Any general or admiral walking out on this blabbering idiot would be exercising the highest form of patriotism.

[Tommy Carcetti]

Yes, they would lose their rank and commission, but they would maintain their souls.

This asshole brought them from around the world to talk about the type of paper he likes to use.

I shit you not.

[Happy Hoosier]

1. We need the good guys to stick around.

When Trump demands a military coup (and I think it's basically a given he will), we need people who will say no long enough to give us time to react.

[bigtree]

7. it's interesting to me the degree that different Americans feel the weight of the tyranny right now

...and the way others measure it out to be sometime in the distance.

I'm thinking it's experiential.

[Happy Hoosier]

9. I'd agree.

I feel fairly urgently these days.

At my wife's University, a woman was fired for saying that she can't be friends with anyone who thinks Charlie Kirk was a good guy. She said this on her private social media, restricted to a specific group of peoiple (one of whom ratted her out, apparently). If this stands, then government etitites can fire anyone at anytime for not being sufficiently compliant with the political views of a partisan administration.

That's a very high level of suppresion of free expression. In my view, we're "there" already, it's just that the process is incremental. Make no mistake, the MAGAts NEVER intend to reliquish power, and I believe they will use military force to make that happen if they must, and can. We need as many officers who take their oaths to the Constitution seriously as we can get.

[Hotler]

2. That would take gumption, very rare these days. nt

[lostnfound]

3. We need them to stay. The smart ones know that. Nt

[bigtree]

6. how are they different from any that would replace them?

...what distinguishes their acquiescense to this tyranny from any who would replace them?

[LetMyPeopleVote]

4. MaddowBlog-Why Pete Hegseth's pitch to generals and admirals was even worse than expected

Did the secretary bring generals and admirals in from around the world so he could treat them like a CPAC audience? Actually, yes, he did.

Why Pete Hegseth’s pitch to generals and admirals was even worse than expected

flip.it/GIAS0g

— (@gypsydaveh.bsky.social) 2025-09-30T16:25:32.516Z

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/pete-hegseth-speech-generals-admirals-rcna234674

But having heard the secretary’s remarks, he proved to be even worse than expected. Reuters reported:

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth slammed ‘fat generals’ and diversity initiatives that he said led to decades of decay in the military and told a rare gathering of commanders on Tuesday they should resign if they don’t support his agenda. ‘Foolish and reckless political leaders set the wrong compass heading and we lost our way. We became the “Woke Department,”’ Hegseth said as he kicked off the event in Quantico, Virginia. ‘But not anymore,’ he said.

Choosing the worst moment from Hegseth’s bizarre and unnecessary speech is admittedly challenging. Was it his boasts about firing qualified military leaders? Or maybe his condemnation of diversity initiatives and climate change as “s---” that the military will no longer care about?.....

Maybe the lowest of the low points was Hegseth’s comment that seemed to open the door to a new attitude toward war crimes. “We unleash overwhelming and punishing violence on the enemy. We also don’t fight with stupid rules of engagement. We untie the hands of our warfighters to intimidate, demoralize, hunt, and kill the enemies of our country,” he declared. “No more politically correct and overbearing rules of engagement.”

Hegseth: "We unleash overwhelming and punishing violence on the enemy. We also don't fight with stupid rules of engagement. We untie the hands of our warfighters to intimidate, demoralize, hunt, and kill the enemies of our country. No more politically correct and overbearing rules of engagement."

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2025-09-30T13:06:31.204Z

In other words, Hegseth spent millions of taxpayer dollars to bring generals and admirals in from around the world so that he could treat them like a CPAC audience.

As for those in attendance who might’ve been uncomfortable with the secretary’s absurdities, he extended some advice to them, too. “If the words I’m speaking today are making your heart sink, then you should do the honorable thing and resign,” Hegseth said.

[bigtree]

5. agree

...this must seem old-fashioned to many folks today for a soldier to have the need to stand against his government on principle.

It's already happened in my lifetime, and those troops and military leaders who stood down in the face of tyranny at a risk to their own futures are indeed heroes.

[sarisataka]

8. Which is more patriotic

Walking out of a meeting giving up a career to make a statement, knowing you will be replaced by a sycophant?
Or remaining in a position where if orders come down to be in a position to say "NO" risking everything?

[LetMyPeopleVote]

10. These officers are getting a special medal for yesterday