The Secretary of Defense occupies a critical role in the US military command structure. He serves as an advisor to the President of the United States and the focal point from which orders from the Commander in Chief are promulgated throughout the military to the various services and combatant commands. He is one of the few men whose daily whereabouts and status need to be known by the President and senior US military officers, lest a breakdown in the chain of command occur in a crisis. Therefore when Sec.
Stan, I’m as shocked as anyone on this. As a former general officer with 36 years Army service, Austin had to be aware of these concerns. Genuinely can’t account for this series of events.
It's almost like you start with a really small thing, an elective procedure, and then things start taking longer, and you realize you made a mistake, and you're trying not to tell anyone, and by then, it's a colossal-sized mistake. This was not good at all, though, and jr NCOs, Officers, and even privates would get hammered for being UA.
On the one hand, I want to pile on. On the other, the Ukraine funding issue is too important right now and it's just not the time to have that fight. That's where I'm at for the moment. But we don't need a SECDEF fight, search for a new one, etc. He has the relationships, he's travelled the world, he made a mistake. Let's get the Ukraine funding done yesterday and we can fight over this later. That's where I'm at. Let him resign after an investigation in three months if it comes to that. But let's get the Ukraine funding through without the distractions of this.
These are all great questions. I'm a fan of his, but he no doubt made a mistake on this one.
Stan, I’m as shocked as anyone on this. As a former general officer with 36 years Army service, Austin had to be aware of these concerns. Genuinely can’t account for this series of events.
It's almost like you start with a really small thing, an elective procedure, and then things start taking longer, and you realize you made a mistake, and you're trying not to tell anyone, and by then, it's a colossal-sized mistake. This was not good at all, though, and jr NCOs, Officers, and even privates would get hammered for being UA.
On the one hand, I want to pile on. On the other, the Ukraine funding issue is too important right now and it's just not the time to have that fight. That's where I'm at for the moment. But we don't need a SECDEF fight, search for a new one, etc. He has the relationships, he's travelled the world, he made a mistake. Let's get the Ukraine funding done yesterday and we can fight over this later. That's where I'm at. Let him resign after an investigation in three months if it comes to that. But let's get the Ukraine funding through without the distractions of this.