Obama 'gutting military' by purging generals

[Siege]

http://www.wnd.com/2013/10/obama-gutting-military-by-purging-generals/

WASHINGTON – President Obama this year alone has fired some nine generals and  flag officers, on top of at least four similar dismissals during his first term,  suggesting that a purge may be the real reason behind the removals, which are  being described as cases of personal misbehavior.

Retired U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Paul Vallely, an outspoken critic of the Obama  administration, claims it is part of Obama's strategy to reduce U.S. standing  worldwide.

"Obama is intentionally weakening and gutting our military, Pentagon and  reducing us as a superpower, and anyone in the ranks who disagrees or speaks out  is being purged," he charged.
Duty personnel seem to back up this concern, suggesting that the firings are  meant to send a message to "young officers down through the ranks" not to  criticize the president or White House politics.

"They are purging everyone, and if you want to keep your job, just keep your  mouth shut," one source said.
The military is looked upon as one of the last bastions of conservative  ideas, even though under the Obama administration, it, too, has become a testing  ground for social experimentation. The efforts include openly homosexual  behavior and women in combat.

Three of the nine firings just this year were linked to the controversy  surrounding the Sept. 11, 2012, attack on the U.S. special mission in Benghazi,  Libya.
In one case, U.S. Army Gen. Carter Ham, who commanded U.S. African Command  when the consulate was attacked and four Americans were killed, was highly  critical of the decision by the State Department not to send in  reinforcements.
Obama has insisted there were no reinforcements in the area that night.
But Ham contends reinforcements could have been sent in time, and he said he  never was given a stand-down order. However, others contend that he was given  the order but defied it. He was immediately relieved of his command and  retired.
Another flag officer involved in the Benghazi matter – which remains under  congressional investigation – was Rear Adm. Charles Gaouette. He commanded the  Carrier Strike Group.

He contends that aircraft could have been sent to Libya in time to help the  Americans under fire. He later was removed from his post for alleged profanity  and making "racially insensitive comments."
Army Major Gen. Ralph Baker was the commander of the Joint Task Force-Horn at  Camp Lamar in Djibouti, Africa. Baker contended that attack helicopters could  have reached the consulate in time on the night of the attack.
He was relieved of his command by Ham for allegedly groping a civilian.  However, there has been no assault or sexual misconduct charge filed against him  with the military Judge Advocates General's Office.


Six others were removed for a variety of alleged misconduct.
Army Brig. Gen. Bryan Roberts, who took command of Fort Jackson in 2011, was  relieved of duty and fired for alleged adultery. While the charge remains in the  United States Code of Military Justice, it has rarely been used since the days  of President Bill Clinton's affair with Monica Lewinsky.
Roberts served in Iraq as commanding officer of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team.  He was the deputy commanding general of the U.S. Army Recruiting Command at Fort  Knox, Ky.

Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Gregg A. Sturdevant was director of Strategic Planning  and Policy for the U.S. Pacific Command. He also was commander of the aviation  wing at Camp Bastion, Afghanistan.
Sturdevant was a highly decorated Marine with two Naval and Marine  Commendations, two Naval and Marine Good Conduct medals and the Air Medal with a  gold star.

Sturdevant had complained about getting supplies to his command. Yet, he was  one of two commanding officers fired from the military for alleged failure to  use proper force protection at the camp after 15 Taliban fighters attacked the  camp on Sep. 14, 2012, resulting in the deaths of two Marines.
Marine Corps Major Gen. Charles M. M. Gurganus was regional commander in the  Southwest and I Marine Expeditionary Force in Afghanistan. Gurganus had received  the Defense Superior Service Medal, two Legion of Merit with Valor and three  Meritorious Service Commendations.
His indiscretion? Gurganus questioned having to use Afghan security patrols  alongside American patrols after two of his officers were executed at their desk  and a platoon was led into an ambush.
Army Lt. Gen. David Holmes Huntoon Jr. served as the 58th superintendent of  the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y. While serving in Senior Planning  and Education Services, he was "censored" for an investigation into an "improper  relationship," the Defense Department said. Yet, there was no mention on the  nature of the improper relationship or whether an actual investigation ever took  place.
Navy Vice Adm. Tim Giardina was deputy commander of U.S. Strategic Command.  He had served as commander of Submarine Group Trident, Submarine Group 9 and 10  where every one of the 18 nuclear submarines with nuclear trident missiles of  those three groups came under his command.
Among the commendations, Giardina earned six Legions of Merit, two  Meritorious Service Medals and two Joint Service Commendation Medals. However,  he was removed after coming under criminal investigation for the alleged use of  counterfeit gambling chips while playing poker at a western Iowa casino.
Air Force Maj. Gen. Michael Carey was commander of the 20th Air Force in  which he oversaw almost 10,000 people and 450 intercontinental ballistic  missiles at three operational wings. He also served in Operation Iraqi Freedom  and Operation Enduring Freedom.
He was fired earlier this month for "personal misbehavior," although no one  is saying what that misbehavior was. His dismissal, however, came within 48  hours after Giardina was dismissed.

During Obama's first term, he also oversaw the firing of at least four other  generals.
Army Gen. David Petraeus, who retired to become the director of the Central  Intelligence Agency, was pressured to leave that position after only a few  months following allegations of adultery.
Gen. John Allen was relieved of duty for "inappropriate communications" with  a woman allegedly involved with Petraeus. However, he was promoted to head NATO,  but decided to retire.

Gen. Stanley McCrystal was fired by Obama for alleged comments he made in a  Rolling Stone magazine article.
Gen. David McKiernan was removed from his post while commander of the  International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan in 2009. He didn't go  along with a counterinsurgency strategy.
He was replaced by McCrystal who did comply. However, Petraeus, who replaced  McCrystal, reversed his restrictions on air power. Petraeus then was replaced by  Allen, who abandoned counterinsurgency and refocused on training Afghans toward  an orderly pullout by U.S. and NATO forces from Afghanistan.

Read more at http://www.wnd.com/2013/10/obama-gutting-military-by-purging-generals/#9g1tLHH9ZrOfujm7.99

[derspiess]

Losing these generals is a tragedy, but it would be an even bigger tragedy if the Army lost its diversity

[Habbaku]

That's some grade-A hyperventilating right there.

[Barrister]

Aren't there something like several hundred generals (or admirals)?  How is 9 firings possibly qualify as "gutting"?

[The Brain]

They did not have the courage to be loyal.

[Syt]

Obama is worse than Stalin.

[Siege]

Aren't there something like several hundred generals (or admirals)?  How is 9 firings possibly qualify as "gutting"?

13 4-stars in the Army.
Can't find how many 1-star and up

"There are currently 39 active duty four-star officers in the uniformed services of the United States: 13 in the Army, 4 in the Marine Corps, 9 in the Navy, 12 in the Air Force, 1 in the Coast Guard, and none in the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps. Of the seven federal uniformed services, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Corps is the only service that does not have an established four-star position. Modern day four-star officers' ranks are usually referred to as full general or full admiral, the officers themselves being referred to and addressed as 'General' or 'Admiral'. Four-star officers are ranked in seniority by their time-in-grade and/or by statute via the position of office they hold.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_active_duty_United_States_four-star_officers

[Kleves]

Obama has to fire a general from time to time to encourage the others.

[grumbler]

Thank hod the military is shedding these incompetents, but if Paul Vallely really thinks that President Obama is the guy who decides which officers get court-martialed and which do not (and these were all cases that likely would have led to a CM) is is even dumber than one would expect of a guy who was an Army general (given that you have to be a moron to join the army, and then given that rank times IQ is a constant).

Also, whoever wrote that article doesn't seem to know much about naval commands.  There is no command called Carrier Strike Group nor is US Africa Command called US African Command.   There is no "Joint Task Force - Horn," it is called the "Combined Joint Task Force – Horn of Africa"   Submarine Group Trident, Submarine Group 9 and 10 are three different commands, with two different commanders (one of the numbered SubGru commanders being dual-hatted as the paper "Commander, Submarine Group Trident").  I am sure that there are more, but I noticed the navy ones.

[grumbler]

Aren't there something like several hundred generals (or admirals)?  How is 9 firings possibly qualify as "gutting"?

To the emo types, nine out of hundreds is a "gutting."  I expect Siege has already cut himself upon hearing the news.

[Sophie Scholl]

That website is... special.  Wow.  It makes Fox News look rather left wing from what I saw of the headlines and guest articles.

[Valmy]

Firing Generals?  This man is worse than Truman.

[Razgovory]

Siege is getting worse then was Hans with this bullshit.

[viper37]

http://www.wnd.com/2013/10/obama-gutting-military-by-purging-generals/

WASHINGTON – President Obama this year alone has fired some nine generals and  flag officers, on top of at least four similar dismissals during his first term,  suggesting that a purge may be the real reason behind the removals, which are  being described as cases of personal misbehavior.

What you're saying, is that there's no way to make any economies to balance the budget on 50% of its component, army&intelligence?
Everything is of the right size, no workforce surplus there, yet, everywhere else in the government, they can find enough slack to balance the budget and bring the tax level down?

[Admiral Yi]

If they were removed as a result of downsizing it wouldn't have been described as the result of personal misconduct.