My view won't be popular, but I'm not at all sure about this pick. Pete is a good guy and a great patriot. He saw combat and received awards. But - he was a mid-rank officer.
Don't get me wrong - I was enlisted and not some general. I know I wouldn't be able to waltz in and know my way around (politically) the puzzle palace even though I was stationed there for 5 years. For the other veterans on this board: when was the last time you saw a full bird colonel or a brigadier general picking up messages from the comm center or pushing a coffee cart down the hall to a meeting of 4-stars and service secretaries? Happens a lot at the Pentagon.
How many soldiers do you think Pete has ever been responsible for, or commanded? There are close to 3 million people in the DOD. Has he ever had to do anything with budgets, troop movements, meetings with heads of state or foreign ministers? Does he have any connections at all with anyone currently in high positions at the Pentagon? I know he isn't stupid, but he is inexperienced and is getting ready to be the "CEO" of the USA's largest and most consequential employer.
Consider this. Trump gave those idiots at the Pentagon an order to withdraw our troops from Syria, and they told him they did. They are still there - they just ignored the CIC. What do you think they will do to a SECDEF that was a major and is now on FNC?
Honestly I think he would be a great SECDEF in year 3 or 4, once someone like Admiral Rogers or even LtG Flynn went in and cleaned house. Pete doesn't know where the bodies are buried like those guys do. I believe very few of the leadership will accept him and most will work every day to undermine him. The deep state does that everywhere already.
BTW - I still like this pick better than Rubio for SoS. Rubio is a hawk and will (if the pick is real) be over the State Department - which includes the CIA. How many wars has the CIA gotten us in?
Think a little more about this pick before deciding it is a great pick. Pete would have been a great pick for the VA, or even the Deputy SECDEF if Trump really wanted to shoot for the stars. We are about to have a lot of turmoil in the DOD and I'm not sure Pete is ready to handle that level of a charlie foxtrot.
I had to edit my above comment. I was wrong about him being enlisted. I saw that somewhere and thought it was correct. However- he retired as a major. He was definitely an officer.
That said - I still think he should be in charge of the VA (since he advocates for veterans already) or Deputy SECDEF until a "fixer" comes in and cleans house.
Also he would still be a better SECDEF than Austin - even though Austin was actually a (very woke) general.
My view won't be popular, but I'm not at all sure about this pick. Pete is a good guy and a great patriot. He saw combat and received awards. But - he was a mid-rank officer.
Don't get me wrong - I was enlisted and not some general. I know I wouldn't be able to waltz in and know my way around (politically) the puzzle palace even though I was stationed there for 5 years. For the other veterans on this board: when was the last time you saw a full bird colonel or a brigadier general picking up messages from the comm center or pushing a coffee cart down the hall to a meeting of 4-stars and service secretaries? Happens a lot at the Pentagon.
How many soldiers do you think Pete has ever been responsible for, or commanded? There are close to 3 million people in the DOD. Has he ever had to do anything with budgets, troop movements, meetings with heads of state or foreign ministers? Does he have any connections at all with anyone currently in high positions at the Pentagon? I know he isn't stupid, but he is inexperienced and is getting ready to be the "CEO" of the USA's largest and most consequential employer.
Consider this. Trump gave those idiots at the Pentagon an order to withdraw our troops from Syria, and they told him they did. They are still there - they just ignored the CIC. What do you think they will do to a SECDEF that was a major and is now on FNC?
Honestly I think he would be a great SECDEF in year 3 or 4, once someone like Admiral Rogers or even LtG Flynn went in and cleaned house. Pete doesn't know where the bodies are buried like those guys do. I believe very few of the leadership will accept him and most will work every day to undermine him. The deep state does that everywhere already.
BTW - I still like this pick better than Rubio for SoS. Rubio is a hawk and will (if the pick is real) be over the State Department - which includes the CIA. How many wars has the CIA gotten us in?
Think a little more about this pick before deciding it is a great pick. Pete would have been a great pick for the VA, or even the Deputy SECDEF if Trump really wanted to shoot for the stars. We are about to have a lot of turmoil in the DOD and I'm not sure Pete is ready to handle that level of a charlie foxtrot.
I had to edit my above comment. I was wrong about him being enlisted. I saw that somewhere and thought it was correct. However- he retired as a major. He was definitely an officer.
That said - I still think he should be in charge of the VA (since he advocates for veterans already) or Deputy SECDEF until a "fixer" comes in and cleans house.
Also he would still be a better SECDEF than Austin - even though Austin was actually a (very woke) general.