The Mess

[Smitty-48]

Alright, since Marty Hash has generously provided this underused asset, it behooves me to actively generate more content to try to get it off the ground as a virtual pub, so I'll kick off a military mess thread, for all things military, paramilitary, of interest to military, ex-military, and those interested in the military... plus booze and smokes and loud music.

Of course, being a military Mess, as the first entry, it will require the hanging of a portrait of the Commander-in-Chief, just to make it official.



Lovely.

Gentlemen, the Queen. <toasts>

[Speaker to Animals]

Who is this, a bingo hall winner?

[skankhunt42]

Smitty,
Hi! New to the forums, always wanted to ask you this but I was never a DCF poster. What would you do or what would be your solution if you were the United States to the mess in Syria? It's an intentionally open ended question, I'm just curious what someone with your expertise would say about the matter.

[Calculus Man]

I was at a party recently, and a guy I was talking to literally said, "Sorry to interrupt, man, but there's a Marine behind you and I want to thank him for his service."

I said, "Okay, let me know how his cum tastes."

He was all butthurt, but the Marine laughed.

Also, the only Commander-in-chief who matters:

[Fife]

Lol, who are you Speaker? Your DCF name, rank, serial number I mean?

[Smitty-48]

Smitty,
Hi! New to the forums, always wanted to ask you this but I was never a DCF poster. What would you do or what would be your solution if you were the United States to the mess in Syria? It's an intentionally open ended question, I'm just curious what someone with your expertise would say about the matter.

It's not really my area of expertise, my military area of expertise would be more to the combined arms tactical to operational level, particularly infantry, specializing in reconnaissance, and the solution to a strategic issue for a constitutional republic of free citizens defies expert military opinion in any case, the wisdom of the commons must trump the wisdom of the military, lest you fall prey to Praetorianism and a de facto Junta, wouldn't you say?

To me, the biggest problem in America today, with regards to all military affairs, is that the civilian authorities are far too deferential to expert military opinion on strategic issues, when really, the military doesn't have a fucking clue what to do about it, they're waiting for someone else to step in and tell them what to do, they don't make policy, for a very good reason.

[skankhunt42]

So the best course of action by the American Government would be to monitor and adjust then? Or would it be to dictate to the Russians something? I just don't know strategically what that would be. I'm not just not sure that the Trump or any administration has any kind of end game in the Middle East, which shouldn't be a surprise to anyone. I just feel like we are always caught with our pants down in that part of the world, like we are always a move behind and are really never dictating to our adversaries, but I could just be Naive.

Edit: In the last 15-20 years.

- Gerald

[Smitty-48]

So the best course of action by the American Government would be to monitor and adjust then? Or would it be to dictate to the Russians something? I just don't know strategically what that would be. I'm not just not sure that the Trump or any administration has any kind of end game in the Middle East, which shouldn't be a surprise to anyone. I just feel like we are always caught with our pants down in that part of the world, like we are always a move behind and are really never dictating to our adversaries, but I could just be Naive.

Edit: In the last 15-20 years.

- Gerald

I don't see how you could dictate to the Russians unless you are prepared to leverage thermonuclear weapons, all attempts to dictate military terms to the Russians leads to an escalatory ladder towards a confrontation which would be thermonuclear by default. Quite frankly, this would probably be a better time for Trump to engage with his buddy Vladimir in a collaborative manner, and even let the Russians take the lead, is it really a strategic imperative of the United States, that the Russians be waylayed in their attempts to prop up the Assad regime, if so, could you articulate what those imperatives would be?

[kybkh]

That is the biggest concern I have about President Elect Trump. Assuming he has the average level of ignorance someone who has not spent their life in the military or considering foreign affairs has, he will be sorely dependent on someone telling him what he should be telling others to do.

Right now he seems to be leaning on the retired brass in a way I've not seen before. Has there been a time when two generals were part of the cabinet as could happen with Petreaus at SoS and Mathis at DoD?

[Smitty-48]

Well, apparently President Eisenhower wasn't available, and it's not like Hillary Clinton was Dwight D. Eisenhower neither, and it's not like Dwight D. Eisenhower didn't escalate America's posture in the the Cold War and incite a massive global confrontation with the Soviets by attempting to leverage them with thermonuclear weapons.