Pentagon recruiting troops to watch White House UFC fights, memos show

[cliffside]

Source: WaPo

"The Pentagon is moving to recruit hundreds of troops to appear as spectators at President Donald Trump’s UFC cage-fighting event at the White House, and requiring those who attend to pay for their travel and meet height and weight requirements, according to people familiar with the matter and internal memos reviewed by The Washington Post.

The Defense Department in recent days has solicited volunteers across the services to attend the June 14 event in uniform. Officials are seeking junior enlisted personnel and junior officers specifically, according to internal messages that make clear travel costs will be “member-procured,” meaning neither the Defense Department nor the UFC intends to pay for their arrangements or accommodations.

...One memo, circulated within the Air Force, stipulates that to be eligible, personnel “MUST MEET CURRENT WAIST-HEIGHT RATIO and current physical fitness standard.” Troops will be required to wear their short-sleeve dress uniforms, the memo adds.

....On Friday, construction crews continued work on a temporary octagon-shaped arena. Trump has said the spectacle promises to be “the greatest show on Earth.”



Read more: https://wapo.st/49wqqDf

[cliffside]

1. "What readers are saying ...

"Conversation summary...

The comments express strong disapproval and ridicule of an event organized by President Trump, involving a mixed-martial-arts fight at the White House. Many commenters criticize the use of military personnel as audience props, the physical requirements imposed on attendees, and the expectation for troops to pay their own way. The event is seen as a vanity project, with comparisons to Roman emperors and circus acts, and is viewed as a wasteful and embarrassing spectacle that degrades the dignity of the White House."

[riversedge]

2. I notice that the WaPo still calls it "The Defense Department..." (not what Petey Hegseth has renamed it)

..............The Defense Department in recent days has solicited volunteers across the services to attend the June 14 event in uniform