A senior official exclusively told MS NOW how decorated military officers with decades of experience were withheld from promotion after Pentagon staff printed out internet searches showing they had attended official events like promoting Covid-19 vaccinations or marking International Women’s Day.

  • CharlesDarwin@lemmy.world
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    48 minutes ago

    Every time you think you know just how low this dumbass can go, you find out something like this.

    What a total fucking loser.

  • some_guy@lemmy.sdf.org
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    3 hours ago

    That meant brushing aside highly decorated officers with decades of experience leading carrier strike groups, thousands of flight hours on dozens of different aircraft, multiple joint assignments inside the Pentagon and shore and sea duty locations around the world. Some had multiple advanced degrees from schools like MIT and Johns Hopkins, and others had deployed in support of several conflicts like the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and Operation Inherent Resolve against ISIS.

    Think maybe that might contribute to their inability to succeed in Iran? No shade to the Iranian people, they’re persevering through grit and stubborn refusal to kowtow to an illegal bombing campaign.

  • BarneyPiccolo@lemmy.today
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    4 hours ago

    When he get tossed out on his ass, I hope all those good people who lost their jobs, and had their careers destroyed by his meddling, sue the living shit out of him.

  • peopleproblems@lemmy.world
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    3 hours ago

    You know, historically, when you surround yourself with generals who are just loyalists, your military weakens significantly.

  • Thebeardedsinglemalt@lemmy.world
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    3 hours ago

    Never forget, when there was a list of potential promotions, this chucklefuck immediately removed every single non-white male from the list citing DEI as the only reason they were even on the list.

    And people clapped back, no they were on the list due to years of quality dedicated service and DEI is the only reason he removed them

    • fyf@lemmy.world
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      7 hours ago

      He’ll be replaced with a bigger piece of shit within a day.

      Impeach the commander in shit.

      • DaveyRocket@lemmy.world
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        5 hours ago

        Exactly, this shithead just put his lead shithead as chief-of-staff. These picks are just getting worse. They’re probably just waiting for nazi general clones to finish gestating before firing more women and minorities in leadership positions.

      • Instigate@aussie.zone
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        5 hours ago

        Genuinely unsure about this, but what happens if Congress impeaches, convicts and removes him and then chooses not to confirm any of the new candidates put forward for the next two years? Does the department just operate without a secretary?

        • TryingToBeGood@reddthat.com
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          5 hours ago

          Dumbfuck had lots of “acting” whatevers; presumably that would work here, too. But as noted, no matter how bad the current guy is, there’s always someone worse out there.

      • grue@lemmy.world
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        4 hours ago

        First of all, not within a day, and second, the replacement can be immediately impeached too. Disruption is still a win compared to letting Hegseth or any replacement purge and politicize the military with impunity.

      • Rentlar@lemmy.ca
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        6 hours ago

        What if Democrats manage to investigate and refer evidence to state criminal trials (so they are safe from pay-to-pardon) all of Trump’s corrupt appointees, and let Trump pick more corrupt people to repeat the cycle, like flies to a piece of crap?

  • tigermountain@lemmy.world
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    4 hours ago

    He’s an incompetent fuck that has no idea what he’s doing and probably uses an Elon Musk trained version of Grok to make every decision.

    • grue@lemmy.world
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      4 hours ago

      No it isn’t; that’s an insult to 13-year-olds. Not only is Hegseth more childish, there’s a huge element of malice and actual evil that 13-year-olds lack completely.

      13-year-olds fuck things up due to inexperience and not taking matters seriously. Hegseth is deliberately stuffing the leadership with loyalists in order to further his fascist agenda.

  • someguy3@lemmy.world
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    7 hours ago

    the results of internet searches were used by Hegseth’s office to withhold promotions from women and people of color. He was granted anonymity for fear of retaliation.

    The senior official also described how Hegseth intentionally scuttled the promotions of senior officers who were perceived to support diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives; played a role in implementing the Pentagon’s Covid-19 vaccine mandate; were involved in the evacuation from Afghanistan; or had a connection to former chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Gen. Mark A. Milley, who served as President Donald Trump’s senior military officer but after retirement publicly criticized Trump’s leadership.

      • grue@lemmy.world
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        4 hours ago

        The actual issue about the health of the troops is irrelevant; Hegseth’s decision-making isn’t about that. It’s about filtering out anybody who puts objective reality above loyalty to Trump and his fascist agenda. Hegseth is purging the military of political opposition so that when the time comes to throw out the Posse Comitatus Act and march troops to subjugate the American public, nobody will be left to stop it.

    • nymnympseudonym@piefed.social
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      7 hours ago

      My wife’s family are big football fans.

      She loves talking about the missed opportunity a Republican POTUS in Trump’s shoes could have had, talking about your “defensive game starts with the mask” and “offensive game we go for the zone and get the jab”

      • vic_rattlehead@lemmy.world
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        6 hours ago

        That would require the administration to have humor, empathy, and the best interests of citizens at heart. They’d rather just fearmonger and grift.

  • andyburke@kbin.earth
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    7 hours ago

    These people are not leaving peacefully.

    Be as happy as you want about the elections, but be real: this is preparations for dictatorship - this is a purge of our military.

    • im_fine_sandy@nord.pub
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      6 hours ago

      I’m undecided.

      I absolutely agree that they’ve spent the last 2 years hollowing out the checks and balances.

      In a related way, whether has already done so much damage, but there’s not really a pathway to reverse that damage. Yes, impeach him… but be aware the replacement will be just as bad. If / when a Democrat is elected, will they demote all the dickheads that were promoted by hegseth? What about all the actual qualified people who were retired?

      That said, Trump would happily throw any sycophants under the bus every day of the week. Hegseth is ripe… I imagine the smart move is to keep him there for a few more weeks to eat the sin and diatract dems and then axe him when you need to regain the narrative.

      • Manjushri@piefed.social
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        3 hours ago

        We may not be able to reverse the damage quickly, but Hegseth has to be stopped. The damage he is doing to our national security is ongoing.

        The senior official’s account of the application of new criteria was confirmed by two of the officers who were selected for promotion by a rigorous merit-based process to a flag or general officer rank, but then withheld by Hegseth’s office. Those officers were told by Pentagon officials over the phone their promotions were being withheld, but they were not given a chance to respond, they said. For most, not getting promoted will end their military careers. If these officers do not promote to the rank they were selected for within 18 months, most will be forced to retire. The result has been a precipitous loss of experience and talent at the top ranks, the official said.

        Emphasis mine. He’s not just refusing to promote people, the refusal if forcing them out of the military. Losing all these qualified officers is costing us vast amounts of experience. Like Trump, Hegseth may not be an enemy operative, but it’s hard to imagine how he could do more damage if he was. This man is a national security disaster and he needs to go now.

      • dhork@lemmy.world
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        6 hours ago

        I imagine the smart move is to keep him there for a few more weeks to eat the sin and diatract dems and then axe him when you need to regain the narrative.

        If Republicans are going to eat one of their own, it has to be now, while they are still in charge of the Senate and can approve the next one. If they wait too long, the new Congress takes over, and now the President needs to ask Chuck’s permission to appoint anyone.

        • floofloof@lemmy.ca
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          4 hours ago

          If they wait too long, the new Congress takes over, and now the President needs to ask Chuck’s permission to appoint anyone.

          I don’t for a minute trust Chuck Schumer not to just acquiesce. The Democrats must replace him now.