Miscellaneous And Off Topic Subjects

[froot loops]

New phone, who dis?

[Whitley]

There's a view from enlisted ranks ranks on Ghallager - usually anti-officer and not the disrespectful kind it's just that many see their motives as less than of the highest order. Unit, country > self and all that.

The officer corps in all the services has its bad apples but by-in-large these are dedicated service members that by the time they reach the field grade ranks they've been heavily schooled on ethics in the conduct of war fighting. It's very important, in Ghallager's circumstance, to separate criminality from unethical behavior.

One of the things I've been reading about Admiral Green, the head of Naval Special Forces Command, is that since earlier episodes of SEAL's bad behaviors, he was supporting a campaign within Special Forces to have service members designated as such to clean up their personal and service related behavior. Improve their professionalism.

The services engaged in actual combat operations are constantly faced with the challenge of conducting themselves in an ethical manner. Since successful war fighting involves killing the enemy baseline ethical conduct becomes questionable if it's not carried out in a manner that the public will generally consider acceptable. There is a difference between a mercenary or an assassin who kills for personal gain or pleasure and uniformed personnel carrying out a combat operation during which enemy combatants are killed to achieve an appropriate military objective.

In that context, given what we know about Gahallager's conduct, was he acting appropriately? My take is that he wasn't. Not even close. Superiors, like they have in every war the US has fought in, have had to deal with soldiers acting unethically in combat. This case of ethical misconduct, IMO, isn't anything new. Admiral Green's approach to Ghallager's conduct is nothing new nor is it inappropriate. Most people know about situations in WWII and Vietnam where terrible acts were committed, such acts being beyond the prosecution of any military objective. Remember My Lai and Lieutenant William Calley? His behavior and that of his subordinates who raped, killed and mutilated 100s of Vietnamese civilians were thousands of time worse and greater in scope than what Gallagher did but degree is unimportant here just like it is in the Ten Commandments. Sin is sin. Unethical conduct is unethical conduct regardless of degree.

Gahllager and the people around him have tried to cast his conduct in ways that make it sound heroic. It isn't. They've also been dismissive or expect us to be forgiving of it. We shouldn't. That soldiers around him, particularly his seniors who are tasked with holding soldiers who act unethically in battle accountable, are being criticized by Ghallager, his people and the media that is being used to do that sickens me. That Trump praises Ghallager is misguided at best, horrendously un-presidential and unethical at worst.

And acting above board is even more important when going against an ideology. Especially when dealing with ISIS and other groups of that ilk. Why? Because you have them every day saying America and the West want nothing more to kill us and destroy every way of life we have. They will not stop but we can't fight them one on one because they have more guns and us. So we must use any means necessary to achieve our aims.

And when things happen like Gallagher ISIS and their ilk use to say....look we were right all along. So everything that the US does in this conflict must be above reproach. Unfortunately the current POTUS has shown numerous times that he does not give a damn unless something benefits him or his family in some way. Wearing that trident or whatever is a privilege. And that is something that can be revoked (and should be) if you besmirch the group you are in. Above all, POTUS should stay out of such matters and let the people in charge handle it. But then again Fox News said it was wrong so it must have been right?

[Jeff Buchanan]

Thanks for those comments Whitley. Going beyond the immediate issues of the Ghallager situation, it's a pretty sad state of affairs when a large cohort of Americans think that Ghallager acted appropriately or that it's not a big deal or that he is heroic. Symbolically and yet more disturbing is that Ghallager posed for a photo standing over the corpse of the person he had just killed as if the killing were some sort of sport.

Americans should be horrified by his conduct instead there are some who cheer it, including the president. I don't think the serious implications of Ghallager's conduct and the president's apparent approval and support of it are fully understood by those who want to praise him and are dismissive of his unethical conduct. This is just one more example of the damage Trump has done to what America has been historically defined as.

[Ghengis Jon]

Sadly Jeff, I think this is an example of how a large segment of the population is moving from tribalism to cultism. I don't like it, but I recognize the tribalism that has gripped this nation. This morphs into cultism when the affected begin to disregard the ethics and morals that were previously instilled and blanket agree with the cult leader across all issues. I would wager that the majority of service members (and veterans) disagree with Trump's intervention. The military has always been able to tend its own, through reward or punishment, without unwarranted outside intervention. The UCMJ and strong leadership structure is in place for matters like these. The Gallager affair is an example of a cult leader intervening with the express purpose of inciting his political base.

The way to kill the cult is to remove the leader, by ballot or impeachment, ASAeffinP.

[Jeff Buchanan]

The more I consider the implications of another 4y of Trump, the less likely I'm willing to hold my nose and vote for him with the alternative a vote for socialism or senility.

This admission is for you, Froot.

[lineygoblue]

Give me a real candidate for President who actually cares about us worthless peons in middle America, and I'll vote for them.

And I'm sorry, Hillary was not a good option. I've never believed that, and never will. No need to cover all that again.

[Dr. Strangelove]

Too early to say if it's a terrorist attack or just a nutcase or what, but some sort of gunfire incident happening at London Bridge

But anyways, hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving

[lineygoblue]

Dirty bastard probably gave them food poisoning ....

[lineygoblue]

image_7706.jpg

This is Jeffrey David Cox the head of Federal Prison Guards in Manhattan standing with Hillary. Jeffrey is the boss of the guards who were supposed to keep Jeffery Epstein alive while in the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan.

[Dr. Strangelove]

image_7706.jpg

This is Jeffrey David Cox the head of Federal Prison Guards in Manhattan standing with Hillary. Jeffrey is the boss of the guards who were supposed to keep Jeffery Epstein alive while in the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan.

I know that is presented mostly as a joke, but Jeffrey David Cox is the President of the Federal Employee Union (with sexual harassment allegations against him).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeffrey_David_Cox

[WingsFan]

Ah yeah to many suspicious events with Hillary to call all of them 'crazy conspiracy theory's' I guess there just happens to be lots of coincidences.


lol Liney you're going to trigger Froot Loops again. He loses his hot running left blood every few weeks in this thread at any conservative view (or joke)

[lineygoblue]

I know that is presented mostly as a joke, but Jeffrey David Cox is the President of the Federal Employee Union (with sexual harassment allegations against him).

Oh, .. so you're saying he fits the Clinton profile.

Thanks!

if only Hillary had won ....

[lineygoblue]

lol Liney you're going to trigger Froot Loops again. He loses his hot running left blood every few weeks in this thread at any conservative view (or joke)

I'm not worried, Wings. Loopy has a lot on his plate right now with the end of the Dantonio era upon him, and Izzo already apologizing to Spartan fans for losing a meaningless game in November.

He'll be fine come March, and then again in November when Pocahontas becomes CIC.

[WingsFan]

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[WingsFan]

I'm not worried, Wings. Loopy has a lot on his plate right now with the end of the Dantonio era upon him, and Izzo already apologizing to Spartan fans for losing a meaningless game in November.

Loopy lol that will get him fired up! He's only here to troll and show how smart he is Liney