From Racism to Russia, Top General Says Army Must Change (1 Viewer)

[Rogue Valley]

From Racism to Russia, Top General Says Army Must Change

Gen. McConville addressed the nation’s internal unrest, trust of the military, even QAnon, in a wide-ranging interview with Defense One.

After a contentious summer of nationwide social unrest that thrust the military into uncomfortable spotlights, the Army’s top general said his branch is working hard to maintain the trust of the American people and build a force free of racism, extremism, and other influences that could hurt the unity of its soldiers, from Confederate flags to QAnon conspiracy theorists. “I think any type of racism or extremism in the U.S. Army needs to be totally eliminated,” General James McConville said, in a wide-ranging online interview. “Racism and extremism — we just cannot have that in the United States Army,” McConville answered. “There’s just no room for that. It breaks down cohesion in our Army. Any type of extremism, any type of racism, any type of people that aren't willing to treat their fellow soldiers with dignity and respect and not willing to take care of each other cannot serve in our Army.” “We live in a political environment but we’re an apolitical organization, and I think it really must remain that way, especially with an election coming up,” McConville said. Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley and McConville served together in Iraq once, and Afghanistan twice.

“The job of the American military is to protect the nation, not to police the nation. That’s why we have police officers, that’s why we have law enforcement,” he said. When local, state, and federal law enforcement has broken down, using the regular Army, he said, “is a last resort and my best military advice is only in the most extreme conditions should that be considered.” He continued: “We should never take for granted the trust of the American people…when we have issues, whether it’s racism or anything else that divides our country and also our military, it’s something that we would take immediate action on.” McConville said he’s heard mixed opinions from soldiers about renaming the bases. “I think depending on your perspective, depending on some soldiers I’ve talked to, it’s a very emotional issue. For other soldiers, they don’t even realize the names of the people on the bases they’re at. So I think we have to take a look, but at the end of the day — what we want to do, at least as the leadership of the Army, is identify those things that may divide us and take a look at and come up with solutions that can bring us together.” “This has been a very challenging time for the country,” he said, with COVID, unemployment, and unrest. “And yet young men and women continue to raise their right hand and serve.”

Well said. Hopefully we will soon have a new president that does not work at politicizing the military.

 

[TheParser]

For goodness' sake!

That general just wants BLM to pat him on the head for his politically correct talk.

He does not have to worry.

Within a few decades, everyone in the armed forces will be ladies & gentlemen of two certain ethnicities.

Then there will presumably be no more "racism."

Calm down, General.

 

[AmNat]

I often find it a useful exercise to replace Orwellian terms with their English synonyms:

After a contentious summer of nationwide social unrest that thrust the military into uncomfortable spotlights, the Army’s top general said his branch is working hard to maintain the trust of the American people and build a force free of racism, dissent, and other influences that could hurt the unity of its soldiers, from Confederate flags to QAnon conspiracy theorists. “I think any type of racism or dissent in the U.S. Army needs to be totally eliminated,” General James McConville said, in a wide-ranging online interview. “Racism and dissent — we just cannot have that in the United States Army,” McConville answered. “There’s just no room for that. It breaks down cohesion in our Army. Any type of dissent, any type of racism, any type of people that aren't willing to treat their fellow soldiers with dignity and respect and not willing to take care of each other cannot serve in our Army.” “We live in a political environment but we’re an apolitical organization, and I think it really must remain that way, especially with an election coming up,” McConville said. Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley and McConville served together in Iraq once, and Afghanistan twice.

 

[Tigerace117]

For goodness' sake!

That general just wants BLM to pat him on the head for his politically correct talk.

He does not have to worry.

Within a few decades, everyone in the armed forces will be ladies & gentlemen of two certain ethnicities.

Then there will presumably be no more "racism."

Calm down, General.

Conservatives shrieking and wailing because the general pointed out a blatantly obvious fact is pretty pathetic.

 

[BahamaBob]

For goodness' sake!

That general just wants BLM to pat him on the head for his politically correct talk.

He does not have to worry.

Within a few decades, everyone in the armed forces will be ladies & gentlemen of two certain ethnicities.

Then there will presumably be no more "racism."

Calm down, General.

He only talks like that because he is a product of White Privilege.

 

[Court Jester]

Hey General McLovin! Your job is to motivate the cannon fodder to do their mission, not to be their HR representative! Stop being such a pantywaist!

All soldiers complain, it is their nature. Now pretty please with sugar on top, shut up and start acting like warrior chief!

 

[RetiredUSN]

Conservatives shrieking and wailing because the general pointed out a blatantly obvious fact is pretty pathetic.

Have you served in the military?

You don't last long in there expressing or acting out with racist activities.

The young ones who bring the that crap in from the streets get set straight pretty quickly, or they take a one way walk down the brow.

 

[Mr Person]

For goodness' sake!

That general just wants BLM to pat him on the head for his politically correct talk.

He does not have to worry.

Within a few decades, everyone in the armed forces will be ladies & gentlemen of two certain ethnicities.

Then there will presumably be no more "racism."

Calm down, General.

Because Trumpists, like Trump, know more than the generals.

 

[Tigerace117]

Hey General McLovin! Your job is to motivate the cannon fodder to do their mission, not to be their HR representative! Stop being such a pantywaist!

All soldiers complain, it is their nature. Now pretty please with sugar on top, shut up and start acting like warrior chief!

Oh, so he should start smacking people with shell shock? Brilliant thinking there :roll:

 

[Tigerace117]

Have you served in the military?

You don't last long in there expressing or acting out with racist activities.

The young ones who bring the that crap in from the streets get set straight pretty quickly, or they take a one way walk down the brow.

I haven’t served yet, but I spent a summer working out with the marines and I know many people who are actively serving in the military today.

The general’s point is that racism and bigotry is, besides being morally wrong, incredibly destructive to unit morale and cohesiveness, and that therefore it’s an important issue to address and stamp out.

 

[Tangmo]

When there's racism at the top then stomping it out at the top becomes the number one priority of the armed forces led by their chiefs and commanders.

 

[RetiredUSN]

I haven’t served yet, but I spent a summer working out with the marines and I know many people who are actively serving in the military today.

The general’s point is that racism and bigotry is, besides being morally wrong, incredibly destructive to unit morale and cohesiveness, and that therefore it’s an important issue to address and stamp out.

He looking for face time.

It's already standard practice in the military.

 

[BahamaBob]

I served about 50 years ago, but I doubt if it has changed much. The military was rife with sexism and racism and plagued with incompetent lifers that pass for leaders. Instead of some lifer whining about what is going on, how about one who tells us what he is going to do to stop it.

What I see here is typical lifer blab. States something that everyone already knows and acts like he just found out. Then goes on a rant about how this will not be accepted in his military, blabs that he is going to stop it then fades into the wood work and makes someone else responsible for ending the problem.

This dick has been in the military for decades and on the top tier for many years. If there is a problem, he need to examine himself first. Finger pointing and whining is not what a real leader does.

 

[Court Jester]

Oh, so he should start smacking people with shell shock? Brilliant thinking there :roll:

Why not?

In a battle the only safe space is a foxhole.... and even they aren't that safe. Deal with it. The military isn't supposed to be an encounter session.

 

[Tangmo]

Gen. McConville was advanced to the 5 year term of CSA last year from assistant CSA for personnel and policy.

As such McConville was integral to conceiving and developing the Army's current and new recruiting focus on 22 cities such as Seattle, Denver, Providence RI that seeks to attract more Generation Z young people who are more liberal into the ranks of the Army. This also made McConville a leading candidate to become CSA to secure the new recruiting program in place and get it operating.

During its first year last year recruiting went up significantly in 16 of the now targeted 22 cities to include a push this past summer to recover from the CV19 recruiting plunge across the armed forces when basic training was shut down for some months earlier this year. The Army is getting more high tech types from these cities to include Boston, Sacramento, Houston and so on.

Army continues to recruit from the fertile "Confederate Zone" states from the Carolinas through Texas and some of the midwest yet Army knows it needs to draw a higher quality of personnel, hence the new focus on the 22 cities.

Indeed McConville is a Boston boy same as the CSA before him Gen. Milley who is now chairman JCS is a Boston boy. And same as Gen. John Kelly the retired Marine who's literally from the mean streets of Southie in Beantown.

Milley's predecessor as CJCS the Marine Gen. "Fighting Joe" Dunford retired is a Boston boy besides who was CMC before becoming CJCS. Plus Kelly and Dunford are BFF from way back -- no two Marines in the Corps are tighter than Kelly and Dunford are. Mattis btw who's from Washington state thought when he signed up with the Marines he was signing with the Mariners. And that the Marines were there to give him a parade to the ballpark. While there might be some overlap with the names it anyway went very well for Mattis in the Corps, as we know. It's worth mentioning too that each of these guys is Rotc except for McConville who is USMA.

 

[Tigerace117]

Why not?

In a battle the only safe space is a foxhole.... and even they aren't that safe. Deal with it. The military isn't supposed to be an encounter session.

Your idea is.......Spoken like someone who doesn’t have the slightest clue about the military :lol:

First off, smacking someone with PTSD— someone who routinely put their life on the line— is despicable.

Secondly, trying to physically abuse your own troops is a great way to wake up with a grenade outside your tent flap....or, you know, “just” get court martialed.

Way to show how little the Trump cult knows about the military.