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Hegseth's primary qualification for being the Secretary of Defense is being a yes-man who owes the administration for his job. It's not surprising that given a

by ethbr1 2y ago

Hegseth's primary qualification for being the Secretary of Defense is being a yes-man who owes the administration for his job. It's not surprising that given a choice between {serving the needs of the military} and {serving the needs of the administration}, he defaulted to the latter.

hnaccount_rng 2y ago
I agree with Hegseth not being qualified and everything, so +1 for the snark, but.. how was this "serving the needs of the administration"?
- HenryBemis 2y ago
  (I assume/will try to interpret as...) Meaning that the role has some rules (written and unwritten). I can gossip about what went wrong at work today when out drinking with friends without breaking any laws/contracts, or I can just shut up and not gossip/brag that "today we killed 100 people", especially when celebrating the death of people.
- ethbr1 2y ago
  In this particular situation, Hegseth had two choices. 1. Limit what was shared in the Signal group to non-operational details and refer all involved to their secured systems. 2. Make it easier for everyone else and just post the details directly in the chat. He chose the one that he thought would curry favor with other members of the administration.
nailer 2y ago
I thought his primary qualification for being the secretary of defence was: —— Being a Major in the Minnesota Army National Guard. And the following Overseas deployments: - Guantanamo Bay (2004-2005): He served as a second lieutenant with a security platoon, guarding detainees. - Iraq (2005-2006): He deployed with the 3rd Brigade of the 101st Airborne Division, serving as an infantry platoon leader in Baghdad and later as a civil-military operations officer in Samarra. - Afghanistan (2011-2012): He served as a captain and senior counterinsurgency instructor at the Counterinsurgency Training Center in Kabul. Awards Hegseth earned two Bronze Star Medals for his service in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as a Combat Infantryman Badge, which recognizes soldiers who have directly engaged in ground combat. He also received two Army Commendation Medals and the National Defense Service Medal with Bronze Service Star, along with Expert Infantryman and Combat Infantryman badges. His military career spanned from 2002 to 2021, including active duty and time in the Individual Ready Reserve. In addition to his military service, Hegseth holds a Bachelor of Arts in Politics from Princeton University and a Master of Public Policy from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, which complement his practical experience with academic credentials relevant to leadership and policy. ———- You can argue he’s good at the job or bad at the job. I would have no issue if you said he was completely incompetent. But saying that hs a ‘primary qualification is being a yes man’ is a ridiculous laughable argument.
- dagw 2y ago
  You do not seriously believe that he got hired based solely or even primarily on that, let's face it, quite mediocre military service resume.
- ethbr1 2y ago
  I realize much has been made of his military service. If he was the only reserve O-4 with combat experience we could find to serve as Secretary of Defense, then yes, that would be a primary qualification. Given the rank, that's ridiculous. Ergo his primary qualification is something else.
  - nailer 2y ago
    A decent military record is table stakes, if he did not have a reasonable military record at all he would not have the position - so that’s his primary qualification. People that were close to the administration that didn’t have a military record would not have been eligible for the job. Not you, but many others were arguing at the time that his primary qualification was ‘being a Fox News anchor’, which is infuriating. It’s not - it’s his military service. There are many people that are Fox News anchors, none of them were eligible for the job because they do not have a military record. I have no argument with claiming he won the job because of his connections.
    - sorcerer-mar 2y ago
      It's actually not table stakes nor a matter of eligibility. We've had several SecDefs, all dramatically more competent than Hegseth, who did not have any military experience.
      - ethbr1 2y ago
        Recently, from review: William J. Perry (94-97, 2+5yr Army) William Cohen (97-01) Robert Gates (06-11, 2yr AF) Leon Panetta (11-13, 2yr Army) Chuck Hagel (13-15, 1yr Army)* Ash Carter (15-17) * To be fair, Hagel's year was volunteering to be drafted and sent to Vietnam as an infantry squad leader

by ethbr1 2y ago

hnaccount_rng 2y ago

I agree with Hegseth not being qualified and everything, so +1 for the snark, but.. how was this "serving the needs of the administration"?

HenryBemis 2y ago
(I assume/will try to interpret as...) Meaning that the role has some rules (written and unwritten). I can gossip about what went wrong at work today when out drinking with friends without breaking any laws/contracts, or I can just shut up and not gossip/brag that "today we killed 100 people", especially when celebrating the death of people.
ethbr1 2y ago
In this particular situation, Hegseth had two choices. 1. Limit what was shared in the Signal group to non-operational details and refer all involved to their secured systems. 2. Make it easier for everyone else and just post the details directly in the chat. He chose the one that he thought would curry favor with other members of the administration.

nailer 2y ago

I thought his primary qualification for being the secretary of defence was: —— Being a Major in the Minnesota Army National Guard. And the following Overseas deployments: - Guantanamo Bay (2004-2005): He served as a second lieutenant with a security platoon, guarding detainees. - Iraq (2005-2006): He deployed with the 3rd Brigade of the 101st Airborne Division, serving as an infantry platoon leader in Baghdad and later as a civil-military operations officer in Samarra. - Afghanistan (2011-2012): He served as a captain and senior counterinsurgency instructor at the Counterinsurgency Training Center in Kabul. Awards Hegseth earned two Bronze Star Medals for his service in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as a Combat Infantryman Badge, which recognizes soldiers who have directly engaged in ground combat. He also received two Army Commendation Medals and the National Defense Service Medal with Bronze Service Star, along with Expert Infantryman and Combat Infantryman badges. His military career spanned from 2002 to 2021, including active duty and time in the Individual Ready Reserve. In addition to his military service, Hegseth holds a Bachelor of Arts in Politics from Princeton University and a Master of Public Policy from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, which complement his practical experience with academic credentials relevant to leadership and policy. ———- You can argue he’s good at the job or bad at the job. I would have no issue if you said he was completely incompetent. But saying that hs a ‘primary qualification is being a yes man’ is a ridiculous laughable argument.

dagw 2y ago
You do not seriously believe that he got hired based solely or even primarily on that, let's face it, quite mediocre military service resume.
ethbr1 2y ago
I realize much has been made of his military service. If he was the only reserve O-4 with combat experience we could find to serve as Secretary of Defense, then yes, that would be a primary qualification. Given the rank, that's ridiculous. Ergo his primary qualification is something else.
- nailer 2y ago
  A decent military record is table stakes, if he did not have a reasonable military record at all he would not have the position - so that’s his primary qualification. People that were close to the administration that didn’t have a military record would not have been eligible for the job. Not you, but many others were arguing at the time that his primary qualification was ‘being a Fox News anchor’, which is infuriating. It’s not - it’s his military service. There are many people that are Fox News anchors, none of them were eligible for the job because they do not have a military record. I have no argument with claiming he won the job because of his connections.
  - sorcerer-mar 2y ago
    It's actually not table stakes nor a matter of eligibility. We've had several SecDefs, all dramatically more competent than Hegseth, who did not have any military experience.
    - ethbr1 2y ago
      Recently, from review: William J. Perry (94-97, 2+5yr Army) William Cohen (97-01) Robert Gates (06-11, 2yr AF) Leon Panetta (11-13, 2yr Army) Chuck Hagel (13-15, 1yr Army)* Ash Carter (15-17) * To be fair, Hagel's year was volunteering to be drafted and sent to Vietnam as an infantry squad leader