A video from Ukraine tells the truth about how America's elites view White males as cannon fodder for the empire's wars, while the sons of the elites live safe lives of privilege and luxury
Morgthorak, once again, this makes me weep. If I did not have God and His Son to walk with , I would have died long ago. The world is so mean and so cold in so many ways. My brother Tommy was sacrificed in Vietnam for NOTHING. I still feel sad about it but hope to see him again in Heaven. Keep writing, Morg, this needs to be a stark reminder. War is sick on all levels, for all people. We have no control what color our parents are...only that we are born and then hope to make something of our lives...Please take good care! Forgive me, I also did not read your recent piece regarding someone dear to you who died? I usually read all your pieces but for some reason, that one slipped by. I have intimate acquaintance with grief, it is not fun. It has followed me since my youth. I hope you get through this loss of someone dear to you. Bless you, Wendy
God rest your brother's soul, Wendy. He and the other men that died there should never have been sent there in the first place. I blame the scumbag elites in DC (and the wealthy donors who hold their leashes) who pursue their geopolitical games without any concern for the men who die as a result of them.
Well, it is "diversity's" turn now to fight and die for the empire. White males have done enough, and are now checking out. Let all of the illegal alien males who have flooded into the country go and fight for the empire.
BTW, I am sorry if this article brought back sad memories. But I must keep pushing on this as I fear waves of propaganda are coming to try to get these young, white males into the US military. So I am writing content that will at least reach a few of them I hope and keep them out.
My recent loss is sad, but there is nothing that can be done for him now. God rest his soul. I have put a curse on all involved with pushing the not-vaccines and, in time, justice will be brought to them, whoever they are and wherever they are, they will not escape my curse.
Inshallah. I hope you're right. White people have a habit of engaging in covert warfare against each other, almost a pathology in that way. Etonian Brits have more hatred in their heart for gobs than Pakistani grooming gangs. It's fu*ked up.
I can't wait to see them try to recruit, train, and field all these illegals that they are now debating enlisting. They should be pretty hilarious. First of all, despite what so many are saying, the very idea that a bunch of people that abandoned their own nation's and people, are going to be willing to enlist here in the US (a nation known globally as a war mongering, empire building, colonial state) and go fight in our various "wars" is a very dubious concept.
Moreover, with the Tower of Babel "multiculturalism" aspect, good luck! They can't be used in any technical support roles, so it's the front lines or nothing.
Yeah, that's going to be a funny one to watch.
Back in the day, I volunteered, enlisted, deployed, fought in one of their foreign wars, but I no longer encourage ANYONE to follow that path. Not for the country as it is. Better to stay home, and prepare for the "war" that will happen here, stateside; We'll need the numbers!
You're right. At least the Irish lumpenproles that acted as the mop up squad in the civil war spoke English, not happening with the current crop of ESL global mystery meat.
This is a reality that many won't want to face. They foolishly believe that they are signing up to protect their country and even more laughably, protect "freedom." God, every time I hear that one I think my head may explode.
Excellent advice in this article. Do not sacrifice your life to the for-profit war machine.
Yes, 100% statement of fact. There was a time, of course, when the USA was a largely egalitarian society, & even the privileged tried to conceal or downplay that. But at a certain point the elite started identifying with neo-Marxist proletarian discourse, the precursor of the current woke derangement paradigm. And right dead center on their target for sidelining, demonization, elimination is white males. Serving in the military you aren't serving the country, you're serving the reptilian pedophile scum that lied & cheated & stole their way to power & domination. Find a healthier way to serve the country in a way that doesn't further the destruction pursued by the Empire.
Country is best served when it's done on the local level. Problem as I see it is the local level is also very pozzed. You have city councils in bumblefuck Iowa having votes to condemn war crimes in Gaza and sh*t like that. Fear we're going to have to take a cold bath before things get better again and many of us won't be around when it happens.
Seriously applying OCCAMS RAZOR all that is going on here is the USA is imploding per ...
"Slowly then suddenly" on the collapse of USA and its bankruptcy - Hemingway
1.) Incompetent POTUS check
2.) inability to manufacture? check
3.) DEI crews doing QA? check
4.) nothing works, and nobody cares? check
5.) Woke, broke, cuck'd & homo? check
6.) nobody knows how stuff work, or how to fix shit anymore? check
7.) USA can't build bridge, or airplanes anymore? check
8.) lionizing the niggas, and demonizing the white folk that built usa, check
We knew this was coming since the 1970's we all couldn't believe the big ship kept sailing 50 fucking years, they kicked the can, until the ship hit the bridge and 10,000 containers of shit filled the river and all the fish died, ...
Right next to the biggest sewage Treatment Plant in USA, Washington-DC
No war is worth fighting for unless the enemy is at your doorstep. I left this comment on your post, “Fortunate Son” it was the last one #76 ( how appropriate ).
I wholeheartedly agree and support your efforts to enlighten white men, that they are the cornerstone and foundation of our military. Without their participation our government might rethink their policies on war, but I firmly believe that the machine is two steps if not more ahead of you. The open border is not only to keep wages down, build a voting bloc, but is a replacement army. A pathway to citizenship that is given for participation in our never ending wars. Possibly a police force that would have no qualms about shooting Americans or denying their constitutional rights. No need for a 9/11 event but I would not rule that out of their playbook. As the Bridge disaster in Baltimore has not yet been attested to as a terrorist event. If so the call to arms will be loud and clear and answered by the gullible.
Having served as a U.S. Marine Corps Infantry Officer in the late 70’s and early 80’s I can say a couple things. The Marines today are better trained and better equipped then we were, but their leaders allow them to live in the squalor of barracks that are filthy and black mold ridden. The dynamic of “then” is back. “They” hate us who serve. Why? Because we give them the peace and time to rob and steal and make themselves rich beyond any norms we have ever seen in modern times. As a result we shame them and embarrass them. So they find wars and conflicts and send “us” out to deal with the mess “they” started. The country needs to change the leaders in congress and the “managers” in the pentagon. The top military leaders are NOT leaders just DOD toadies doing the elites bidding. Don’t think so, look at the “withdrawal” from Afghanistan. To this day NO ONE has taken responsibility for the disaster at HKIA over the 15-16 operation that left 13 dead US military men and WOMEN and many other WIA. Who wants to join the service’s when they refuse to train properly, over fund the wrong war materials and talk like children in the back yard war games. “I got you Tommy you’re dead!” Marines are trained to kill. That is a nasty mean word, so it not used. There was a time when a USMC General went up to the hill and said “sorry for your Hampton’s cocktail party sensitivities, but we kill bad guys and sometimes we kill others but that is what we do.” Now? General Frank McKenzie USMC (ret) still refuses to admit that HE failed at every turn in the withdrawal from HKIA and it is by the grace of God and two battalions of Marines and a unit from the 10 Mountain Division that kept it from being a total wipe out of those same units. As for the 82nd airborne the best that can said is “well they were there.” But this does not change the fact the 1-2% of America hate us and hate our serving. I cringe when people thank me for my service. Because I know they don’t care or believe it. Unless I sense or know the salutation is sincere, then I am embarrassed and humbled beyond any words. I loved being a Marine Infantry Officer, and got paid for doing what I loved to do. I have been silent when some one asks if they should serve our nation today. But the short conversation bubble over my head if one could read it is “don’t do it,” unless and until big change at the top of the civilian and military structures is made. Until the elites stop hating us or until they start serving themselves.
I'm a retired MI officer from the Army National Guard. Enlisted active duty for 8.5 years. Joined the Guard as a 'boys club' and to maintain Russian (went to DLI).
One of my buddies is Annapolis Marine Corps Infantry Officer. He often says, "I grew up thinking there were only two types of Officers. Marine Corps Infantry Officers and everyone else."
I laughed and laughed and laughed when he said that--I am smiling now as I write this. There is a shit-ton of truth in his statement.
Oh--another Marine vs Army story. I am at ILE (was Command & General Staff College previously) in Honolulu. Rough, admittedly. Staying at the Hale Koa (actually pretty shitty hotel compared to the Hilton next door) and driving to Ft Shafter each morning.
One day after class I go down to one of those small bars on the beach. I belly up next to a dude about my age (I was late 30s at the time, Major). I look over at him and ask, "Army?"
"No. I play for the Varsity Team" he answered.
I laughed and laughed and laughed again. Turns out the dude was a logistics officer, so just as bad as an MI officer on the 'bad-assery' scale--but again, I loved his sentiment and agreed with his take.
My brother is a retired Naval Officer. We were both enlisted, got undergrads & graduate degrees while active, went to OCS, and built successful and meaningful careers.
We have often said, "The military is the clearest path to the middle class our country offers."
I am not over the criminal withdrawal from Afghanistan. Hung from the neck 'till they're dead' is the appropriate reward all of them (Milley, both CENTCOM commanders, Austin, McKenzie, all of them). At the very minimum they all should be stand for court martial--this also includes Petraeus/McChrystal and all the others who just lied and lied to keep a war alive for 20 years.
The betrayal is so deep, so pervasive, so complete.
Well then you know the old tried and true joke! You can ALWAYS tell a Marine Infantry Officer….you just can’t tell him much! I had a winger colonel say to me once, I love you infantry officers, especially stiff dicked lieutenants like you, I just wouldn’t let my sister or daughter marry you. I hope you are very very proud of your service and commitment and hope you had a Hell of a time whilst at it. I am so angry at the last 20 years. For what? For what? All these great young men and women just shattered and will never be the same again for what? Now we are back to reviled? For who? Elites? So they can lecture us all on morals while they eat soft cheese on a water cracker sipping chilled white wine. If you really want your blood boiling and are on Spotify there is a podcast called Controversy and Clarity. Damien O’Connell hosts it. He has 17 interviews with the Marin’s in 1/8 and 2/1 enlisted and officers alike, that is called “voices of HKIA” it is stunning simply stunning. Austin bragged about doing the draw down in Iraq….really? Then why did you foul up Afghanistan so badly? Throughly Modern Milley? You mean when he wasn’t drinking an amber colored liquid? Oh and how about brilliant CentCom Commander Frank MvKenzie! Yeah, how about him. The series voices of HKIA will leave you feeling very proud of the Marines and 10th Mountain Division, not such good vibes about the 82nd and their role or lack of it. You come away from it saying wow!!! How those men and women avoided defeat in detail and didn’t really resort to lethal force even with the ROE giving more flexibility after the Abby Gate bombing and managed to hold the airfield and get out is a miracle. Why we abandoned Bagram, is a complete mystery, the NEO handled from there would have allowed very quick reinforcement, and millions of other advantages that Milley and McKenzie threw away. The result would been the same, we were leaving, but the chaos and death and destruction would for sure have been mitigated to a degree and 11 Marines, 1 sailor, 1 soldier probably would be alive today. Without the middle class making their way forward, and the lower middle and working poor, we don’t have a military. It is a great leveler, it was a meritocracy, it was a life however long you served that provided commonality. To this day when I run into someone that is either on active duty or a veteran there is an instant level of communication available. This has to be corrected, how is a good question. At the moment the big focus for many Marine old timers is fighting this imbecilic Force Design 2030 concept that in actuality will never work and could signal an end to the Marine Corps. It’s getting some serious attention now, (finally) but the Corps is not capable of meeting its Title X mandates. Amphibious sea lift and prepositioning of ships is practically nonexistent, I am waiting for the day the inevitable day when a Houthi drone or land based missile breaks through fleet defenses and slams into a US warship. Watch the rats scurry away from that one. Of course the neocons will say let’s go to Yemen, but they will have missed the point and frankly with the limited forces available at this time it’s unlikely we could go ashore and again…for what?
Best regards to all those Naval Officers and Marines in your orbit. We few we happy few!
The remarkably shitty conditions of our barracks in Alaska, and the Army’s complete lack of caring for single soldiers, caused me to get out after 4 years in the 90s.
They treated us like shit, then punished us for entertaining ourselves despite giving few alternatives.
I think our officers and senior NCOs cared about us, but big Army at the Pentagon certainly did not.
One thing that changed for the worse was at least in the Corps was the innovation of barracks that evolved in “dorm” rooms. In my time there were open squad bays which housed two full rifle squads per deck. The buildings at Camp LeJeune were two stories. The NCO,s slept in the squad bays, SNCO’s and Officers were a common sight on deck in a squad bay. Communication was easy and an officer who gave a shit could see if the barracks were unsatisfactory and needed something fixed. The disassociation of leaders from their men, lead to barracks that would be “shitty” and this leads to a morale problem. I am sure most your immediate superior officers and senior enlisted cared and were equally angry. But Washington DC is a self licking ice cream cone made from the center of a chess pool. (Which by the way is why DC is nick named “foggy bottom”. Before air conditioning, everyone left DC in the summer, it was too hot and smelled bad.) I am very glad you served, we few we happy few, the elites can try to take our souls and hearts, but they won’t succeed because we veterans and active duty military with the exception of the poor leadership in DC know just how good intrinsically we are and our service to each other is vindication, strength and opportunity enough. That all said, I would be hard pressed to tell any one to join the services right now.
I think the barracks being more like dorm rooms was actually a good thing. People need their own space, and those open bays definitely provided none of that. It was good for basic training and AIT where it allows for more visibility as you pointed out.
In my case the barracks for MI school at Ft Huachuca were very dorm-room like, with two people per room and a shared bathroom for two rooms. Then I got to Alaska and it was cinderblock rooms and you shared a big bathroom and shower bay with about 50 other people. Unmarried E1-E6 had to stay in the barracks. The NCOs got their own room, and where there was enough space E4s would get their own room. It was no surprise that people rushed to get married rather than spend those cold, dark winters in the barracks. Lucky for me, I didn't suffer from SAD so it didn't both me. I also made E4 pretty quick and got my own room so life wasn't too terrible. All I wanted was a place to retreat to at the end of the day.
The problem with the open bays and bunk beds for permanent station units is that it's a shitty way to live long-term, and even if you can convince people to put up with it, it's immediately undermined by the fact that some PFC could marry a fat stripper and then go live in base housing or get BAH for an apartment off post.
So the message was clear: stay single and suffer in the barracks, or marry the first woman who would say yes so you could escape the barracks.
Don’t get me wrong, the world changes and contemporary living quarters are a significant change that as I understand it, has been for the most part very positive. (Remember I am old! I got to 3rd Bn/2nd Marines right after the new year in 1979.) What has gone off the rails is the casual walk through which of course could be considered intrusive if done in a heavy handed way, but point being if the officers and senior enlisted were noting that there was standing water and black mold maybe the current crisis would be averted. That said, I know that there was considerable noise made at the company, battalion and even regimental levels to higher authority that there was a BIG problem. However when you have a four star general who is now the Commandant of the Marine Corps that “being a Marine is bonus enough” when queried about the pay Marines receive then you see a level of arrogance that I am not familiar with at all! I was an Aide de Camp to a Major General and I was around he and several other General officers and not one was arrogant. Tough and demanding, but I never saw them not prepared even at their age and level of command not willing to do something that they tasked their Marines with doing. This was so until the last 10 or so years. The current crop of senior officers is just bad. Feckless politicians that are managers and not leaders. Also we tended to be in the field A LOT! My second rifle platoon was a bunch of tough cases, we solved 90% of the issues every Monday morning when we went to the field. I had a very weak company commander and basically I said 1st Platoon is going to the field see you Friday. He loved it because we were one less thing to concern himself with. I worked hard to get creative with the field exercises and once we got doing work ups with the tanks the Marines really got engaged, their interest in the training jumped up, they started having fun. They all took turns as fireteam and squad leaders, I would kill myself and have the platoon Sargent take over on a problem. You get the drift! It goes to giving a good god damn about your troops.we don’t have senior leadership in place that either knows how to do it, or is lacking the will to do it.
You bring up a solid point about field exercises. In my 3.5 years in Alaska, I went to the field 32 times. Some of these were big brigade level exercises for two weeks, but most were at the section/platoon/company level and lasted 3-6 days. Most of these were deep winter field exercises, and it was -30 or below on about 1/3 of our FTX.
While I didn't enjoy all of them, we all got to know our equipment really well. Everyone knew how to operate radios, generators, string triple-strand concertina wire, set up tents, and set up and break down our equipment very quickly. And we learned how to do that in severe cold...which was useful since we were the "arctic brigade."
The training pattern was we'd start out with section and platoon FTX in early and mid November, then do a bigger company FTX in early December before block leave. Then we'd do 1-2 more platoon and section FTX in January, another company FTX in February, and then a big brigade FTX in early March every year. We'd follow up with one last winter section FTX at the end of March. Then we'd do one short Brigade FTX in June, with a couple of section and platoon FTX bookending it.
Then, since it was Alaska, most of the senior NCOs and officers spent a whole lot of time in July and August hunting and fishing. For the rest of us, those were our R&R months. We still did vehicle maintenance, PT, etc., but op tempo was more or less non-existent and the soldiers were allowed to enjoy the only months of nice weather that Ft Wainwright had to offer.
When I talked to a soldier serving in Alaska last year, he mentioned they only go to the field a couple of times per year. I seriously have to question what their doing up there if they're only going to the field a couple of times per year. How are they learning how to live with their gear if they're not spending a lot of time in the field with it?
Excellent piece Morgthorak. No different here in Australia except that we are just a little appendage of the GAE. Look what they did to our most decorated soldier Ben Roberts-Smith. He is ex SAS (Special Forces) and has won the Medal For Gallantry, the Victoria Cross (the highest award - equivalent to the American Medal of Honour) and Commendation for Distinguished Service, but he got thrown under the bus for standing up to the traitorous media
Morg, always write what you feel guided to write! That makes you authentic and draws people in. I am fine, I just cry a lot. I no longer get stoned, tears are my steam vent. You have important things to say, write on, please! Now I definitely have to shut down for the night, can no longer stay up too late as I did in youth. Blessings to your well-being and heart, Morgthorak, I can see your passion shining through. Goodnight, Wendy
Nobody should fight for the American hegemony. Not the white males (or females). Not the "diverse" males & females. Just get out of that military. Calling the American military spending the "defence budget" is a huge lie. It is an "attack budget".
Ret. Brigadier General Chris Walker agrees with you, Morgthorak. He’s running for US Congress, West Virginia District 2. He writes: “If my Aunt had balls, she'd be my Uncle. But in Joe Biden's woke military, she'd be the poster child. I'm a ret. Brigadier General and combat veteran who deployed to some of the most desolate corners of the world. I was responsible for the lives of countless men and women who answered the call. So believe me when I say it's nothing short of DISGUSTING that Joe Biden cares more about military participation trophies for the transgender mob than he does about the lives of our troops. I hold our nation's military & those who are willing to serve very close to my heart. It's personal for me. I spent over 40 years serving in the military to defend everything that makes AMERICA GREAT. Better men than me made the ultimate sacrifice to do the same. I did NOT serve so that the woke radicals could destroy it. Now, I'm running for Congress to stop Joe Biden and his woke left insanity that endangers the lives of all who wear the uniform. But my candidacy enrages everyone from the woke left to the war-mongering globalist RINO's, and they're spending millions to stop me in my tracks. —From the heart of a soldier.
Morgthorak, once again, this makes me weep. If I did not have God and His Son to walk with , I would have died long ago. The world is so mean and so cold in so many ways. My brother Tommy was sacrificed in Vietnam for NOTHING. I still feel sad about it but hope to see him again in Heaven. Keep writing, Morg, this needs to be a stark reminder. War is sick on all levels, for all people. We have no control what color our parents are...only that we are born and then hope to make something of our lives...Please take good care! Forgive me, I also did not read your recent piece regarding someone dear to you who died? I usually read all your pieces but for some reason, that one slipped by. I have intimate acquaintance with grief, it is not fun. It has followed me since my youth. I hope you get through this loss of someone dear to you. Bless you, Wendy
God rest your brother's soul, Wendy. He and the other men that died there should never have been sent there in the first place. I blame the scumbag elites in DC (and the wealthy donors who hold their leashes) who pursue their geopolitical games without any concern for the men who die as a result of them.
Well, it is "diversity's" turn now to fight and die for the empire. White males have done enough, and are now checking out. Let all of the illegal alien males who have flooded into the country go and fight for the empire.
BTW, I am sorry if this article brought back sad memories. But I must keep pushing on this as I fear waves of propaganda are coming to try to get these young, white males into the US military. So I am writing content that will at least reach a few of them I hope and keep them out.
My recent loss is sad, but there is nothing that can be done for him now. God rest his soul. I have put a curse on all involved with pushing the not-vaccines and, in time, justice will be brought to them, whoever they are and wherever they are, they will not escape my curse.
If they expect white people to magically save they day, I think they'll be very surprised by what they get.
We’ll save the day for ourselves and then leave them by the ditch where they belong
Inshallah. I hope you're right. White people have a habit of engaging in covert warfare against each other, almost a pathology in that way. Etonian Brits have more hatred in their heart for gobs than Pakistani grooming gangs. It's fu*ked up.
I can't wait to see them try to recruit, train, and field all these illegals that they are now debating enlisting. They should be pretty hilarious. First of all, despite what so many are saying, the very idea that a bunch of people that abandoned their own nation's and people, are going to be willing to enlist here in the US (a nation known globally as a war mongering, empire building, colonial state) and go fight in our various "wars" is a very dubious concept.
Moreover, with the Tower of Babel "multiculturalism" aspect, good luck! They can't be used in any technical support roles, so it's the front lines or nothing.
Yeah, that's going to be a funny one to watch.
Back in the day, I volunteered, enlisted, deployed, fought in one of their foreign wars, but I no longer encourage ANYONE to follow that path. Not for the country as it is. Better to stay home, and prepare for the "war" that will happen here, stateside; We'll need the numbers!
You're right. At least the Irish lumpenproles that acted as the mop up squad in the civil war spoke English, not happening with the current crop of ESL global mystery meat.
This is a reality that many won't want to face. They foolishly believe that they are signing up to protect their country and even more laughably, protect "freedom." God, every time I hear that one I think my head may explode.
Excellent advice in this article. Do not sacrifice your life to the for-profit war machine.
As difficult as it may be to accept. It is truth.
Yes, 100% statement of fact. There was a time, of course, when the USA was a largely egalitarian society, & even the privileged tried to conceal or downplay that. But at a certain point the elite started identifying with neo-Marxist proletarian discourse, the precursor of the current woke derangement paradigm. And right dead center on their target for sidelining, demonization, elimination is white males. Serving in the military you aren't serving the country, you're serving the reptilian pedophile scum that lied & cheated & stole their way to power & domination. Find a healthier way to serve the country in a way that doesn't further the destruction pursued by the Empire.
Country is best served when it's done on the local level. Problem as I see it is the local level is also very pozzed. You have city councils in bumblefuck Iowa having votes to condemn war crimes in Gaza and sh*t like that. Fear we're going to have to take a cold bath before things get better again and many of us won't be around when it happens.
Seriously applying OCCAMS RAZOR all that is going on here is the USA is imploding per ...
"Slowly then suddenly" on the collapse of USA and its bankruptcy - Hemingway
1.) Incompetent POTUS check
2.) inability to manufacture? check
3.) DEI crews doing QA? check
4.) nothing works, and nobody cares? check
5.) Woke, broke, cuck'd & homo? check
6.) nobody knows how stuff work, or how to fix shit anymore? check
7.) USA can't build bridge, or airplanes anymore? check
8.) lionizing the niggas, and demonizing the white folk that built usa, check
We knew this was coming since the 1970's we all couldn't believe the big ship kept sailing 50 fucking years, they kicked the can, until the ship hit the bridge and 10,000 containers of shit filled the river and all the fish died, ...
Right next to the biggest sewage Treatment Plant in USA, Washington-DC
Just like bye-bye american pie
#6 LOL and then cry
Yep, way past the point of 'talking' solving our existential problems
No war is worth fighting for unless the enemy is at your doorstep. I left this comment on your post, “Fortunate Son” it was the last one #76 ( how appropriate ).
I wholeheartedly agree and support your efforts to enlighten white men, that they are the cornerstone and foundation of our military. Without their participation our government might rethink their policies on war, but I firmly believe that the machine is two steps if not more ahead of you. The open border is not only to keep wages down, build a voting bloc, but is a replacement army. A pathway to citizenship that is given for participation in our never ending wars. Possibly a police force that would have no qualms about shooting Americans or denying their constitutional rights. No need for a 9/11 event but I would not rule that out of their playbook. As the Bridge disaster in Baltimore has not yet been attested to as a terrorist event. If so the call to arms will be loud and clear and answered by the gullible.
Having served as a U.S. Marine Corps Infantry Officer in the late 70’s and early 80’s I can say a couple things. The Marines today are better trained and better equipped then we were, but their leaders allow them to live in the squalor of barracks that are filthy and black mold ridden. The dynamic of “then” is back. “They” hate us who serve. Why? Because we give them the peace and time to rob and steal and make themselves rich beyond any norms we have ever seen in modern times. As a result we shame them and embarrass them. So they find wars and conflicts and send “us” out to deal with the mess “they” started. The country needs to change the leaders in congress and the “managers” in the pentagon. The top military leaders are NOT leaders just DOD toadies doing the elites bidding. Don’t think so, look at the “withdrawal” from Afghanistan. To this day NO ONE has taken responsibility for the disaster at HKIA over the 15-16 operation that left 13 dead US military men and WOMEN and many other WIA. Who wants to join the service’s when they refuse to train properly, over fund the wrong war materials and talk like children in the back yard war games. “I got you Tommy you’re dead!” Marines are trained to kill. That is a nasty mean word, so it not used. There was a time when a USMC General went up to the hill and said “sorry for your Hampton’s cocktail party sensitivities, but we kill bad guys and sometimes we kill others but that is what we do.” Now? General Frank McKenzie USMC (ret) still refuses to admit that HE failed at every turn in the withdrawal from HKIA and it is by the grace of God and two battalions of Marines and a unit from the 10 Mountain Division that kept it from being a total wipe out of those same units. As for the 82nd airborne the best that can said is “well they were there.” But this does not change the fact the 1-2% of America hate us and hate our serving. I cringe when people thank me for my service. Because I know they don’t care or believe it. Unless I sense or know the salutation is sincere, then I am embarrassed and humbled beyond any words. I loved being a Marine Infantry Officer, and got paid for doing what I loved to do. I have been silent when some one asks if they should serve our nation today. But the short conversation bubble over my head if one could read it is “don’t do it,” unless and until big change at the top of the civilian and military structures is made. Until the elites stop hating us or until they start serving themselves.
I'm a retired MI officer from the Army National Guard. Enlisted active duty for 8.5 years. Joined the Guard as a 'boys club' and to maintain Russian (went to DLI).
One of my buddies is Annapolis Marine Corps Infantry Officer. He often says, "I grew up thinking there were only two types of Officers. Marine Corps Infantry Officers and everyone else."
I laughed and laughed and laughed when he said that--I am smiling now as I write this. There is a shit-ton of truth in his statement.
Oh--another Marine vs Army story. I am at ILE (was Command & General Staff College previously) in Honolulu. Rough, admittedly. Staying at the Hale Koa (actually pretty shitty hotel compared to the Hilton next door) and driving to Ft Shafter each morning.
One day after class I go down to one of those small bars on the beach. I belly up next to a dude about my age (I was late 30s at the time, Major). I look over at him and ask, "Army?"
"No. I play for the Varsity Team" he answered.
I laughed and laughed and laughed again. Turns out the dude was a logistics officer, so just as bad as an MI officer on the 'bad-assery' scale--but again, I loved his sentiment and agreed with his take.
My brother is a retired Naval Officer. We were both enlisted, got undergrads & graduate degrees while active, went to OCS, and built successful and meaningful careers.
We have often said, "The military is the clearest path to the middle class our country offers."
I am not over the criminal withdrawal from Afghanistan. Hung from the neck 'till they're dead' is the appropriate reward all of them (Milley, both CENTCOM commanders, Austin, McKenzie, all of them). At the very minimum they all should be stand for court martial--this also includes Petraeus/McChrystal and all the others who just lied and lied to keep a war alive for 20 years.
The betrayal is so deep, so pervasive, so complete.
bsn
Well then you know the old tried and true joke! You can ALWAYS tell a Marine Infantry Officer….you just can’t tell him much! I had a winger colonel say to me once, I love you infantry officers, especially stiff dicked lieutenants like you, I just wouldn’t let my sister or daughter marry you. I hope you are very very proud of your service and commitment and hope you had a Hell of a time whilst at it. I am so angry at the last 20 years. For what? For what? All these great young men and women just shattered and will never be the same again for what? Now we are back to reviled? For who? Elites? So they can lecture us all on morals while they eat soft cheese on a water cracker sipping chilled white wine. If you really want your blood boiling and are on Spotify there is a podcast called Controversy and Clarity. Damien O’Connell hosts it. He has 17 interviews with the Marin’s in 1/8 and 2/1 enlisted and officers alike, that is called “voices of HKIA” it is stunning simply stunning. Austin bragged about doing the draw down in Iraq….really? Then why did you foul up Afghanistan so badly? Throughly Modern Milley? You mean when he wasn’t drinking an amber colored liquid? Oh and how about brilliant CentCom Commander Frank MvKenzie! Yeah, how about him. The series voices of HKIA will leave you feeling very proud of the Marines and 10th Mountain Division, not such good vibes about the 82nd and their role or lack of it. You come away from it saying wow!!! How those men and women avoided defeat in detail and didn’t really resort to lethal force even with the ROE giving more flexibility after the Abby Gate bombing and managed to hold the airfield and get out is a miracle. Why we abandoned Bagram, is a complete mystery, the NEO handled from there would have allowed very quick reinforcement, and millions of other advantages that Milley and McKenzie threw away. The result would been the same, we were leaving, but the chaos and death and destruction would for sure have been mitigated to a degree and 11 Marines, 1 sailor, 1 soldier probably would be alive today. Without the middle class making their way forward, and the lower middle and working poor, we don’t have a military. It is a great leveler, it was a meritocracy, it was a life however long you served that provided commonality. To this day when I run into someone that is either on active duty or a veteran there is an instant level of communication available. This has to be corrected, how is a good question. At the moment the big focus for many Marine old timers is fighting this imbecilic Force Design 2030 concept that in actuality will never work and could signal an end to the Marine Corps. It’s getting some serious attention now, (finally) but the Corps is not capable of meeting its Title X mandates. Amphibious sea lift and prepositioning of ships is practically nonexistent, I am waiting for the day the inevitable day when a Houthi drone or land based missile breaks through fleet defenses and slams into a US warship. Watch the rats scurry away from that one. Of course the neocons will say let’s go to Yemen, but they will have missed the point and frankly with the limited forces available at this time it’s unlikely we could go ashore and again…for what?
Best regards to all those Naval Officers and Marines in your orbit. We few we happy few!
The remarkably shitty conditions of our barracks in Alaska, and the Army’s complete lack of caring for single soldiers, caused me to get out after 4 years in the 90s.
They treated us like shit, then punished us for entertaining ourselves despite giving few alternatives.
I think our officers and senior NCOs cared about us, but big Army at the Pentagon certainly did not.
One thing that changed for the worse was at least in the Corps was the innovation of barracks that evolved in “dorm” rooms. In my time there were open squad bays which housed two full rifle squads per deck. The buildings at Camp LeJeune were two stories. The NCO,s slept in the squad bays, SNCO’s and Officers were a common sight on deck in a squad bay. Communication was easy and an officer who gave a shit could see if the barracks were unsatisfactory and needed something fixed. The disassociation of leaders from their men, lead to barracks that would be “shitty” and this leads to a morale problem. I am sure most your immediate superior officers and senior enlisted cared and were equally angry. But Washington DC is a self licking ice cream cone made from the center of a chess pool. (Which by the way is why DC is nick named “foggy bottom”. Before air conditioning, everyone left DC in the summer, it was too hot and smelled bad.) I am very glad you served, we few we happy few, the elites can try to take our souls and hearts, but they won’t succeed because we veterans and active duty military with the exception of the poor leadership in DC know just how good intrinsically we are and our service to each other is vindication, strength and opportunity enough. That all said, I would be hard pressed to tell any one to join the services right now.
I think the barracks being more like dorm rooms was actually a good thing. People need their own space, and those open bays definitely provided none of that. It was good for basic training and AIT where it allows for more visibility as you pointed out.
In my case the barracks for MI school at Ft Huachuca were very dorm-room like, with two people per room and a shared bathroom for two rooms. Then I got to Alaska and it was cinderblock rooms and you shared a big bathroom and shower bay with about 50 other people. Unmarried E1-E6 had to stay in the barracks. The NCOs got their own room, and where there was enough space E4s would get their own room. It was no surprise that people rushed to get married rather than spend those cold, dark winters in the barracks. Lucky for me, I didn't suffer from SAD so it didn't both me. I also made E4 pretty quick and got my own room so life wasn't too terrible. All I wanted was a place to retreat to at the end of the day.
The problem with the open bays and bunk beds for permanent station units is that it's a shitty way to live long-term, and even if you can convince people to put up with it, it's immediately undermined by the fact that some PFC could marry a fat stripper and then go live in base housing or get BAH for an apartment off post.
So the message was clear: stay single and suffer in the barracks, or marry the first woman who would say yes so you could escape the barracks.
Don’t get me wrong, the world changes and contemporary living quarters are a significant change that as I understand it, has been for the most part very positive. (Remember I am old! I got to 3rd Bn/2nd Marines right after the new year in 1979.) What has gone off the rails is the casual walk through which of course could be considered intrusive if done in a heavy handed way, but point being if the officers and senior enlisted were noting that there was standing water and black mold maybe the current crisis would be averted. That said, I know that there was considerable noise made at the company, battalion and even regimental levels to higher authority that there was a BIG problem. However when you have a four star general who is now the Commandant of the Marine Corps that “being a Marine is bonus enough” when queried about the pay Marines receive then you see a level of arrogance that I am not familiar with at all! I was an Aide de Camp to a Major General and I was around he and several other General officers and not one was arrogant. Tough and demanding, but I never saw them not prepared even at their age and level of command not willing to do something that they tasked their Marines with doing. This was so until the last 10 or so years. The current crop of senior officers is just bad. Feckless politicians that are managers and not leaders. Also we tended to be in the field A LOT! My second rifle platoon was a bunch of tough cases, we solved 90% of the issues every Monday morning when we went to the field. I had a very weak company commander and basically I said 1st Platoon is going to the field see you Friday. He loved it because we were one less thing to concern himself with. I worked hard to get creative with the field exercises and once we got doing work ups with the tanks the Marines really got engaged, their interest in the training jumped up, they started having fun. They all took turns as fireteam and squad leaders, I would kill myself and have the platoon Sargent take over on a problem. You get the drift! It goes to giving a good god damn about your troops.we don’t have senior leadership in place that either knows how to do it, or is lacking the will to do it.
You bring up a solid point about field exercises. In my 3.5 years in Alaska, I went to the field 32 times. Some of these were big brigade level exercises for two weeks, but most were at the section/platoon/company level and lasted 3-6 days. Most of these were deep winter field exercises, and it was -30 or below on about 1/3 of our FTX.
While I didn't enjoy all of them, we all got to know our equipment really well. Everyone knew how to operate radios, generators, string triple-strand concertina wire, set up tents, and set up and break down our equipment very quickly. And we learned how to do that in severe cold...which was useful since we were the "arctic brigade."
The training pattern was we'd start out with section and platoon FTX in early and mid November, then do a bigger company FTX in early December before block leave. Then we'd do 1-2 more platoon and section FTX in January, another company FTX in February, and then a big brigade FTX in early March every year. We'd follow up with one last winter section FTX at the end of March. Then we'd do one short Brigade FTX in June, with a couple of section and platoon FTX bookending it.
Then, since it was Alaska, most of the senior NCOs and officers spent a whole lot of time in July and August hunting and fishing. For the rest of us, those were our R&R months. We still did vehicle maintenance, PT, etc., but op tempo was more or less non-existent and the soldiers were allowed to enjoy the only months of nice weather that Ft Wainwright had to offer.
When I talked to a soldier serving in Alaska last year, he mentioned they only go to the field a couple of times per year. I seriously have to question what their doing up there if they're only going to the field a couple of times per year. How are they learning how to live with their gear if they're not spending a lot of time in the field with it?
Excellent piece Morgthorak. No different here in Australia except that we are just a little appendage of the GAE. Look what they did to our most decorated soldier Ben Roberts-Smith. He is ex SAS (Special Forces) and has won the Medal For Gallantry, the Victoria Cross (the highest award - equivalent to the American Medal of Honour) and Commendation for Distinguished Service, but he got thrown under the bus for standing up to the traitorous media
Morg, always write what you feel guided to write! That makes you authentic and draws people in. I am fine, I just cry a lot. I no longer get stoned, tears are my steam vent. You have important things to say, write on, please! Now I definitely have to shut down for the night, can no longer stay up too late as I did in youth. Blessings to your well-being and heart, Morgthorak, I can see your passion shining through. Goodnight, Wendy
You are all TLDR.
Retired door kicker. E - 8 type. Tip of the spear. Often wet.
Lost 19 personal friends; many numbers deleted from my mobile telephones along the way.
Figured this out on my own … took me 13 years from 2011.
No Russian ever called me "fascist."
@John Carter had an exceptional piece on this topic called The Bud Light Military
Same as it was ever was, n’est-ce pas?
Nobody should fight for the American hegemony. Not the white males (or females). Not the "diverse" males & females. Just get out of that military. Calling the American military spending the "defence budget" is a huge lie. It is an "attack budget".
Ret. Brigadier General Chris Walker agrees with you, Morgthorak. He’s running for US Congress, West Virginia District 2. He writes: “If my Aunt had balls, she'd be my Uncle. But in Joe Biden's woke military, she'd be the poster child. I'm a ret. Brigadier General and combat veteran who deployed to some of the most desolate corners of the world. I was responsible for the lives of countless men and women who answered the call. So believe me when I say it's nothing short of DISGUSTING that Joe Biden cares more about military participation trophies for the transgender mob than he does about the lives of our troops. I hold our nation's military & those who are willing to serve very close to my heart. It's personal for me. I spent over 40 years serving in the military to defend everything that makes AMERICA GREAT. Better men than me made the ultimate sacrifice to do the same. I did NOT serve so that the woke radicals could destroy it. Now, I'm running for Congress to stop Joe Biden and his woke left insanity that endangers the lives of all who wear the uniform. But my candidacy enrages everyone from the woke left to the war-mongering globalist RINO's, and they're spending millions to stop me in my tracks. —From the heart of a soldier.