InfantryDort

It isn't hard to see why the culture of truth telling eroded in the military. The first time an officer doesn't turn the box on a slide green is when the transformation starts. Maybe he turned it amber, or god forbid... red. That's when he got yelled at. "How come your unit isn't green but everyone else is? What's wrong with you? Why are you worse than these other commanders?" Nobody likes to get yelled at. And most young officers don't want to rock the boat and hurt their career chances, so they play the game. The unit may not really be green, but by god, they are now on the slide. The commander is now happy in the lie. And the subordinates are happy too. But now, since the first lie has been told, now it's a competition over who can tell the BEST lie. This is where the officer transitions into a human LinkedIn post. Adding flowery language to terrible reports to make everything sound amazing. Fast forward even further, and now you're a General. You've learned nothing but how to be a professional at perpetuating this folly. But the entire scheme is built on one load bearing attribute: hope. Hope that the units they are reporting on won't get tested. Hope that America is strong enough to deter any would-be adversaries. And hope that even if our units are bad, that the enemy's are worse. Hope has worked out from time to time. Unless you're a poor soul standing at Abbey Gate on 26 August 2021. Then hope straight up failed. What you're seeing in the military is just a microcosm of the nation at large though. Maybe even western civilization itself. Look at who the majority of people love. The leader who can deliver bad news in the best way. The one who can twist the truth to make a horrible thing feel not so bad. Conversely, look at how society responds to the blunt truth teller. They just want him to stop talking. Because living in a lie is more comfortable than facing the truth. It always is. In order to fix the military, it must be radically transformed at the top. Not with civilians, with uniformed members. All it takes is one senior general infected with radical candor to force the rest of the uniforms in his image. Like a George Marshall. But George Marshall would never ascend the military hierarchy in 2026. He didn't have the right "credentials". And therein lies the main issue. You can skip a SECWAR from O4 to the top in a suit. But you can't take an O7 and turn him into an O10 like Marshall. If we want radical candor back in uniform, the only thing left is to do something radical to achieve it.

You have to think in caveman terms. These debates are two tribes recruiting allies. TPUSA’s argument is “The other tribe is mean.” The other tribe’s argument is “We outnumber them. We’re organizing to kill them. We tell them to their face and they do nothing.” Who’d you join?

An active-duty infantry lieutenant colonel says the officer corps' inability to tell the truth is the biggest threat to readiness. The Army War College found the same in 2015: 'filling a box on a slide.' #Army #Readiness See article link in the comments

From a War Department official: “Army Lieutenant General Brett Sylvia, who was part of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was fired by Secretary Hegseth for severe misconduct. Although Sylvia’s title was director of the Directorate for Strategy, Plans, and Policy at the Joint Chiefs of Staff, known inside the military as the J5, he was NOT a central planner for the Iran War. That is the responsibility of CENTCOM and its commander Admiral Cooper. Sylvia is the subject of an investigation for leaking classified information about the Iran War, the war between Russia and Ukraine, and more. Due to the Pentagon’s media policy requiring journalists to have escorts in the building, Sylvia began meeting with journalists outside of the Pentagon in order to leak classified information. Sylvia failed three polygraphs which questioned him about leaking classified information. The investigation into him remains ongoing and has been referred to the Department of Justice for further action. The extent of his leaking became so critical that Secretary Hegseth took immediate action and fired Sylvia in order to protect national security. Urgent action was needed and could not wait another second.”

There was once a shepherd who found a wolf caught in a snare at the edge of his pasture. The wolf begged to be freed. “I was hungry,” it said. “That is all. Spare me, and I will remember your mercy!” The shepherd cut the rope. The next night, three lambs were gone. Again the shepherd found the wolf. Again it pleaded. Again the shepherd convinced himself that mercy was proof of his goodness. By winter, half the flock was dead. An old farmer finally asked him, “Why do you keep freeing it?” The shepherd answered, “Because I refuse to become cruel.” The farmer looked at the empty field and said, “Then understand what you have done. You were not merciful to the wolf. You were cruel to everything that trusted you to keep them safe.” That’s the lesson. Mercy without judgment isn’t virtue. When someone openly intends to destroy what has been entrusted to you, endless forgiveness doesn’t make you righteous. It makes everyone behind you pay for your vanity.

At @UTSA for Pick Up the Mic, a student read a poem celebrating the assassination of Charlie Kirk with such glee, then told me I was brave to be out here without my neck covered. I told her I’d pray for her. This is the climate. We pick up the mic anyway.

When the system allows criminals to walk free, eventually people will have enough and dole out justice themselves.

Good lord 🤦 Boston is being governed like it’s a game of Sim City. Install a bike lane outside senior housing, ignore residents’ concerns, create problems for emergency access, then rip it out two months later at taxpayers’ expense. This is what happens when ideology takes priority over common sense. Seniors and taxpayers deserve better.