Echelons Above Reality

Many years ago, during my last active duty tour as an Air Force lieutenant colonel in the Pentagon (shortly before the Air Force transitioned to single-wing aircraft), I ran an office that did long-range resource planning for intelligence systems. There were a great many times when we spent days or weeks painstakingly developing packages for approval by the senior leadership, only to have those carefully crafted plans shot down or sent back for revision by the generals, the senior civilians, or ... worst ... the lawyers*. We, of course, complained bitterly about this, raging that those people at echelons above reality didn't really understand that we knew better than they did.

Echelons Above Reality was the usual scornful description we applied to those whose jobs required them to look farther, deeper, and with more legal and political nuance than we did. They caused extra work for us, but it almost always resulted in plans that were more sound at all levels than our original products.

Which is why I was horrified to hear the Secretary of Defense of the United States of America denigrate our domestic and international legal responsibilities and the concerns of our (now former) allies as fluff of concern only at echelons above reality ... as annoying cobwebs to be brushed away as impediments to the only legitimate purpose of a military force: killing people and breaking things. 

Now, obviously, we live in a dangerous world, and there's no point in having a military that's not fearsomely lethal. It's like a pickup truck ... you don't need it very often**, but when you do need it, nothing else will do. But on the other hand, you probably want to know that that fearsomely lethal military operates under at least minimum constraints of legality and morality. There's a reason the framers of the Constitution placed the military under civilian control ... they'd lived the experience of having a king that turned his army loose on the citizens.

And now we have a president who actually fancies himself a king, and who had the staggering nerve to say so on the White House Twitter (X) account:

or perhaps "king" isn't quite good enough, as this depiction of Der Furor as an emperor a la Julius Caesar which appeared at last week's Conservative Political Action Conference may be more to his liking:

But it gets worse ...

This past Friday night**, Der Furor fired the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Chief of Naval Operations, and the Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force for the unforgivable crime of actually caring about the concerns of the men and women under their command. I don't expect someone who has denigrated those who lost their lives in the service of their country as "suckers and losers" to understand that real military leadership means letting those you may have to send to their deaths know that you care about them and their welfare.

At the same time, he fired the most senior Judge Advocates General (JAGs) of the Army, Navy, and Air Force ... the officials responsible for ensuring that the fearsomely lethal military Der Furor and Mr Hegseth want is run according to the law, inconvenient though it may be. These are the people who would explain posse comitatus to unhinged leaders who care only for the ability to wield raw power ... not for the legality and propriety of its employment. 

MAKE NO MISTAKE - THIS IS THE MOST FRIGHTENING AND DANGEROUS THING DER FUROR HAS YET DONE!

There aren't many supporters of Der Furor who read this blog, and so I have the unfortunate sense of preaching to the political choir. The MAGAts who follow the Orange Airhorn have their own sources of information, and will never acknowledge or understand the danger he poses until it affects them personally.

And then it's too late ... for them, and for the rest of us who saw it coming.

Have a good day. Do what you can to keep yourself informed and to help take back what's left of your country and its honor and dignity. More thoughts tomorrow, when we name the first out-of-cycle Ass Clown Special Award.

Bilbo

* There's no emoji to indicate dripping scorn, so just imagine it here.

*** Unless you're in need of a powerful boost to your alpha male-ness.

*** He didn't even have the cojones to do it in the light of day.