BigTex wrote:No I don't think BO cares much about the military, other than the social engineering aspect.
I have some hope that people up and down the chain still know when to obey an order and when to refuse to obey an illegal one. But as the military continues to be molded to look more like a community college than a standing army, I have some concerns how long that will be the case.
I would tend to agree with that. But, I think that is a problem with all Presidents who haven't served. Bush will probably be the last to be able to claim even his sorry excuse for service. He did serve. Are any of the Republican candidate wannabes vets of any sort? I don't think so but I really don't know.
I have a great deal of faith in the internal coc. My concern is not with obedience but their ability to distinguish an illegal order from a legal one...or even that he concept of an illegal order will even continue to exist. I have to tell you, I live literally across I-25 from Ft Carson. I see these guys in stores, restaurants, next door. And they sure as Hell look like an Army to me. The only thing these guys have in common with a community college is haircuts and tattoos. Honest to God, I like being around them...regardless of how silly the damn BDUs look.
I have real concerns about the "volunteer force" concept generally. I hated conscription when it loomed over me. I was afraid it would disrupt my plans...I was planning a Naval career right from the start. Now, I find myself concerned that in its absence the Force is totally divorced from the civilian community. No one has a real stake here except the vols families. The civilian community doesn't feel the effects of war even to the extent they felt Vietnam...and that was damn little. The volunteer force allows, o some extent, the government to conduct low level wars without any meaningful opposition. "Hell NO...we won't go" has been replaced by "Support the Troops" and a dozen other phony sentiments on bumper stickers. Even today, war requires the agreement of the civilian population. When they don't agree, the war ends...or doesn't start.
Seriously, how long do you think the civilians would have tolerated the "total surrender" policy of the Allies had we suffered casualties commensurate with the German loses with the destruction of Army Group Center. Consensus among historians is not very damn long...FDR was having enough trouble with the bloodbaths in the Pacific.