Mastodawn

Nonilex Nov 10, 2024

During his campaign, #Trump vowed to purge the military of so-called "woke" generals. Now that he is president-elect, the question in the halls of the #Pentagon is whether he would go much further.

Trump is expected to have a far darker view of his #military leaders in his 2nd term, after facing Pentagon resistance over everything from his skepticism toward #NATO to his readiness to deploy troops to quell protests on #US streets.

#NationalSecurity
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/how-trump-presidency-could-lead-purge-pentagon-2024-11-10/

Nonilex Nov 10, 2024

#Trump's former #US generals & #defense secretaries are among his fiercest critics, some branding him a #fascist & declaring him #unfit for office. Angered, Trump has suggested that his former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, #MarkMilley, could be executed for treason.

Current & former U.S. officials say Trump will prioritize #loyalty in his second term & root out #military officers & career #civil servants he perceives to be disloyal.

#NationalSecurity

Nonilex Nov 10, 2024

"He will destroy the Department of #Defense, frankly. He will go in & he will dismiss generals who stand up for the #Constitution," said Jack Reed, the #Democrat who leads the #Senate #ArmedServices Cmte.

Culture war issues could be one trigger for firings. #Trump was asked by FoxNews in June whether he would fire generals described as "woke," a term for those focused on #RacialJustice & #SocialJustice but which is used by *#conservatives* to disparage #progressive policies.

#NationalSecurity

Nonilex Nov 10, 2024

"I would fire them. You can't have (a) woke military," #Trump said.

Some current & fmr ofcls fear Trump's team could target the current chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Air Force General C.Q. Brown, a widely respected fmr fighter pilot & #military commander who steers clear of #politics.

#NationalSecurity

Nonilex Nov 10, 2024

The 4-star general, who is Black, issued a video message about #discrimination in the ranks in the days after the May 2020 murder of #GeorgeFloyd by a police officer in Minneapolis, & has been a voice in favor of #diversity in the #US #military.

…#Trump's vice president-elect, #JDVance, voted as a senator last year against confirming Brown to become the top U.S. military officer, & has been a critic of perceived resistance to Trump's orders within the #Pentagon.

#NationalSecurity

damon Nov 10, 2024

"If the people in your own government aren't obeying you, you have got to get rid of them & replace them with people who are responsive to what the president's trying to do," #JDVance said in an interview w/ Tucker Carlson before the election.

During the campaign, #Trump pledged to restore the name of a #Confederate general to a major #US #military base, reversing a change made after #GeorgeFloyd's killing.

#NationalSecurity #Racism #WhiteSupremacy

Nonilex Nov 10, 2024

During the campaign #Trump took aim at #transgender troops. Trump has previously banned transgender #ServiceMembers & posted a campaign ad on X portraying them as weak, w/the vow that "WE WILL NOT HAVE A WOKE MILITARY!"

Trump has suggested the #US #military could play an important role in many of his policy priorities, from tapping #NationalGuard & possibly active-duty troops to help carry out a #MassDeportation of undocumented #immigrants to even deploying them to address #domestic unrest.

Nonilex Nov 10, 2024

Such proposals alarm #military experts, who say deploying the #military on American streets could not only violate #laws but turn much of the American population against the still widely respected #US armed forces.

In a message to the forces after #Trump's election win, outgoing #Defense Secretary #LloydAustin acknowledged the results of the election & stressed the military would obey "all lawful orders" from its civilian leaders.

#NationalSecurity

Nonilex Nov 10, 2024

But some experts caution that #Trump has wide latitude to interpret the #law & US troops cannot disobey legal orders they consider to be morally wrong.

"There is a widespread public misperception that the military can choose not to obey #immoral orders. And that's actually not true," said Kori Schake of the *#conservative* American Enterprise Institute.

Schake warned that a 2nd Trump term could see high-level firings as he pushes ahead with controversial policies.

#NationalSecurity

Nonilex Nov 10, 2024

"I think there will be an enormous #chaos premium in a 2nd Trump term, both because of the policies he will attempt to enact & the people he will put in place to enact them in terms of appointments," she said.
One US #military ofcl downplayed such concerns, saying…that creating chaos within the #US military's chain of command would create political backlash & be unnecessary for Trump to accomplish his goals.
"…military officers are generally focused on warfighting & not politics," the ofcl said.

Nonilex Nov 10, 2024

Career #CivilServants at the #Pentagon could be subjected to #loyalty tests, current & fmr ofcls say. #Trump allies have publicly embraced using executive orders & rule changes to replace thousands of civil servants with *#conservative* allies.

A senior US #defense ofcl, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters there was increasing concern within the Pentagon that Trump would purge career civilian employees from the department.

#NationalSecurity

Nonilex Nov 10, 2024

"I'm deeply concerned about their ranks," the ofcl said, adding that several colleagues had expressed concern about the future of their jobs.

Career #CivilServants are among the nearly 950k non-uniformed employees who work within the US #military & in many cases have years of specialized experience.

#Trump vowed during the campaign to give himself the power to gut the federal workforce across the government.

#NationalSecurity

Nonilex Nov 10, 2024

During his first admin, some of #Trump's controversial suggestions to advisers, such as potentially firing #missiles into #Mexico to destroy drug labs, never became policy in part because of pushback from ofcls at the #Pentagon.

"This will be 2016 on steroids & the fear is that he will hollow out the ranks & expertise in a way that will do irreparable damage to the Pentagon," the official said.

#NationalSecurity #US #military #defense

Mirishuli Nov 10, 2024

@Nonilex Aren’t these the same people who voted for him? Especially those workers in deep red states? Every military base in any red state has thousands of these workers. Yet, they voted for him.

I refuse to worry about these people.

AnAffordableWizard Nov 11, 2024

@MiriShuli @Nonilex Its not them you need to worry about, its you. Those people might have made catastrophically stupid decisions, but you are still better off in a system where those are accountable to a system of impartiality than them being replaced by professional hacks who explicitely disbelieve in impartiality.

Mirishuli Nov 10, 2024

@Nonilex lololol. Of course a Koch bought person would say following “immoral” orders is a must. See the language slip? From illegal to immoral? Americans don’t have the right to hold on to their _morals_.

People from AEI do not have any morals. Americans are now going to be faced with immediate and direct decisions. Most will become Capos.

he/him Nov 10, 2024

@MiriShuli @Nonilex Um... US servicemembers have a duty to disobey and report illegal orders.

Like, it's explicitly protected in UCMJ. A captain orders a private to execute a prisoner? That private is 100% expected to go to the major or other officer

Corb_The_Lesser Nov 10, 2024

@Nonilex It takes Trump-level narcissism to think the Pentagon is riddled with GS-14s conspiring against him.