Because He Snorkeled Once
Special Warfare Rear Adm. Collin Green, commander of Naval Special Warfare Command, is resigning over disagreements with Trump.
It’s over the Eddie Gallagher atrocity.
Green graduated from the US Naval Academy in 1986 and completed the Navy SEAL Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) course two years later. He served in SEAL Teams 2, 3, and 5, in addition to senior roles for the NATO’s Special Operations Command and US Central Command.
We have now lost Navy Secretary Richard Spencer and Green, the top Navy SEAL officer, over disagreements with Trump over Gallagher. But, that’s okay because Trump’s nanny let him play with boats in the bathtub and Trump actually went snorkeling once so he’s good to run the Navy and the SEAL team. Unless his hair weighs him down.
Only once, Ms. Juanita Jean Herownself? By the powers of the urban dictionary and Leningrad Lindsey, that number is subject to debate. Ask Rick Santorum, if further confirmation is needed.
The Toddler-in-Thief* has done much to undermine unit cohesiveness in the military with his pardon pen. More concerning are his attacks on the UCMJ and the Constitution with little or no resistance up and down the chain of command to Donnie’s* illegal order to assassinate Iranian General Qasem Soleimani on Iraqi soil.
Donnie* already bears the asterisk for impeached. And the Ukrainian SNAFU should have buried him, but for Republicons being Republicons. And, being that there is no outrage Donnie* can commit that will change that, Speaker Pelosi and the House Managers led by Congressman Adam Schiff did what they could do. So will skip the second guessing on which and how many articles of impeachment should have been fired at Moscow Mitch. Actually major credit to Congressman Schiff for firing it up and for not “phoning it in” despite those odds.
Here it is, up to the voters in 2020. Thanks for nothing to the Republicons in Congress. But all these outrages, c’mon DNC, let’s see some ads enumerating them directed at all 23 “open” Republicon Senate seats.
1If the leaders of our baby merc force had any honor the entire top command would have resigned publicly and loudly the day that demented donnie was inaugurated.
2Instead they stayed thinking that a little bum licking would get them more toys and even more immunity from war crimes.
Gee how’s that working out?
They got the immunity and their expensive deadly toys but demented donnie has driven them below even their own very low sense of honor.
No sympathy or praise for this sell out.
I am sure he will find a nice cushy berth in some private military industrial company so the tax payers will continue to pay for his desecration of the country.
@k I think you are directing hostility at people who may not deserve it. Yes there have been and are bad actors of high rank in our military, but expecting them to resign en-masse every time elected civilians to whom they report do something like what Trump did with Gallagher is not reasonable.
There is a fine line between resigning over principle and just quitting when the going gets a little tough. These guys and gals world view and training is all about toughing it out as long as you can.
I don’t know anything about this Adm Green, but it looks to me like he is leaving lifetime benefits and pension behind. Maybe he has a private gig lined up (I expect so) that will make up for it but I wouldn’t begrudge him that. He fought for the country when I couldn’t and even if he cheered when Trump finessed the election that makes him still good enough for me to respect. Not agree with, mind you. Not worship. Simply respect.
3If any more military leaders quit because of Trump, all he’ll have left for a Situation Room will be the White House kitchen when the hamberders aren’t fried to his satisfaction, and he’s still Commander in Chef.
4Green will retire on an Admirals pay, but think of all the young men and women who wanted to make military service a career? It’s they who I’m concerned about leaving. My niece’s husband left the Navy after 20 years; he has a Masters from A&M in Nuclear Engineering and had thought to stay for his whole career. He took a look at Trump, a look at his benefits at 20 years and they are now living happily ever after in Austin. We can’t afford to lose many like him!
5k, not how the system is supposed to work nor should it, unless you seriously want mass resignations and other coup like behavior from the military. Here’s how it goes: the military is subordinate to the CiC and civilian control. Such and to the point it is well written that the military will not be used against our civilian population: would you want that to change? Where the rubber meets the road, the flag ranks really screwed the pooch with the Toddler-in-Thief*. Their role is not merely to ‘advise’ the ***king moron* but to refuse unlawful orders and not to look for John Yoo paths around the clarity of the UCMJ to accommodate unlawful orders.
Among the many repairs facing a Democratic administration in 2021 will be the repairs to the military so more of the general Petraeus, Flynn & Kelly type bs doesn’t continue, especially without loss of both rank and benefits. Facing loss of those benefits, see how many of the flag staff “refind” their ethics and copies of the UCMJ. Would be content with whoever Congressman Schiff or former Sec/Sen Kerry would recommend for the task of investigating this particular mess.
k, not disagreeing with your overall assessment of the mess nor even some of your solutions. Simply pointing out some of the pitfalls generic to change before we “ask for something.”
6The Marines say: “death before dishonor.”
Trump says: “dishonor before breakfast.”
7Grandma Ada and Rick, all too similar to how Rexxon Drillerson was sent in to decimate the State Department of seasoned personnel and discourage any new young talent. Now being continued by replacement moron Pompeo at State. Not sure who is now advising Donnie’s* military ‘decisions’ with Kelly & Bolton gone. Dawg help us all if it’s Jughead Kushner, Ivodka or alternate weasel Stephen Miller.
8So lets get this straight
9If a rogue thug, who lost the popular vote, is put into the oval office by the scotus or russian hackers the proper thing for senior officers to do is tug their forelock and just say yes guvonor?
We know that pursuing an illegal war of aggression, Iraq, that violates the CMJ (clause inserted after nuremberg soldiers have a duty to disobey illegal orders) wasn’t enough.
Having them engage in war crimes by violating Geneva rules with torture, communal punishment, targeting civilians etc is not enough for them to stand by their oaths of office either.
How about if they are ordered to execute any and all foreign detainees? or to open fire on an orderly line of immigration seekers?
So what if rogue orders them to build “re-education detention centers” in the middle of the desert would that be enough for them to stand by their oaths?
How about if they are ordered to use the detainees in reeducation to work in uranium mines without protection? Or force them to clean out holding tanks at Hanford with out any protective gear? Just another snappy salute and a yes sir?
Please stop misrepresenting what I have said. This is not a matter of policy differences such as joining NATO or refusing order from POTUS not to support illegal invasion of cuba.
At what point does their oaths and the UCMJ over ride their blind obedience and feathering their own nests?
Where dos a personal conscience come in and override their comfort hiding behind the legal wall that the discredited use of the nuremberg defense come in?
The argument I seem to be hearing is that the baby merc’s are nothing but mindless killers with no ethical or moral standards whose only obligation is to murder on command.
Simple standard if one has to even consider using the nuremberg defense to protect themselves after following an “order” they have a duty to refuse that order.
Anything less is a betrayal of their oath, a besmirching of their uniform and a disgrace to our country.
We have already seen that in the iraq fiasco are we to continue down this road of disgrace while following orders before honor in obeying the law.
Remember, supposedly, the LAW is supreme even above their tin gods of the twit and demented donnie. (who the military in 2016 voted by almost 2 to 1 over hillary)
One of the problems when a nation slides into authoritarianism is how the military reacts.
In our case, since enlisted personnel are sworn to uphold the orders of those appointed over them, and officers are sworn to the same without any mental reservation (since officers can resign and enlisted personnel cannot), what happens is those officers with mental reservations about the corruption of the rule of law will resign.
That leaves open positions for the would-be authoritarian to appoint sycophants and loyalists. Enlisted personnel are simply stuck.
That’s why in the post WW2 trials of the Germans and Japanese, it was primarily officers who were tried and not enlisted personnel.
Moreover, as senior officers loyal to the Constitution leave or retire due to mental reservations about carrying out questionable orders, the military loses the experience necessary to have a competent officer corps.
If we don’t get this guy out in November we’re going be in serious trouble.
10If a rogue thug, who lost the popular vote, is put into the oval office by the scotus or russian hackers the proper thing for senior officers to do is tug their forelock and just say yes guvonor?
I know how you feel but — pretty much.
Whatever else you think of our senior officer core they are well versed in the ideal that in this country the military is under civilian control. What we are seeing is the downside of that. Military officers don’t take control of government. They don’t strike. They don’t walk out en-mass. They don’t hold political events.
They don’t have to like the guy in office. Make no mistake many of them despised Clinton and had little nice to say about Obama. Many who started out thinking that with Trump we got a real man’s man in office by a miracle but many of those don’t think that anymore.
Keep in mind many of the war crimes you are thinking of didn’t start with Trump. He didn’t make things better but most of our current infractions started with Cheney/Bush. I suppose we could have had our best people — those with scruples — walk out in protest but I am glad the did not. That would have resulted in the worst of the worst to be there when Obama took office. And you want the good guys there when Trump is out.
So be careful what you wish for.
11Pretty sure that hair floats….
121) the oath the military takes is to the Constitution not a tin god so the affirmative requirement that they NOT obey an illegal order applies to all ranks. If you give someone a weapon you best be sure they are aware of their legal obligations on when and how to use it. A war crime is a war crime be it committed by a command rank or lowliest boot. No sympathy. This is a “volunteer” force if they are unable or unwilling to obey the law they shouldn’t have volunteered.
This is similar in excusing a cop of murder since they were new and unfamiliar with weapons.
2) The command ranks should be aware that their obedience should be to the Law not to a leader. If they aren’t bust them to lowest rank and cashier them.
3) If the administration is lawless and continues to issue illegal orders why shouldn’t entire command staff resign en masse, publicly and loudly? Failure to do so for the “good of the service” is lie. They are more concerned they might offend some campaign contributors thus scotching their cushy pay check after retirement.
13Responding to k at #13.
1) True, enlisted military personnel are not supposed to obey illegal orders. The issue here is Gallagher being pardoned by Drumpf, a civilian pardon power provided in the Constitution to the President (even this one). No enlisted person had anything to do with that, and Gallagher’s own folks testified against him.
No war crime was committed by any other enlisted person in this other than Gallagher. Their obedience is to the law, the UCMJ and other applicable federal laws. Their obedience is also to the civilian government. The second the military disobeys the civilian government (put in by the voters), congratulations, you now have a military dictatorship. Those never end well for civil rights.
2) Command ranks are aware of obedience to the law. That is why in a rising authoritarian regime, officers will resign if they cannot convince the leader to take a different path. That opens up those positions to loyalists to the would-be authoritarian.
3) If the entire command staff resigns publicly and loudly (the loudly part being after they resigned), then you get a whole command staff of loyalists to an authoritarian regime.
ADM Greene resigned because he was the commander of Gallagher when G was tried and convicted. Greene tried to talk Trump out of that, and Trump refused. Greene did the only thing left he could do.
14So actions at the prison was not a war crime?
15Water boarding and other torture was not a war crime?
The potential list is sadly almost endless not to mention in engaging in aggressive war of conquest?
Oh is that why staff ignored Clinton’s orders on a dis obedient general at Fort Lewis and was allowed to retire with rank and not court martialed as he should have been.
Oh and don’t forget command authority leaking to thuglican to undermine Obama.
As for General staffs standing up against the type of authoritarianism that their entire organization is based upon is a joke right? Worked so well in history from Spanish civil war to Germany and, sadly, all to many examples of generals sabotaging civilian control.
Don’t forget dugout doug’s courageous attack, with armor, on the bonus marchers camp with women and children, in direct violation of potus orders.
As for true believers ending up if others resign
How could we tell the difference?
Anyone who has never served as a military officer can not comprehend the responsibility of command!
The mere act of earning a commission is itself a daunting accomplishment. My OTS class was comprised mostly of young men and women aged 21 or 22 years.
16I remember my brother (retired colonel) bragging about how tough aisheving rank was that only 1 or 2 out of 10 ever aicheve it
17My sister who became a CPA in the days when they had to ink in “her” over the printed “him” on her certificate since the forms were all for men only
She laughed in his face