Trump administration 2024-2028

[The Bread Guy]

Imagine being "secretary of war" and, failing to be able to prosecute and win wars, you need to compensate for your inadequacies by mocking a kids' summer camp in another country. It must take a big man to pick on a girl.

https://twitter.com/x/status/2094648088556171443

Pentagon doubles down ...

Pentagon defends Hegseth's controversial post about Canadian cadet program

The Pentagon is standing behind a controversial social media post by U.S. Department of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth about a Canadian cadet program.

www.ctvnews.ca

... and Canada's response (TorStar piece also archived here) ...

Mark Carney fires back after Pete Hegseth mocks Canadian cadets in online post: ‘Stop doing memes’

Hegseth posted a screenshot to X of a cadet from Vernon, B.C. to social media Monday.

www.thestar.com

... and this from a Team Blue MP in SK:

https://twitter.com/x/status/2094609338610679997

... although the comments ... cover a wide range

 

[Czech_pivo]

Before he resigned, Driscoll had a chat with POTUS directly.

Hegseth was the topic.

Dan Driscoll’s Parting Shot

The Army secretary told Trump about problems in the Army and his friction with Hegseth, then resigned.

www.theatlantic.com

https://archive.ph/f20sm

Shades of the Soviet Union a la 1937?

"Trump was surprised when Driscoll told him how many generals and other top officers had been fired, pushed out, or passed over for promotion under Hegseth, one of the people said. Driscoll argued that the Army could not transform itself the way it needs to, because of the departure of so many leaders, this person said, adding that Trump expressed concern about the deep cuts to the Army’s senior leadership."

Great Purge - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

The Great Purge or Great Terror was a political purge in the Soviet Union from 1936 to 1938.

The purges were eventually expanded to the Red Army high command, which had a disastrous effect on the military, including Marshal of the Soviet Union Mikhail Tukhachevsky.

he purge of the Red Army and Military Maritime Fleet removed three of five marshals (then equivalent to four-star generals), 13 of 15 army commanders (equivalent to three-star generals), eight of nine admirals (the purge fell heavily on the Navy, who were suspected of exploiting opportunities for foreign contacts), 50 of 57 army corps commanders, 154 out of 186 division commanders, all 16 army commissars, and 25 of 28 army corps commissars. It was first thought that 25 to 50 percent of Red Army officers had been purged, but the true figure is 3.7 to 7.7 percent. The discrepancy resulted from a systematic underestimation of the true size of the Red Army officer corps, and it was overlooked that most of those purged were merely expelled from the party; thirty percent of the officers purged from 1937 to 1939 were allowed to return to service.

 

[The Bread Guy]

Pentagon doubles down ...

Pentagon defends Hegseth's controversial post about Canadian cadet program

The Pentagon is standing behind a controversial social media post by U.S. Department of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth about a Canadian cadet program.

www.ctvnews.ca

View attachment 102028
... and Canada's response (TorStar piece also archived here):

Mark Carney fires back after Pete Hegseth mocks Canadian cadets in online post: ‘Stop doing memes’

Hegseth posted a screenshot to X of a cadet from Vernon, B.C. to social media Monday.

www.thestar.com

View attachment 102029

Bit more from PMMC's response, via Politico.

 

[MilEME09]

Maybe Pete should get his own house in order before throwing stones from a glass house. Over 70% of the active US military is classified as over weight or obese.

DND actually has several studies on the subject posted including the affects of sleep deprivation on weight.

 

[KevinB]

Maybe Pete should get his own house in order before throwing stones from a glass house. Over 70% of the active US military is classified as over weight or obese.

Careful someone may call you on your sources.

Based on CDC data it is actually 19% the ‘author’ of the 70% study Courtney Manning
Didn’t seem to actually know how, or care to filter data.
The 70% number came from the CDC data that said 70% young Americans are not eligible to join the military - either due to Obesity, Mental Deficiency, or Criminal Behaviors/Drug usage.
But a lot of folks sure parroted the number with no fact checking at all.

Unfit to Serve

Obesity and Physical Inactivity are Impacting National Security

www.cdc.gov

DND actually has several studies on the subject posted including the affects of sleep deprivation on weight.

 

[MilEME09]

Careful someone may call you on your sources.

Based on CDC data it is actually 19% the ‘author’ of the 70% study Courtney Manning
Didn’t seem to actually know how, or care to filter data.
The 70% number came from the CDC data that said 70% young Americans are not eligible to join the military - either due to Obesity, Mental Deficiency, or Criminal Behaviors/Drug usage.
But a lot of folks sure parroted the number with no fact checking at all.

Unfit to Serve

Obesity and Physical Inactivity are Impacting National Security

www.cdc.gov

Nearly 70% of active service members are overweight, report finds

Obesity is often cited as one of the significant challenges to military recruiting.

www.militarytimes.com

I wasnt referring to the CDC report but the APP report. The US military has a fitness problem. Im not saying we dont have issues but if we are going to throw stones, be prepared for some to be thrown back

 

[KevinB]

Nearly 70% of active service members are overweight, report finds

Obesity is often cited as one of the significant challenges to military recruiting.

www.militarytimes.com

I wasnt referring to the CDC report but the APP report. The US military has a fitness problem. Im not saying we dont have issues but if we are going to throw stones, be prepared for some to be thrown back

The ASP Report was by the author I mentioned above. No one went back and checked that they used the CDC data but instead of understanding what it meant, took it to mean that that it was service members being obese at that rate - not upcoming American youth.

 

[Cloud Cover]

Nearly 70% of active service members are overweight, report finds

Obesity is often cited as one of the significant challenges to military recruiting.

www.militarytimes.com

I wasnt referring to the CDC report but the APP report. The US military has a fitness problem. Im not saying we dont have issues but if we are going to throw stones, be prepared for some to be thrown back

I hope you would agree this is an area that needs improvement not just in the military but society in general.

To that extent it has always been the reasonable expectation the Canadian military must - when wearing the uniform in public - always serve as a representation of the very best a society can be in terms of deportment, a polished and sharply professional and disciplined appearance, healthy bodies and sharp, healthy minds when held up tothe scrutiny of the public eye. Those are not supposed to be a personal choices, it’s supposed to be a mandatory requirement that is rigorously applied and enforced without exception or excuse. An inviolable condition of continued employment a breach of which, without sufficient and approved justification pending remediation, is grounds for discipline including release.

Whether accurate or not, the CIC is closely associated with the CAF in the eyes, hearts and minds if the public because it dresses like the military, uses military facilities and is organized along military unit and formation lines. One cannot set up an organization along those lines and then disclaim and carve it out.

 

[MilEME09]

I hope you would agree this is an area that needs improvement not just in the military but society in general.

To that extent it has always been the reasonable expectation the Canadian military must - when wearing the uniform in public - always serve as a representation of the very best a society can be in terms of deportment, a polished and sharply professional and disciplined appearance, healthy bodies and sharp, healthy minds when held up the scrutiny of the public eye. Those are not supposed to be a personal choices, it’s supposed to be a mandatory requirement that is rigorously applied and enforced without exception or excuse. An inviolable condition of continued employment a breach of which, without sufficient and approved justification pending remediation, is grounds for discipline including release.

Whether accurate or not, the CIC is closely associated with the CAF in the eyes, hearts and minds if the public because it dresses like the military, uses military facilities and is organized along military unit and formation lines. One cannot set up an organization along those lines and then disclaim and carve it out.

That said we need better metrics on what health is, this is where ill throw shade at these US studies as they use BMI, which we all know you can be healthy yet BMI says your overweight because of muscle mass not fat

 

[Cloud Cover]

That said we need better metrics on what health is, this is where ill throw shade at these US studies as they use BMI, which we all know you can be health yet BMI says your overweight because of muscle mass not fat

100%

 

[Oldgateboatdriver]

That said we need better metrics on what health is, this is where ill throw shade at these US studies as they use BMI, which we all know you can be healthy yet BMI says your overweight because of muscle mass not fat

If they looked like Arnold Schwartzeneger, I would agree, but I have seen American soldiers and they don't.

 

[KevinB]

That said we need better metrics on what health is, this is where ill throw shade at these US studies as they use BMI, which we all know you can be health yet BMI says your overweight because of muscle mass not fat

Generally in early to middle teenagers BMI is a pretty good indicator though.

Beyond that, the new Army Fitness Test down here is actually fairly good.
They got rid of the asinine standing power throw from the Army Combat Fitness Test that caused injury and no one seems to understand what it was meant to be a test for — allegedly
It was for power and balance.

I would like to see some endurance event - the old 2x10 type of event incorporated, with combat marksmanship.

 

[MilEME09]

If they looked like Arnold Schwartzeneger, I would agree, but I have seen American soldiers and they don't.

For sure, one thing I think deserves attention is how effective is our remediation? If a member is found to not meet the standard a program is in place to fix it, but whats the success rate?

 

[Czech_pivo]

I’ve watched Scott Gallagher argue that GLP-1 over the last 3yrs is a bigger disruptor than AI in the US……

 

[HavokFour]

Straight to the point.

Defence Minister David McGuinty called the post from his U.S. counterpart “below the dignity of the office he holds.”

Trump officials mock Canadian military as global defence chiefs gather in B.C.

Senior military leaders from Canada, the United States and more than two dozen other nations are gathering in Victoria this week under the theme of solidarity in an increasingly dangerous world.

www.ctvnews.ca

 

[MilEME09]

Straight to the point.

Trump officials mock Canadian military as global defence chiefs gather in B.C.

Senior military leaders from Canada, the United States and more than two dozen other nations are gathering in Victoria this week under the theme of solidarity in an increasingly dangerous world.

www.ctvnews.ca

Glad team canada isnt mincing words

 

[OldSolduer]

IMO Hegseth is a mentally challenged individual who is about 12 ranks above his actual ability. In other words a failing Officer Cadet.
He has no sense of tact or any diplomatic skills and he lacks self discipline.

 

[RangerRay]

IMO Hegseth is a mentally challenged individual who is about 12 ranks above his actual ability. In other words a failing Officer Cadet.
He has no sense of tact or any diplomatic skills and he lacks self discipline.

If a fraction of the stories about him are true, I have no idea how he made it past lieutenant.

 

[Czech_pivo]

Prelim August US jobs info.

Private payrolls rose by 38,000 in August, fewer than expected, ADP reports

Though job creation held positive, August was the smallest gain since January and reflective of a broader slowdown in the labor market.

www.cnbc.com

"Manufacturing lost 17,000 jobs,"

So much for winning.

"The payrolls processing firm said firms added 38,000 workers"......."Though job creation held positive, August was the smallest gain since January and reflective of a broader slowdown in the labor market. Moreover, most of the jobs came from three sectors, with multiple others showing declines."

"The ADP report serves as a precursor to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ nonfarm payrolls release, due out Friday, which is expected to show an increase of 53,000, after the 23,000 decline in July. The unemployment rate is forecast to hold at 4.1%."

On another note, concerning US unemployment numbers. Stats Canada has studied the differences between the two countries. Its findings are that if Canada followed/adopted the same criteria, same measurements as the US does, that the unemployment rate in Canada would consistently be 1% less than what is reported today. In other words, our current 6.4% would be 5.4% if we used the same measurements as the US does.

In addition, labour 'participation rates' (meaning those adults who are able to work, are actually working) is quite different. In Canada, our labour participation rate is sitting at 65.1%. For the US, its at 61.4%. That's a significant difference. Canada has 3.7% more of its adult population working in the labour market than the US. Another comparison would be this - Canada: 65.1% participating with 60.9% employed - US: 61.4% participating with 58.9% employed. Our employment to population ratio is 2% higher than the US.

Last point on this. Here in Canada we measure the age at which labour participation starts at 15. In the US, they use 16 as the age.

 

[YZT580]

If they are not political appointees neutered completely beyond the realms of professional objectivity, believe it or not, Deputy Ministers and their executive teams can do a great job of rationalizing and streamlining to save a ton of money.

There definately are, and the people in these pictures should definitely have the CAF suggests as career for them. But at the same time there are also a lot of Cadets that really don't look very professional.

Too true but they are involved. Not every young person can look like a young Sgt. York but all of them deserve the credit for trying to do something with themselves rather than sitting on their butts and typing furiously into their I-pads. Connect them with committed leadership that care (and most cadet officers that I have met are committed-it isn't for the pay that is for sure) and I would say you have a better than average chance of obtaining a better than average citizen for the future even if they aren't CAF materiel.