Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Jesus Christ. I guess we're better off when Trump doesn't call the families.

Yes, the same way we were when out last President didn't call the families.

When you have dementia it’s hard to remember who and why you calling. Poor Trump. He has to go after the widow because in his mind he had an entirely different phone call.

Anonymous wrote:Jesus Christ. I guess we're better off when Trump doesn't call the families.

Yes, the same way we were when out last President didn't call the families.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The modern odds of any US servicemember being killed in action are incredibly low. No one signs up for the military with the expectation that he has a good chance of dying. The odds are incredibly low.

That's true, but it is not true of special forces such as green berets.

He wasn't a green beret...

Group Support Command. Would it have been 3rd GSC? He was a mechanic and was probably a driver for the team that day. But that's just an assumption on my part.

I'm aware of that he was not green beret. But he was taking part in a green beret operation. I guess one must be very explicit when posting here.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would REALLY like to know why private contractors are the ones doing rescue/recovery of US military personnel

Huh? We've been using private contractors since Blackwater/Halliburton, etc. It's a way to keep troop numbers low and let the contractors do our dirty work, and has the side benefit of enriching US oligarchs.

I understand about contractors doing support, and even running their own ops
I'd think that if bonafide US troops were in need of rescue, other US troops would be deployed, not private groups

Anonymous wrote:I would REALLY like to know why private contractors are the ones doing rescue/recovery of US military personnel

Huh? We've been using private contractors since Blackwater/Halliburton, etc. It's a way to keep troop numbers low and let the contractors do our dirty work, and has the side benefit of enriching US oligarchs.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anyone who signed up for the us military post ww2 knows what they are signing up for.

If they dont, they are totally naive

And no, it isn’t for freedumz

The GI Bill.

An honorable way to earn a living to support your family. Health insurance.

I would REALLY like to know why private contractors are the ones doing rescue/recovery of US military personnel

Myeshia Johnson, whose husband, Sgt. La David T. Johnson, was killed early this month in an attack that is under investigation by the United States military, said the president had blundered through the condolence call he made to her last week, only deepening her grief because he did not seem to know her husband’s name.

“The president said, ‘He knew what he signed up for, but it hurts anyway,’” Ms. Johnson said during an interview with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos. “It made me cry because I was angry at the tone in his voice and how he said it.”

She said Mr. Trump’s memory seemed to falter during their exchange.

“He couldn’t remember my husband’s name,” Ms. Johnson said. “The only way he remembered my husband’s name is because he had my husband’s report in front of him and that’s when he actually said ‘La David.’ I heard him stumbling on trying to remember my husband’s name. And that’s what hurt me the most. If my husband is out here fighting for our country, and he risked his life for our country, why can’t you remember his name?”

Ms. Johnson said that on the call, she let Mr. Trump do most of the talking as her anger grew. When asked if she wanted to say anything to Mr. Trump, the young widow decided against delivering a message.

She did, however, say that she was desperate to know more details about the disappearance and death of her husband, and described him as “caring” and a “great soldier.” The couple had known each other since she was 6 years old.

“I want to know why it took them 48 hours to find my husband,” Ms. Johnson said.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/23/us/politics/soldiers-widow-says-trump-struggled-to-remember-sgt-la-david-johnsons-name.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=first-column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0

Being President is hard enough. This is just more evidence that Trump is really just not up to the job.

Anonymous wrote:There are many awful things President Trump has done and continues to do. However this instance is not one of them, but rather reflects more his inarticulate nature and lack of good interpersonal skills.

I actually understand what he may have been trying to convey to the grieving widow, and that is, "your husband understood the extreme peril of his military service, and yet he was such a brave man that he nevertheless agreed to undertake that burden on behalf of his country each and every time he was called upon to do so."

I really wish the media would avoid harping on the low-hanging fruit, which comes across as overkill and feeds into the President's narrative that the media hates him and is out to get him about every little thing. Stick to reporting the bigger picture, it is awful enough.

I basically agree with this. Except I don't even believe that it shows inarticulateness. I hate Trump. I think that he is an embarrassment. He should never have taken us out of TTP. He should not take us out of NAFTA. He should not have decertified the Iran agreement. His disparaging of McCain was unconscionable considering he took five deferments.

Trump politicized this issue when he criticized how other presidents have dealt with grieving families. He said that he had sent $25,000 to one family but did not send it until the press asked him about it.

There are conflicting reports on this but General Kelly says Obama did not make such calls and never called him when his son was killed. Kelly made clear that he was not criticizing Obama. Kelly gave Trump good advice in telling him not to call at all because these calls generally do not go well. But Trump insisted on calling and asked what he should say. Kelly told him to tell La David's widow what Kelly's grief counselor told him, that he died doing what he wanted to do. I think that this is what Trump meant. But then Congresswoman Wilson further politicized the issue. She said that saying that he knew what he signed up for. She said that he never used the word "hero." She said that he never used La David's name.

But suppose Trump had said "hero." Suppose he had not said that he knew what he signed up for. Suppose he had said La David. Congresswoman Wilson would have found some other reason to say what Trump said was unconscionable. Just like Trump, she was determined to politicize this issue. After Cogresswoman Wilson said what she did, Trump, as he always does, further politicized the issue.

Suppose neither side had politicized this issue. This would never have been a lead story. Someone would have reported that Trump said what he said, and that's the last that we would have heard about it.

Anonymous wrote:Anyone who signed up for the us military post ww2 knows what they are signing up for.

If they dont, they are totally naive

And no, it isn’t for freedumz

The GI Bill.

Anyone who signed up for the us military post ww2 knows what they are signing up for.

If they dont, they are totally naive

And no, it isn’t for freedumz

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The modern odds of any US servicemember being killed in action are incredibly low. No one signs up for the military with the expectation that he has a good chance of dying. The odds are incredibly low.

That's true, but it is not true of special forces such as green berets.

He wasn't a green beret...

Group Support Command. Would it have been 3rd GSC? He was a mechanic and was probably a driver for the team that day. But that's just an assumption on my part.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Idk. I'm not a Trump fan. It's definitely tactless, but isn't it kind of true?

I think we should all get way more outraged about endless war than we do about which platitudes are ok to use with respect to those dying in the endless wars.

Its kind of true that his body rotted in the desert for several days and was probably chewed on by animals. So its fine to bring up, right?

There are not many animals in the Sahara.

And arid sand is great for preservation because it absorbs fluid from the body and without moisture bacteria cannot break down the body. Also, the heat in sandy regions aids in drying and preserving.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:More resources were requested but denied

http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-fg-trump-niger-20171019-story.html

And 4 American héroes lost their lives needlessly.

They need to find out from the ambassador why requests were denied for additional resources.
Lots of investigating to do here. Glad McCain is demanding answers.

+1. McCain gets that this is about people's lives.

+1

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The modern odds of any US servicemember being killed in action are incredibly low. No one signs up for the military with the expectation that he has a good chance of dying. The odds are incredibly low.

That's true, but it is not true of special forces such as green berets.

He wasn't a green beret...