run this through a plagiarism detector. Impression is it's pretty standard boilerplate, and doubt anything much different would be approved for release. Regarding naming of names, as a very large chunk of our naval resources are in / recovering from / or fragged to go to the middle east, don't see any mention of the former Persian Empire. Off limits? North Korea not mentioned either, but I suppose we could lump them in with the PRC. No mention of DEI, double plus points for that. Wonder how much recruiting numbers are concerning the senior staffs these days...
Double Plus points for plagiarism reference. Ackman appreciates it! 😁
Yea, verily on "warfighter". ditto "hero" (unless it's for actual valor)...and, sigh.....the "thankyou for your service" routine (just my VietNam take)
and so; the article. Lots of talk, lessee the walk.
(and, I'll go first.....heck with little 'ol CNO.......Nomination for next/new SECDEF! )
I also agree on the overuse of hero. What really gets my goat though is flying the flag at half staff for every minor person/incident. It should be reserved for profound individuals and events.
all animals are equal, some animals are more equal than others.
"... we are Sailors and Marines. That should be enough." Amen!
More people and ships, definitely. How fast, though? OSVs with NSM strapped down and a couple SeaRAM and MGs? Others with towed arrays and ASW helicopters? Or just get more people, train them as techs and keep the maintenance up on what we've got?
I like it. As several others have said, blessedly free of the DEI crap loaded into everything else I've been seeing.
A lot of people on this site have said or will say that they are happy there is no mention of DEI in this message. I would not be uncorking the champagne bottles just yet as I know how the far Left works. I suspect that the pollsters have told the WH that DEI has become a losing issue espeically among ethnic whites and the word has gotten out to tone down the rhetoric during this election season. I think it would be best to judge the new CNO by what she does and not what she says.
I noticed that gas is down about $1 per gallon. Dialing back for the election is my guess.
Or, it could be the fact that under President Biden's administration the United States has the strongest economy in the developed world.
There are objective measurements. Compared to pre-pandemic levels, households are now less likely to be delinquent on their credit card bills and mortgages, and more likely to have health insurance. Households are facing fewer evictions and foreclosures than there were before the pandemic, and bankruptcy rates are lower as well.
It is a simple verifiable fact. You can look up bankruptcy filings, and they are a measure. Before the pandemic they were higher than now.
It’s funny that the righties hate Biden for all the things conservatives say they value; caution, carefulness, and slow deliberation.
Fewer foreclosures?
"A new ATTOM report paints a concerning picture, with foreclosure filings reaching 124,539, which marks a 28% surge from the last quarter and a significant 34% rise year-over-year. Delving deeper into the monthly data, September alone saw an 11% increase in foreclosure filings, up to 37,679 properties."
Credit card debt is at record highs. Only 49% are paying their cards off each month.
Subprime auto loan delinquencies are at the highest rate since 2008.
https://www.newyorkfed.org/newsevents/news/research/2023/20231107
Be kind JetCal. Yardley means fewer foreclosures in his gated community.
With my beat-up truck? It’s so old it says “Dodge,” on the tailgate - they ain’t letting me through the gates.
Why am I reminded of the 2004 photo op of John Kerry asking, “Where can I get me a huntin’ license?”
😂😭🤣
Words are cheap and she needs to be judged by actions. Though it is a fresh change from the usual claptrap stuff.
Yes, let's look to see if a bunch of the commissariat are let go over the next few months. Otherwise, it's just a lack of words that might annoy people, but no change in policy
Remember when Bill Clinton said "The Era of Big Government is Over?"
War fighter? No we are Sailors and Marines.
We do more than war, we guard, defend and deploy in places that don't require war fighting.
He also serves, who stands and waits.
I had misgivings when she was named. Not anymore. This is good.
Wait.
I consider myself cautiously optimistic based on this. Been burned too many times to get too ahead of my skis on this (ref. SecDef Mattis)