Rules of engagement that
risk the lives of U.S. forces and harsh punishments over questionable
charges have America’s elite Green Berets fuming at the Obama administration,
and the former commander of all Green Berets says it’s just the latest symptoms
of a military deliberately weakened by this administration and military
officials more concerned about advancement than the good of their
forces and their nation.
The litany of Green
Beret frustration was detailed
this week by the Washington Times. The piece detailed several questionable punishments for elite
service members over incidents that never resulted in formal charges.
Army Secretary John
McHugh stripped Maj. Matt Golsteyn of a Silver Star for killing a Taliban bomb
maker who took many U.S. lives. McHugh contends there is probable cause to
believe Golsteyn committed murder, even though Golsteyn was cleared by the
military.
Lt. Col. Jason Amerine
shared his concerns about a flawed hostage rescue program with Rep. Duncan
Hunter, R-Calif. When the FBI looked into it, officials there reported Amerine
to the Army, which opened a criminal investigation on Amerine because it
suspected he transmitted classified information. No evidence was ever found to
support such a charge.
The most highly
publicized case in recent weeks centers on Sgt. Charles Martland, who is being
expelled from the Army for roughing up an Afghan local police commander after a
mother and son told troops the police official raped the 12-year-old boy and
assaulted the mother.
The Times also quotes
former Green Beret Danny Quinn, who quit the military because of how
politicians and bureaucrats were punishing troops and tying their hands in
theater. “Cases like these certainly have an adverse effect on a Special Forces
soldier’s psyche,” Quinn said in the article. “It creates a mentality
of playing not to lose versus playing to win. Soldiers feel like their
leadership, lieutenant colonel and above, won’t support them, regardless of
what they’ve done in that career to that point and what situation they’re
currently in.”
Retired U.S. Army Lt.
Gen. William “Jerry” Boykin commanded all Green Berets for a portion of his 36
years in uniform. He said conditions and morale for the military are even worse
than the Times and Quinn stated. “There’s more that hasn’t been reported in
terms of the kinds of things our Special Forces are putting up with now, to
include rules of engagement, for example,” Boykin said. “They make it virtually
impossible for them to succeed and, in many cases, even to protect themselves
and the people they are responsible for.” Boykin places much of the blame for
this shoddy treatment of service members at the feet of President Obama, but he
said another group also shoulders a great deal of responsibility for America’s
military decline.
“I am so disappointed in
the Army leadership and the leadership in general in our military right now
because they have allowed the social experimentation that has had such a
devastating impact on our military,” said Boykin, who argued that weakening and
transforming the military is a critical step in Obama’s efforts to change
America.
“You can’t change
society unless you change the military, because the military is such an anchor
of our society in terms of values,” he said. When it comes to the poor
leadership of military leaders, Boykin said it is evident in multiple ways,
starting with policy. “The service chiefs have supported these major budget
cuts as well as sequestration,” he said. “They have now, essentially, an
all-out assault on religious liberty within the military, where people,
including chaplains, are being punished for exercising their First Amendment
rights of freedom of religion.”
The general said he is
disgusted by departing defense secretaries like Leon Panetta and Robert Gates,
who offered critical reviews of the administration on various issues but never
confronted Obama when they had the power to do so. Boykin believes the
proper reaction of military officers to the Obama military agenda should have
been obvious. “If they really object to what’s going on, they should stand up
and say so,” he said. “They should put their stars on the table and be prepared
to resign as a result of not being able to support the direction our military
is taking our military.”
How did the military drift to the point where the top brass is now content to endorse rules of engagement that leave troops exposed and punish members for actions that merit no official charges?
"The president came
in with an agenda," Boykin said. "He sought out, I believe, people
that could be put into senior positions that were willing to support that
agenda. Either they were aligned with him ideologically, which I don't think is
the case most of the time, or they were so focused or careerism that they have
been unwilling to step up and be counted."
November 2016 will be a
critical time for the military, according to Boykin. He said electing a strong
leader as commander in chief could reverse a lot of what's gone wrong in the
military over the past several years, but he fears some of the changes are here
to stay.
"It's going to take
at least a decade for us to be able to turn this around," he said.
"That's assuming we get a good commander in chief in who's got some
leadership and who wants to change it. But there are some things that are not
going to change. You're not going to roll back some of the social policies that
have been implemented under this president."
Boykin said he is
concerned for the future of the military and the United States. He is
especially worried that the absence of leadership among the
highest-ranking officers is leaving young service members with no one
worth emulating.
"When you look at
the young officers in the military today, who should be looking up to proven
combat leaders, who have a proven record of leading men and women in
combat," Boykin said, "instead of looking at them, they're looking at
careerists. They're looking at people who have compromised on very important and
fundamental issues. All these young leaders see that and know that. What are we
raising? Are we raising a generation of young leaders who will ultimately be
great combat leaders and great warriors, or are we raising a generation now
that is going to be focused on careerism?" he asked. "I am afraid and
very concerned it will be the latter."
Listen to the WND/Radio
America interview with retired U.S. Army Lt. Gen. William “Jerry” Boykin
No comments:
Post a Comment