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Tracking Trump Administration and Cabinet picks


PenelopeWitherspoon

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4 minutes ago, InkaUtexas said:

I wish man....

I love the Guam answer. He remembered that one. Did not think about it. Did not consider anything  else, which I would think was a proper answer. Um, well Senator, they are all kind of important, with different roles. For example there is a place on Hawaii, ya know, where the fucking NAVY sails from.

And you can see from his look he is glad he remembered even that one.

Yep. There is our Sec Def.

 

I'm not even sure how to emotionally respond to that series of questions/answers. Just fucking bizarro world, simpleton showmanship shit.

Like, I know a lot of stupid people. A whole fucking lot. Just look at my FB timeline and the regards I went to high school with. Some of the dumbest ones might well be impressed, but even the most mediocre ones can figure out this is Dumbass 101 stuff.

The real problem is they are constitutionally incapable of recognizing or reckoning with what they've wrought, which is a terrible tragedy.

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12 minutes ago, InkaUtexas said:

I wish man....

I love the Guam answer. He remembered that one. Did not think about it. Did not consider anything  else, which I would think was a proper answer. Um, well Senator, they are all kind of important, with different roles. For example there is a place on Hawaii, ya know, where the fucking NAVY sails from.

And you can see from his look he is glad he remembered even that one.

Yep. There is our Sec Def.

 

Simulation. I’m gonna go out and do every drug there is tomorrow because we live in a god damn simulation. 

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18 minutes ago, bolverk said:

I'm not even sure how to emotionally respond to that series of questions/answers. Just fucking bizarro world, simpleton showmanship shit.

Like, I know a lot of stupid people. A whole fucking lot. Just look at my FB timeline and the regards I went to high school with. Some of the dumbest ones might well be impressed, but even the most mediocre ones can figure out this is Dumbass 101 stuff.

The real problem is they are constitutionally incapable of recognizing or reckoning with what they've wrought, which is a terrible tragedy.

Well don't mean shit, but this made me feel better. Enjoy and know there are some adults in the room. And TBH, when you watch Rubio today you see what we expect. Like him or hate him, he knows his shit. Hegseth is a doofus.

 

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8 hours ago, bolverk said:

Hold up.

In the confirmation hearing, Hegseth was seriously asked how many push-ups he does/did/could do?

Y'all are joking, right?

Right???

The real issue is that yall are okay with having an infantry platoon full of women who can only do 10 push ups or run a mile in 15 minutes as 100% qualified troops. But another platoon where men can do 100 push -ups and run a mile in 9 minutes is only 65% qualified. 
 

But let’s get back to the sound bites…

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12 hours ago, TwiceHorn said:

Tim Kaine was Mayor of Richmond during the Clinton impeachment.

Clinton was not impeached for infidelity, but rather perjury and obstruction of justice.

The Senate that tried Clinton's impeachment had 15 R votes to acquit on both counts.  The "democrat" Senate could not have done it alone.

But I know you got your talking point from Megyn Kelly.

Nice work.

Thank you for quoting me.

Yes, I’m glad we agree. Republicans then and now have kept the same position. Democrats have not.

Having an affair does not disqualify you from holding office. If so, we would have no politicians/government officials.
 

Tim Kaine clearly thinks it does. He didn’t mention sexual assault or abuse with Hegspeth. Only that he cheated on his wife, disgraced his children, had sex with another women, etc….  That behavior was disqualifying.

Great point on Clinton impeachment for lying. I think we both agree that the Senators are professional/unbiased enough to only judge the lying and completely separate the infidelity. Trumps was exactly the same. It was only the phone call and all other Trump baggage was not a factor.

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9 hours ago, InkaUtexas said:

On an email chain with my dad and his buds. They are shocked at this appointment.

I hadn't thought about it really but the guy on that TikTok talking about Trump wanting somebody at SecDef that won't question a ridiculous order from Trump seems pretty logical in why he'd want a nobody like Hegseth in that position.

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2 hours ago, Balcones said:

The real issue is that yall are okay with having an infantry platoon full of women who can only do 10 push ups or run a mile in 15 minutes as 100% qualified troops. But another platoon where men can do 100 push -ups and run a mile in 9 minutes is only 65% qualified. 
 

But let’s get back to the sound bites…

This is 100% fabricated bullshit. Standards were not lowered for women in infantry 

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3 hours ago, Balcones said:

The real issue is that yall are okay with having an infantry platoon full of women who can only do 10 push ups or run a mile in 15 minutes as 100% qualified troops. But another platoon where men can do 100 push -ups and run a mile in 9 minutes is only 65% qualified. 
 

But let’s get back to the sound bites…

No, it is not. It is about a dumbass who cannot name ASEAN partners. Basic Sec Def shit. A supply sgt in Pearl can.

He is not ready for the job. I bet you did not watch the Duckworth video did you?

 

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I'm no David Brooks fan, but I thought his article yesterday in the Times was pretty accurate in how we deserve him (though it was too easy on Republicans for nominating him). I do disagree that we're at the most dangerous foreign policy point since WWII, but he's always pretty hawkish.

 

This was the most prescient part:
 

Quote

We live in a soap opera country. We live in a social media/cable TV country. In our culture you don’t want to focus on boring policy questions; you want to engage in the kind of endless culture war that gets voters riled up. You don’t want to focus on topics that would require study; you focus on images and easy-to-understand issues that generate instant visceral reactions. You don’t win this game by engaging in serious thought; you win by mere attitudinizing — by striking a pose. Your job is not to advance an argument that might help the country; your job is to go viral

 

Quote

We Deserve Pete Hegseth

Jan. 15, 2025
 

a black and white photograph of Pete Hegseth’s face Credit...Alex Brandon/Associated Press

 
Listen to this article · 8:16 min Learn more
 
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David Brooks

By David Brooks

Opinion Columnist

First let me hit you with some realities:

  • The secretary general of NATO, Mark Rutte, has said that the West is not prepared for the challenges that will come over the next five years and that it’s time to “shift to a wartime mind-set.” Kori Schake, who directs foreign and defense policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute, writes that while World War III has not begun, “a world war is approaching.”

  • Recent American defense strategy has been based on the optimistic assumption that we will have to fight only one war at a time. But the closer cooperation between China, Russia, Iran and North Korea make a coordinated attack more likely, meaning we may have to fight three or four regional wars simultaneously.

  • The weak U.S. industrial base has hollowed out American resilience. China’s shipbuilding industry has a capacity more than 230 times greater than that of the United States. When experts recently conducted war games with China, the United States ran out of long-range anti-ship missiles within three to seven days.

  • The Chinese are building gigantic amphibious landing craft of the sort they would use for an invasion of Taiwan. They have developed a powerful microwave weapon that has the intensity of a nuclear explosion and can disrupt or destroy electronic components of our weapons systems. H.R. McMaster, the former national security adviser, recently said, “I think China is laying the groundwork for a first-strike nuclear capability against the United States.”

  • In 2023, the RAND Corporation issued a report on U.S. military “power and influence.” Here’s how it opened: “The U.S. defense strategy and posture have become insolvent. The tasks that the nation expects its military forces and other elements of national power to do internationally exceed the means that are available to accomplish those tasks.”

Now, if you are holding hearings for a prospective secretary of defense, you would think you might want to ask him about these urgent issues. Or you might come up with other serious questions: How do drones change war-fighting? How will artificial intelligence alter the nature of combat? How do we shift from a defense policy built around counterterrorism to a policy built around nation-state warfare? If you’re a Democrat trying to sink a nomination, you would think you’d want to ask substantive questions on life-or-death issues like these in order to expose the nominee’s ignorance and unpreparedness.

But did this happen at the Pete Hegseth hearings in front of the Senate Armed Services Committee this week? If you thought those kinds of questions would dominate the hearings, you must be living under the illusion that we live in a serious country.

We do not. We live in a soap opera country. We live in a social media/cable TV country. In our culture you don’t want to focus on boring policy questions; you want to engage in the kind of endless culture war that gets voters riled up. You don’t want to focus on topics that would require study; you focus on images and easy-to-understand issues that generate instant visceral reactions. You don’t win this game by engaging in serious thought; you win by mere attitudinizing — by striking a pose. Your job is not to advance an argument that might help the country; your job is to go viral.

Pete Hegseth is of course the living, breathing embodiment of this culture. The world is on fire and what’s his obsession? Wokeness in the military. I went through high school trying to bluff my way through class after doing none of the reading, and in Hegseth, I recognize a master of the craft. During the hearings Hegseth repeatedly said he was going to defend the meritocracy. In what kind of meritocracy is being a Fox TV host preparation for being secretary of defense? Maybe in the one Caligula fancied when he contemplated making his horse a consul.

 

Several Republican senators were happy to play along with the woke-military game. In addition, Senator Kevin Cramer used his precious question time to praise Hegseth for having the courage to use the words “Jesus Christ.” (If we had used this logic during World War II, Father Fulton Sheen would have commanded the D-Day invasion.) I’ve also learned that mentioning climate change in a Republican gathering is like throwing a side of bacon into an Orthodox minyan — they react with great offense.

 

Hegseth is in no danger of rising to the level of mediocrity, but next to some of his Democratic questioners, he looked like Carl von Clausewitz. Democrats played their own culture war games. Especially early in the hearings their main obsession was women in combat. (Like everybody in my social class, I support women in combat, but I don’t think it’s as important an issue as failure to deter World War III.)

Senator Elizabeth Warren submitted over 30 pages of written questions to Hegseth before the hearing. They had to do with things like drinking, accusations of sexual assault, threats to L.G.B.T.Q. rights and veterans benefits. I have enormous respect for Warren, but she didn’t show much interest in topics like how to deter and fight a war — which are kind of central to the purview of this committee.

Senator Tim Kaine tried to play the moral disqualification game, dwelling on Hegseth’s various adulteries. With Democrats’ having failed to defeat Donald Trump with this strategy, I admire their capacity for persistent losing.

The hearings got better as they went along and more junior senators got to speak. Senator Mazie Hirono was excellent, asking substantive questions: If the president ordered you, would you order troops to shoot protesters in the legs? Would you follow an order to use the military for mass deportations? Senator Tammy Duckworth was outstanding, too, asking about the big responsibilities of the job: Does Hegseth know anything about the ongoing international negotiations? Does he know which countries are in the ASEAN bloc? (The answers are no and no.)

 

The lesson for Democrats over the next four years is clear: Don’t fly into moral outrage every day. Focus on Trumpian incompetence.

Overall, Republicans were the more serious party at these hearings. The committee chairman, Senator Roger Wicker, did note that we live in the most dangerous security environment since World War II. Senator Tim Sheehy did mention shipbuilding. Senator Ted Budd did ask about warplanes. Senator Eric Schmitt did ask about drones.

But, as you can kind of tell, I finished watching the hearings sick to my stomach. I also came away thinking that we need to come up with a better way to think about expertise. Hegseth’s core populist conviction — repeated ad nauseam — is that the grunts on the ground know what they are doing and the pencil-necked geeks in air-conditioned offices just write nonsense regulations that get in the way. The man wasted years at Princeton and Harvard when he could have learned everything he knows by watching that Colonel Jessup speech at the end of “A Few Good Men.”

We don’t want to live in a populist paradise in which expertise is suspect and ignorance a sign of virtue. Nor do we want to live in an elitist world in which technocrats try to rule the world. As the political scientist James C. Scott showed, technocrats are too abstracted from reality to even see what is going on.

We need to settle upon a place where experts are respected and inform decision-making, but civilians make the ultimate calls. In a healthy democracy people revere great learning on substantive issues; they understand the world is too complex to be captured in bite-size slogans; but they also appreciate the wisdom that comes from concrete experience and know that most hard calls have to be made in light of the deeply held values that have made America what it is.

 

All of this has been corrupted by the war for short attention spans. In the 19th century we had the Lincoln-Douglas debates. Today it would be the Lincoln-Douglas TikTok wars followed by “Three Takeaways From the Lincoln-Douglas Debates” followed by a panel of pundits (like me) analyzing whether Stephen Douglas helped himself with swing voters in DuPage County.

Can this kind of country prevail in a global conflict of systems? Maybe, but maybe not.

 

Edited by SimonBolivar
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22 minutes ago, Balcones said:

Please share any service PFT standards that are the same between men and women. Any branch. Go ahead.

Literally the first article after googling

The services have said they did not decrease the standards for any of the combat jobs.”

https://apnews.com/article/military-women-defense-hegseth-combat-916d50a7b465ccfea1aeb13bb91064b3#

Edited by Pig Bellmont
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9 minutes ago, Pig Bellmont said:

 

Literally the first article after googling

The services have said they did not decrease the standards for any of the combat jobs.”

https://apnews.com/article/military-women-defense-hegseth-combat-916d50a7b465ccfea1aeb13bb91064b3#

Ha! 
 

In 2013, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta announced that women would be allowed to serve in direct ground combat roles.

Before 2013, only men could serve. We all agree?

Now, please share the PFT standards of women vs men.  

 

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37 minutes ago, Balcones said:

Ha! 
 

In 2013, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta announced that women would be allowed to serve in direct ground combat roles.

Before 2013, only men could serve. We all agree?

Now, please share the PFT standards of women vs men.  

 

How about combat fitness tests?

https://www.army.mil/acft/

https://www.mynavyhr.navy.mil/Portals/55/Support/Culture Resilience/Physical/Guide_5-Physical_Readiness_Test_PRT_JAN_2023.pdf?ver=OlmOLoZTfCA641JUkAnIaw%3d%3d

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36 minutes ago, TwiceHorn said:

CFT is exactly what I am talking about.  I think you sent the link before you actually looked at the women vs male standards. 

https://www.army.mil/e2/downloads/rv7/acft/ACFT_scoring_scales_220323.pdf

 

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Just now, Sawbonz said:

Keep posting. We should be done with you by this afternoon 

Thank you for quoting me.

I apologize if I offended you by posting the Army male vs female physical standards.

Just now, tx 3 putt said:

when you are painfully unqualified and still hired, that's a dei hire 

Bingo!  Adios, Kamala!

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2 minutes ago, Balcones said:

 

Bingo!  Adios, Kamala!

 

there's a difference winning multiple elections and being given the SoDef position 

but hey, easy to be confused for some 

1 minute ago, PenelopeWitherspoon said:

Stop engaging with Balcones. He is a misogynist and a troll.  Fuck him.

 

it's not his fault his mom drank, smoked and stripped during her pregnancy 

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10 minutes ago, Balcones said:

Thank you for quoting me.

I apologize if I offended you by posting the Army male vs female physical standards.

Bingo!  Adios, Kamala!

You don’t offend me. You’re just a moron

7 minutes ago, PenelopeWitherspoon said:

Stop engaging with Balcones. He is a misogynist and a troll.  Fuck him.

Need about 15 more posts and he gone

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16 minutes ago, tx 3 putt said:

 

there's a difference winning multiple elections and being given the SoDef position 

but hey, easy to be confused for some 

 

it's not his fault his mom drank, smoked and stripped during her pregnancy 

What election did she win?  Presidential? Democratic Primary? Are you even able to actually vote for the VP individually?  

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8 minutes ago, Balcones said:

I never saw your comment on the Bill Clinton massage photo!  Was that the more damning evidence you were looking for?

Yes.  I even read the article.  Apparently he has confirmed that he flew on Epstien's jet to some charitable events.  He also received a massage during a layover on one of those flights from an (at the time) adult personal masseuse who may at some point in time have been subject to sexual assaults by Epstein and/or his clients.  

Not sure what that proves.  If Clinton had sex with minors he should be prosecuted.  He should have been removed from office, just like Trump should have been removed from office on both impeachments.

Now, let's get back to Trump's clearly unqualified nominee for Secretary of Defense.

Edited by DDD Dad
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9 minutes ago, Horn Under a Bad Sign said:

I wish I could say this is satire, but it's not.

image.thumb.jpeg.9b0b4d86809893ba713522c52c8b85e4.jpeg

 

 

 

 

Just so we are clear.

He's bringing a 78 year old (Stallone), an 86 year old (Voight), and a relative youngster in Gibson (69).

Yeah, I'm sure that will bring back Hollywood to the Golden Age of something.

 

 

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Do we now agree women in the military have different physical/combat standards? 

Do we also agree that in 2025, with a war raging in Europe, China threatening an all out invasion of Taiwan, our alliances in jeopardy, drone warfare, AI, and asymmetric warfare ascendant, whether private Jane can lift 120 lbs should be near the bottom of our SecDef’s concerns?
Because the Trumpists are the masters of spending all energy arguing about the arrangement of the deck chairs on the Titanic (and blaming the dirty women, spics and queers for said arrangement) at the complete expense of paying attention to the iceberg dead ahead.
Dumbest. Fucking. Timeline.
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6 minutes ago, Francisco 2.0 said:

 

Just so we are clear.

He's bringing a 78 year old (Stallone), an 86 year old (Voight), and a relative youngster in Gibson (69).

Yeah, I'm sure that will bring back Hollywood to the Golden Age of something.

 

 

I’m thinking a Golden Guys sitcom. Roseanne Barr can make cameos as their landlord. 

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8 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:


Do we also agree that in 2025, with a war raging in Europe, China threatening an all out invasion of Taiwan, our alliances in jeopardy, drone warfare, AI, and asymmetric warfare ascendant, whether private Jane can lift 120 lbs should be near the bottom of our SecDef’s concerns?
Because the Trumpists are the masters of spending all energy arguing about the arrangement of the deck chairs on the Titanic (and blaming the dirty women, spics and queers for said arrangement) at the complete expense of paying attention to the iceberg dead ahead.
Dumbest. Fucking. Timeline.

All that matters is number of push ups. 47 is the magic number. Hit that and you get to be Sec Def or a Navy Seal. Whichever you prefer.

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10 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:


Do we also agree that in 2025, with a war raging in Europe, China threatening an all out invasion of Taiwan, our alliances in jeopardy, drone warfare, AI, and asymmetric warfare ascendant, whether private Jane can lift 120 lbs should be near the bottom of our SecDef’s concerns?
 

I dont disagree that Biden/Harris/Austin have created a shitshow.  No doubts.  

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15 minutes ago, Balcones said:

Do we now agree women in the military have different physical/combat standards? 

According to our friend AI.

Yes, in the U.S. military, women and men in combat units are required to pass the same physical test, known as the Army Combat Fitness Test (ACFT), which is designed to be gender-neutral and assesses physical abilities needed for combat scenarios, regardless of gender; however, there has been some debate regarding whether the test equally challenges both genders, with some arguing that it may disadvantage female soldiers in certain aspects.

Key points about the ACFT:
  • Gender-neutral standards:
    The test uses the same standards for both men and women, meaning the required performance level is the same across genders.
  • Combat-focused events:
    The test includes events like a deadlift, power throw, hand-release push-ups, a sprint-drag-carry, and a two-mile run, designed to mimic physical demands of combat situations.
  • Criticisms:
    Some argue that the test may disproportionately affect female soldiers due to physiological differences, leading to concerns about potential gender bias.
     
    But, ya do know not everyone in the military is a combat arms person right? I mean, someone has to send you the spam and bullets. Do they need the same standards as a Ranger? 
     
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5 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:


Love it. Like everything I mentioned started in 2020. Trumpists have no calendars.
I’m sure our coming alliance with Putin will solve things.

Clinton's fault, no wait, Obama, no wait, FDR.

It is the damn Tan Suit. Shows weakness, I mean wokeness.

Yeah, like this guy. DEI Hire!!!!!

image.jpeg.c02564b56c2f2760680e259e8e6061cc.jpeg

Or this guy. Wife believed in the occult!!!!!!

image.jpeg.aeee5ac36a0d52c2f6b466dfb83c6a8b.jpeg

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4 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:


Love it. Like everything I mentioned started in 2020. Trumpists have no calendars.
I’m sure our coming alliance with Putin will solve things.

 

6 minutes ago, InkaUtexas said:

According to our friend AI.

Yes, in the U.S. military, women and men in combat units are required to pass the same physical test, known as the Army Combat Fitness Test (ACFT), which is designed to be gender-neutral and assesses physical abilities needed for combat scenarios, regardless of gender; however, there has been some debate regarding whether the test equally challenges both genders, with some arguing that it may disadvantage female soldiers in certain aspects.

Key points about the ACFT:
  • Gender-neutral standards:
    The test uses the same standards for both men and women, meaning the required performance level is the same across genders.
  • Combat-focused events:
    The test includes events like a deadlift, power throw, hand-release push-ups, a sprint-drag-carry, and a two-mile run, designed to mimic physical demands of combat situations.
  • Criticisms:
    Some argue that the test may disproportionately affect female soldiers due to physiological differences, leading to concerns about potential gender bias.
     
    But, ya do know not everyone in the military is a combat arms person right? I mean, someone has to send you the spam and bullets. Do they need the same standards as a Ranger? 
     

Sorry to break your AI bubble.  Here are the scoring grids.  Not 1 event or age group has the men vs women standards equal.  Not one.

https://www.army.mil/e2/downloads/rv7/acft/ACFT_scoring_scales_220323.pdf

 

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10 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:


Love it. Like everything I mentioned started in 2020. Trumpists have no calendars.
I’m sure our coming alliance with Putin will solve things.

War in Europe?  Drones flying over US? Alliances in jeopardy?  Name exactly 1 country who is refusing to cash checks from the US for "defense".

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4 minutes ago, Balcones said:

War in Europe?  Drones flying over US? Alliances in jeopardy?  Name exactly 1 country who is refusing to cash checks from the US for "defense".

Well we won't have to worry about Alliance being in Jeopardy with Sec Def 47. Amazing that is the number of Push ups he did. Wonder why.

back to the point. We won't have to worry since he cannot name them or partner nations.

It is also overlooked he did not know who negotiated SOFA's. Did he think it was each National Guard Major did it per deployment?

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1 minute ago, InkaUtexas said:

Well we won't have to worry about Alliance being in Jeopardy with Sec Def 47. Amazing that is the number of Push ups he did. Wonder why.

back to the point. We won't have to worry since he cannot name them or partner nations.

It is also overlooked he did not know who negotiated SOFA's. Did he think it was each National Guard Major did it per deployment?

Yes.  The Laotian Air Force Secretary called Hegseth yesterday and is now de-pledging his Cessna 150 and 15 troops because of the slight.  He did ask if we still plan on sending our multi-million dollar assistance check. 

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