Posted on 12/29/2008 5:17:12 AM PST by melt
When asked how they feel about President-elect Barack Obama as commander in chief, six out of 10 active-duty service members say they are uncertain or pessimistic, according to a Military Times survey.
In follow-up interviews, respondents expressed concerns about Obama's lack of military service and experience leading men and women in uniform.
''Being that the Marine Corps can be sent anywhere in the world with the snap of his fingers, nobody has confidence in this guy as commander in chief," said one lance corporal who asked not to be identified.
Underlying much of the uncertainty is Obama's stated 16-month timetable for pulling combat troops out of Iraq, as well as his calls to end the ''don't ask, don't tell" policy to allow gays to serve openly in the military, according to survey responses and interviews.
Nearly one-third of respondents -- including eight out of 10 black service members -- said they are optimistic about their incoming boss.
(Excerpt) Read more at suntimes.com ...
I doubt if we will ever hear it under Obaam. I dont think he particularly cares if our military becomes smaller due to lack of personnel. It would mean he could simply ignore it and our forces would be cut without his having to assume the blame.
Even at the worst times in the Soviet Union, there was one type of protest still left, and there was nothing even the brutal KGB could do to stop it: inefficiency.
It has even been suggested that while there was no attempt at disaster in the Iranian hostage rescue mission, the contempt for Jimmy Carter and his draft-dodging SecDef Harold Brown was so great, that many of the mid-range officers and NCOs were quick to abort the mission when things went south.
Nothing unethical, mind you, but they saw no reason to throw away their lives on an improbable mission ordered by spineless and duplicitous civilian leadership. Loyalty of subordinates is strained when superiors make their disdain for their subordinates known.
Bill Clinton. BH Obama. Two more men who demand loyalty without offering any. Who expect others to risk their lives solely because they are pawns, and sneer at them as being fools for having honor. Neither of these two men would dream of serving others, only themselves.
I do not expect mutiny, nor do I encourage it. But I cannot deny inefficiency to those of good judgment when their lives are at risk is far better than those asking them to risk their lives.
“Recruiting could become a problem.”
Worse than that, we might just end up with an all black military. Now that is scary.
They have to obey orders, but they do not have to respect the POS.
We still have the right and obligation to disobey an unconstitutional order.
Your insults reflect a lack of thought on your part. We are conservatives, or we are supposed to be. We are the thoughtful ones.
I’m sure that a lot of service personnel will leave. Others won’t.
I don’t live in New York. I’m insulted that you think so. I live in conservative old York, PA, and fit right in, and I have never even ridden in a limousine.
BTW, millions of men and women served under FDR, and that was after the new deal.
C’mon, let’s not be like the liberals and let hatred rule our actions and thoughts. I detest what Obama stands for as much as you do, but I intend to respect the office that he will occupy, and I do not intend to get Obama derangement syndrome. I hope you can avoid it, too.
“When LBJ landed in EL Toro MCAS during Tet to give a speech, he was loudly booed by the Marines there.”
What would have happened if they had booed their commanding general?
Conservative York, PA. LOL. What goes for conservative in the northeast would be a moderate at best in the south.
They'll be looking for any excuse they can find to institute the draft.
My husband has been in Iraq since September. After the election he said they were told in no uncertain terms “if you don’t have anything nice to say, keep quiet!”.
Needless to say it has been incredibly quiet among the ranks.
I feel so bad for them. He’s considering calling it quits in the Reserve soon although he had initially hoped to retire at O-6. Perhaps he can fly under the radar for a while and it will be a blessedly short 4 years.
My son was struggling with joining to Marines or trying college first. After the election he said, guess I’m going to college first. He still wants to join the Marines though, 4 years of college will buy him time while Obama is President.
“Conservative York, PA. LOL. What goes for conservative in the northeast would be a moderate at best in the south.”
We are the bitter clingers. Which part of the country are you in?
If the CIC disobeys the Constitution, the orders issued by said CIC become unlawful.
But said incoming President is ineligible to be President under the Constitution.
The 220-year old piece of paper trumps the Kenyan-born Muslim everyday.
Not exactly! The oath they take delineates, in order of prority, the entities to which they owe their allegiance.
"I, _____, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God."
“What would have happened if they had booed their commanding general?”
I don’t know. What would have happened? Five minutes of PT? Am I close?
You’ve got Obama derangement syndrome bad. You’re as bad as the liberals who spent most of the last eight years claiming that bush didn’t really win the election, that he was a moron, etc. Every time his name was mentioned, they just had conniptions.
Let’s not get there. We will have plenty of issues to fight him on. let’s keep it political. We have a better chance of winning that way.
I don’t know either. I suspect that it would have been some sort of disciplining.
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