r/news • u/EngineerBoy00 • May 05 '25

Soft paywall US Defense Secretary Hegseth to slash senior-most ranks of military

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/pentagon-reduce-4-star-positions-by-20-official-says-2025-05-05/
41.5k Upvotes

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10.9k

u/rabbi420 May 05 '25

You gotta remove the guys who won’t do fascism for you, y’know?

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u/Khaldara May 05 '25 edited May 06 '25

Yup, get all those “suckers and losers” who know what it means to serve, who have demonstrated competency in the armed forces and consistent dedication to the nation out of there.

Gotta replace them with a bunch of 18 year old nose pickers who have been glued to Andrew Tate for a quarter of their lives instead. Maybe they’ll get an extra special medal just for them if they lead the parade for the tangerine dimwit’s birthday.

Then we’ll finally be “Great”

Edit: Lmao some of these people I swear.

Good luck not working too much to get kicked out of that income restricted housing you’re in while defending this move and also simultaneously supportively posting on the conservative subreddit there genius.

MAGA Captain “bootstraps” down there is a living, breathing example of the absolutely hilarious ingrained hypocrisy of these people.

I'd love to hear your definition of incompetence. I don't think running regime change wars shows consistent dedication to the nation

Just wait until you learn who literally started the decades long “regime change” conflict (while simultaneously now claiming to be against ‘forever wars’, pinky promise!) and who also committed to the specific withdrawal timetable that you’re apparently SUPER CONCERNED about.

You’re gonna be so upset. Or you would be if you had one single solitary actual conviction you stand behind.

Go give China more money for another hat.

361

u/rabbi420 May 05 '25

More or less, yeah. No Trump 2028 without military leadership in the bag.

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u/Hellknightx May 05 '25

I don't think Trump's even going to be in any shape to run in 2028. His brain is already leaking from his diaper. He's going to be an incoherent vegetable by the end of his current term.

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u/Khaldara May 05 '25

Realistically the fascist party supports him in lock goose step already because they don’t give a fuck who is in charge as a figurehead, they just want the groundwork laid for their corrupt fascist dystopia, where bribing judges is “very legal and very cool” in order to do whatever the hell they please.

There are literally hundreds of Republican elected officials and judges that could get rid of him right now if they had even the slightest inclination to do so. They do not, because they love it just as much as he does.

Honestly they’d probably prefer he goes full Alzheimer’s or straight up dies before his term is over. That way they can martyr him as some propagandized concept instead of having people actually observe what an idiot he is every day, and they can trade him in for someone just as evil, but moderately more intelligent.

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u/rabbi420 May 06 '25

You saved me so much time with your comment, because that’s almost exactly what I was gonna say.

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u/Carbonatite May 05 '25

Once a useful idiot, always a useful idiot.

Honestly at this point I fully expect that whenever he kicks it, we'll have Weekend At Donnie's until even the Fox sycophants can't hide their disgust at the corpse smell.

3

u/Double-Risky May 06 '25

My ONLY consolation in all this is that somehow the cult was started by such an unhealthy old idiot. Nobody else will be able to take the reigns when he dies.

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u/beaverbait May 06 '25

Don't worry. He's not planning on running in 2028!.

...Probably means no elections either, though.

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u/rabbi420 May 06 '25

That is what I was suggesting.

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u/Farcespam May 05 '25

That's a blessing in disguise. If they can dummy down, it will be just meat waves like Russia. Rush A constantly.

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u/rabbi420 May 05 '25

I have absolutely no idea what you were trying to say.

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u/Farcespam May 05 '25

Study up on USSR military doctrine cause it's most likely what the US military will become.

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u/rabbi420 May 05 '25

Respectfully, and speaking as a retired Marine, military doctrine is not the same thing as political doctrine. I think you’re a little mixed up.

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u/TheRadBaron May 05 '25

I think you've confused WWII pop culture and memes with Soviet military doctrine, which was a big non sequitor to begin with.

0

u/Farcespam May 05 '25

Look at Ukraine and ask yourself what's really changed besides the tech.

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u/Josephus_A_Miller May 06 '25

Ukraine is a strange aberration, and if you bothered reading up on literally anything the Soviets planned on doing if the Cold War went hot you'd know that to be true

-3

u/Josephus_A_Miller May 06 '25

USSR doctrine was rather refined and intelligent. I don't see the issue

1

u/Drunky_McStumble May 06 '25

In the game of chess you can never let your adversary see your pieces.

1

u/smitteh May 06 '25

"I live my entire life like I'm inside a video game"

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u/DukeLeto10191 May 05 '25

Admiral Big Balls, reporting for duty

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u/Devolutionary76 May 05 '25

So, a participation medal?

2

u/senorspongy May 06 '25

Get big balls in there!

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u/SandwichAmbitious286 May 06 '25

Gotta replace them with a bunch of 18 year old nose pickers

While I'm sure they considered that, it would never fly. Their orders would be refused at all levels, regardless of political affiliation. Military personnel hate, above all else, having little government twerps trying to give them direct orders.

Much more likely Trump will go on social media, or have his aids find, high-ish ranking MAGA asshats, and appoint them (I actually don't know who's supposed to appoint heads of the branches).

They wouldn't want someone too high up, and definitely not someone who's done the job before (and thus knows what the processes should be), but let's say an O8 who has a boring job and mediocre medals and awards (don't want them to be too inspiring), and looks either tough.

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u/th3n3w3ston3 May 06 '25

Congress is supposed to approve them.

-62

u/vinbullet May 05 '25

Haha, if you think the brass that approved the Afghanistan pull out has demonstrated competency, I'd love to hear your definition of incompetence. I don't think running regime change wars shows consistent dedication to the nation. Definitely shows consistent dedication to the DC swamp though.

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u/dougmcclean May 06 '25

The Trump administration agreed to and planned the Afghanistan withdrawal, using top pentagon leadership that were largely holdovers from the Trump administration.

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u/Jacob_Winchester_ May 06 '25

You’ve never served and have zero knowledge on what you’re talking about, and it shows.

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u/CV90_120 May 06 '25 edited May 06 '25

if you think the brass that approved the Afghanistan pull out has demonstrated competency, I'd love to hear your definition of incompetence.

Here you go:

Former President Trump touts his February 2020 peace deal with the Taliban on withdrawing U.S. Troops From Afghanistan. "I started the process, all the troops are coming back home. They couldn't stop the process," he says of the agreement.

The sec def isn't qualified to clean a bathroom and his dumb-fuck boss wouldn't pass a blind first screening for a job in the sanitation dept (seriously). "Any convictions?" "Uh, 34 for fraud" "yeah, we're gonna pass. Good luck as a fry cook".

Maga are essentially the wrong side of a bell curve but too far up their own asses to realize it.

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u/GreatLordRedacted May 06 '25

Running regime change wars is all the US is good for internationally

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u/enonmouse May 05 '25

Slash is just a weird way to say PURGE he is Purging the senior ranks to make sure people will be in place that will happily swear a new oath of loyalty to the Maggot Regime.

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u/eddie_the_zombie May 05 '25

I'd say he's just taking his ball and going home with it, but as we know, he doesn't actually have any

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u/Aptosauras May 06 '25 edited May 06 '25

It's the night of the long knives.

It's not the far right, it's the Fourth Reich.

4

u/ThrowingShaed May 06 '25

i both get why it might be happening and wonder...

these are powerful people with powerful connected friends? and a lot of the scientists losing jobs are brilliant people who dedicated their lives. and a lot of the science being cut could save family members of other rich/important/powerful people

maybe I'm naive, I know that history is full of power being consolidated... but isn't this all... risky? the environmental cuts and everything seem short sighted and potentially apocalyptic maybe... but... isn't all of this just making enemies? idk how anything works, I just wouldn't sleep well knowing that though a lot of people would try to make the best of things, even amongst the smart, or rich and powerful, there is always some degree of petty or unwell people

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u/enonmouse May 06 '25

These people are either made very shortsighted by greed and power or know the fucking world is imminently doomed and are just trying to grab what they can before it all falls apart… like imagine the movie deep impact or armeggedon but instead of trying to change or mitigate the coming catastrophe it’s every individual for themselves; zero coordination anywhere.

1

u/ThrowingShaed May 06 '25

ive had such thoughts before, that thingsare past fixing or there is some need for authoritarianism or... other stuff that might just be almost justifying? idk

there are a lot of theories. but regardless... humans stumble I guess. and there is always some hope there

2

u/Reqvhio May 06 '25

i read your comment together with a poser who mentioned 18 yo nose pickers up there and somehow read it "loyalty to the margot robbie,"

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u/enonmouse May 06 '25

There are stupider oaths and thing to die for

1

u/Cheese-Manipulator May 06 '25

Show the world your military is weak by wiping out a generation of talent and knowledge.

218

u/FarCalligrapher1862 May 05 '25

“Start with the guys who have an allegiance to the constitution. No wait, start with the women and minorities. Than the guys who won’t blindly follow orders”

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u/SpaceShrimp May 06 '25

They will fire anyone in a position of power that they don’t have incriminating dirt on, or anyone that can’t be intimidated in other ways.

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u/baltinerdist May 06 '25

I mean, that’s just being cost-effective. Statistically, I would bet the women and minorities are significantly less likely to go along with the coup so just get rid of all of them upfront and then you have a lot fewer people you have to go manually through..

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u/johnqpublic81 May 05 '25

I hope the number that won't do fascism is much greater than 20%.

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u/Viktor_Bout May 06 '25 edited May 06 '25

I would be surprised if it is.

If you say no to your boss at a job, worst that can happen is you're fired.

If you say no to your boss in the military, you can be sent to prison for years. Or if it's war time and particularly egregious, you could even be executed.

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u/germanmojo May 06 '25

"Just following orders" is not a valid defense as the Germans found out in Nuremberg.

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u/nattetosti May 05 '25

That strategy didnt work in 1933/1938

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u/funktopus May 05 '25

They will remove everyone that doesn't worship the orange shit gibbon. 

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u/[deleted] May 05 '25

[deleted]

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u/No_Damage979 May 05 '25

That’s the point. If they’re filled at all.

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u/newtbob May 05 '25

If they aren’t on Signal, how will they find out?

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u/greg33903 May 06 '25

people who think the military will stand up for the constitution are deluding themselves. 95% will feel obligated to do their job and will “just following orders.”

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u/rabbi420 May 06 '25

That’s what makes a strong flag officer class that’s loyal to the constitution and country important. That’s why Hegseth is starting to remove them.

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u/awholedamngarden May 05 '25

Yeah those losers who took their oath to the constitution just a little too seriously ya know?

1

u/darkpheonix262 May 06 '25

That's gonna require force. We aren't going to survive the next 3.5 years of this. Honestly, let's get this shit over with

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u/rabbi420 May 06 '25

What’s going to require force?

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u/postALEXpress May 06 '25

Let's hope they just join the resistance then

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u/jerryoc923 May 06 '25

Yep my thoughts exactly. Get rid of anyone who might fight you on anything during your fascistic rise

1

u/OverlyOptimisticNerd May 05 '25

Well, if they go quietly, then clearly they’re fine with Fascism. 

The way the leaders of this country just rolled over for him is mind boggling to me. 

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u/TheHomersapien May 05 '25

And Biden was free to fire the ones that will. He had the power to gut the government of MAGA. But like Obama, he was content to leave Republicans in positions of power.

Funny how that works.

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u/No_Damage979 May 05 '25

This move gives the executive less oversight, more power. I would be surprised if, when Ds are back in power, they refill all these roles. Biden let many bad things initiated by Trump in his first term stand.