Buttigieg's Military Record

[pdsimdars]

Buttigieg's Military Record

Great article in CNN today on Buttigieg’s time in the military. There is a CNN video on the same topic. No surprise that Buttigieg’s colleagues in the military offered nothing but praise of him:

A dozen people who served alongside Buttigieg in the Naval Reserves and in Afghanistan, who spoke to CNN, described him as mature and, yes, ambitious. But several said he was hardly alone on that front, particularly in a reserve unit filled with prosecutors, FBI agents and other hard-charging officers.

McRae, who traveled to Afghanistan and back to the US with Buttigieg in 2014, said his friend not only learned a new language, but took an interest in local cultures and studied Afghanistan proverbs.

….
Several others serving alongside Buttigieg, who spoke on condition of anonymity, had largely positive assessments of his service. They said he didn't stand out, necessarily, until they had conversations with him. After he announced he was gay in a South Bend newspaper column after returning from Afghanistan, people in his unit were surprised, but supportive.
"Nobody had a problem with him," one reservist said. "We knew he was a Democrat and a mayor with ambitions. The only negative thing I can say is that we lost him. The unit would have been stronger if he had stayed."

One of his commanders also went on the record with praise:

Lt. Charles Murray, one of the leaders of the unit to which Buttigieg was assigned, said the young reservist stood out from the beginning as an "engaged and astute critical thinker." He said Buttigieg was mature and poised, but did not seem to be in the reserves for the wrong reasons.
"I've seen folks there for a paycheck and nothing else. I've seen others do it just because it makes them look better personally or professional," Murray said in an interview. "He never struck me as either of those."

Mayor Pete himself explained his motivation for entering the military:

As a volunteer for Barack Obama's campaign in Iowa 12 years ago, he said he felt guilty that so many young people in rural communities were signing up for the Army or National Guard.
"I might have dragged my feet on it forever if I hadn't had that experience in Iowa and just realizing that some communities were almost emptying out their youth in the military and some were barely serving at all," Buttigieg told CNN. "And I wanted to be on the right side of that gap.

continues . . . .

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/5/17/1858464/-Buttigieg-s-Military-Record?utm_campaign=trending

[leftofcool]

1. Smarts, honesty, integrity, kindness and caring

[stonecutter357]

2. K&R

[True Dough]

3. Mayor Pete

I salute thee!

[OnDoutside]

4. Brilliant and you can be sure this was well researched to find dirt.

[groundloop]

15. I'm also sure, should he get the nomination, that he will be Swift Boated

GOPers are such fucking scum, bringing out filthy lies about war heroes such as Max Cleland and John Kerry (and even John McCain). They'll certainly come up with ugly lies about Mayor Buttigieg as well should he get the nomination.

[OnDoutside]

16. Most definitely. There is no level to which they will not sink. I hope this will spur Pete

Onto a Senate run after this. He's just the quality the Senate needs.

[Buckeyeblue]

5. I think he would make an excellent chief of staff...

At this point, even though I like Pete a great deal, I don't see a path for him to get the nomination. But I hope he would be part of a Democratic president's cabinet.

[leftofcool]

6. It is 500 day until the election

[Buckeyeblue]

7. I know. And anything can happen.

It just feels like the nomination is Biden's to loose. For good or bad.

[Moostache]

8. The "presumed nominee" this far out RARELY closes the deal...

Mayor Pete and a few others (like Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders and Kamala Harris) are ideally positioned to make moves once the debates and early primaries start...the rest of the field is going to begin thinning out as summer leads to reality that many candidates right now are not gaining traction to stay in this for the long haul...

[pdsimdars]

11. But the important words you said were,"At this point.". we aren't there yet.

[highplainsdem]

14. I agree, The only real drawback would be the lack of experience in Washington, but Mayor Pete's a

quick study.

[pdsimdars]

18. I think most people think a lack of Washington experience is an asset. Others can help there

but an outsiders view is a good thing. I don't like they way they think in DC. They are unable to think outside the box, or the beltway in this case resulting in restricted, bubble think.

[Farmer-Rick]

9. I always loved this quote from JFK about the Navy. I corrected it for gender.

"Any man (or woman) who may be asked in this country what he (or she) did to make his (or her) life worthwhile....can respond with a good deal of pride and satisfaction, 'I served in the United States Navy'." President John F. Kennedy

[Honeycombe8]

10. I do like him a lot. nt

[mountain grammy]

12. Would be an awesome thing to have a president who speaks many languages

After the current idiot who can’t manage English. Nothing not to admire about Mayor Pete.

[oldsoftie]

13. Compared to the military record of the current president..........

[Pepsidog]

17. Good person for cabinet position to groom as a future president

[pdsimdars]

20. Doesn't need grooming, just throwing shade as a way of saying he's not ready. Give us a break.

[leftofcool]

21. Just stop

[Pepsidog]

22. Exactly. No shade at all meant. Buttigieg is a great young progressive who has an incredible future.

I have no doubt that he could be president now but I am most concerned about winning. I would love a Warren/Buttigieg or Harris/Warren or Biden/Harris or any combination of those or the many other great Dem candidates. Buttigieg as Secretary of State or Secretary of Defense after Dems win the presidency would lift his profile. I haven’t made my mind up yet who I want on a ticket but once I do I won’t be throwing shade on any other Dem candidate. Nor should you throw shade just because I express my opinion which certainly did not throw shade on your candidate. Grow up and just stop is right. This post was in response to leftofcool’s post.

[keithbvadu2]

19. No bone spurs, eh?