(06-20-2023, 04:49 PM)Snarl Wrote: Anyway, I stewed on that all morning and figured I'd share. If it gets under your skin, do me a favor and don't copy/paste this in the note to your Congress Critter. The main article came out of the Washington Examiner: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/restoring-america/courage-strength-optimism/the-army-must-choose-diversity-or-meritocracy

Quote:Pentagon’s Secret Service Trawls Social Media for Mean Tweets About Generals

When the Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley enters into his scheduled retirement later this year, one of the perks will include a personal security detail to protect him from threats — including “embarrassment.” 

The U.S. Army Protective Services Battalion, the Pentagon’s little-known Secret Service equivalent, is tasked with safeguarding top military brass. The unit protects current as well as former high-ranking military officers from “assassination, kidnapping, injury or embarrassment,” according to Army records [PDF].

Protective Services’s mandate has expanded to include monitoring social media for “direct, indirect, and veiled” threats and identifying “negative sentiment” regarding its wards, according to an Army procurement document [PDF] dated September 1, 2022, and reviewed by The Intercept. The expansion of the Protective Services Battalion’s purview has not been previously reported.

The country’s national security machinery has become increasingly focused on social media — particularly as it relates to disinformation. Various national security agencies have spent recent years standing up offices all over the federal government to counter the purported threat.

The Army planned to use these tools not just to detect online “threats,” but also pinpoint their exact location by combining various surveillance techniques and data sources.

The document cites access to Twitter’s “firehose,” which would grant the Army the ability to search public tweets and Twitter users without restriction, as well as analysis of 4Chan, Reddit, YouTube, and Vkontakte, a Facebook knockoff popular in Russia. Internet chat platforms like Discord and Telegram will also be scoured for the purpose of “identifying counterterrorism and counter-extremism and radicalization,” though it’s unclear what exactly those terms mean here.

The Army procurement document shows it wasn’t just looking for surveillance software, but also tools to disguise the Army’s internet presence as it monitors the web. The contract says the Army would use “misattribution”: deceiving others about who is actually behind the keyboard. The document says the Army would accomplish this through falsifying web browser information and by relaying Army internet traffic through servers located in foreign cities, obscuring its stateside origin. 

• Constructive Ambiguity
  
• Perception Management
  
• Operant Conditioning
  
• Overton Window Kaleidoscope
  
• Dunbar’s Inundation theory
  
• MK Kultur
  
• Weaponized Hyperstitions
  
• Milgram Obedience
  
• Solomon Asch Conformity
  
• Zimbardo’s ONR
  

(06-20-2023, 06:17 PM)EndtheMadnessNow Wrote: Regards to Gen Milley executive protection detail...

Quote:Pentagon’s Secret Service Trawls Social Media for Mean Tweets About Generals
The U.S. Army Protective Services Battalion, the Pentagon’s little-known Secret Service equivalent, 

Quote:More and more, new recruits come from the same small number of counties and are the children of old recruits.

Soldiers like him are increasingly making the United States military a family business. The men and women who sign up overwhelmingly come from counties in the South and a scattering of communities at the gates of military bases like Colorado Springs, which sits next to Fort Carson and several Air Force installations, and where the tradition of military service is deeply ingrained.


For years, military leaders have been sounding the alarm over the growing gulf between communities that serve and those that do not, warning that relying on a small number of counties that reliably produce soldiers is unsustainable, particularly now amid escalating tensions with Iran.
More and more, new recruits are the children of old recruits. In 2019, 79 percent of Army recruits reported having a family member who served. For nearly 30 percent, it was a parent — a striking point in a nation where less than 1 percent of the population serves in the military.

(06-21-2023, 12:37 AM)xuenchen Wrote: The thinning of the military is planned and part of a master game script. 
So is the Border Blast and every other ass backwards program failure.
Bye-Bye is getting near

Quote:

• [b]The Army’s highest-ranking enlisted soldier fought back with Twitter users who criticized a unit’s pro-Pride post on Friday and Saturday, hinting that those users committed “discriminatory harassment.”[/b]
  
• [b]The 82nd Airborne’s tweet recommended Army families check out a “survival guide” for “questioning” teens and another describing how parents can learn to “support” their LGBGQ+ child, from the on-base library.[/b]
  
• [b]“The comment section isn’t your [Area of Operations], and voicing disagreement is not harassment,” one Twitter user said.[/b]
  

The Army’s top enlisted leader shot back at criticisms of a post from the 82nd Airborne celebrating LGBTQ+ members in a two-day Twitter battle, tweets show.

Twitter users, many of whom described themselves as veterans in their account bios, mocked the 82nd Airborne’s Friday morning post kick-starting the unit’s observance of Pride Month as a “disgrace” and distracting from the Army’s mission, the comments show. Sgt. Maj. Michael Grinston, the Army’s top enlisted leader responsible for morale and discipline issues in the service, condemned the criticism as harassment and shot back at tweets through Saturday morning as senior military leaders have not shied away from weighing in on American cultural controversies.

(06-20-2023, 05:31 PM)NightskyeB4Dawn Wrote:

(06-20-2023, 04:49 PM)Snarl Wrote: Anyway, I stewed on that all morning and figured I'd share. If it gets under your skin, do me a favor and don't copy/paste this in the note to your Congress Critter. The main article came out of the Washington Examiner: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/restoring-america/courage-strength-optimism/the-army-must-choose-diversity-or-meritocracy

The military has a problem with recruiting because they have nothing to offer our youth. They are smart enough to know that Call of Duty in the virtual world comes with many lives, and that they can control when they turn it on and when they turn it off. They are sitting comfortably in the homes of their parents and some of them don't even have to get up to get something to eat.

Why would they go to combat in the real world? Ideas such as freedoms, right, and make America great again, mean little or nothing to them. In fact any buzz words or triggering words, that may have worked in the past to motivate young men and women to leave home, take up a gun, and shoot strangers they had been programmed to hate, for no other reason than their government told them to, is just not going to fly with today's young adults.

(06-21-2023, 02:50 AM)Schmoe Wrote: To piggyback off of that, I think young adults are also more aware today of who they'd be fighting for.  And against.

The overwhelming majority of people I talk to don't trust the government.  Even highly decorated combat veterans.  I was PMing a very respected former Navy SEAL at a website over a decade ago.  I was interested in seeing what I was made of, and asked him if he'd do it all over again today.  He said, and I'm paraphrasing, "no, absolutely not.  Those in Washington send our young men into the meat grinder, and for what?  To prove a point?"

That did it for me.

(06-20-2023, 05:31 PM)NightskyeB4Dawn Wrote:

(06-20-2023, 04:49 PM)Snarl Wrote: Anyway, I stewed on that all morning and figured I'd share. If it gets under your skin, do me a favor and don't copy/paste this in the note to your Congress Critter. The main article came out of the Washington Examiner: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/restoring-america/courage-strength-optimism/the-army-must-choose-diversity-or-meritocracy

The military has a problem with recruiting because they have nothing to offer our youth. They are smart enough to know that Call of Duty in the virtual world comes with many lives, and that they can control when they turn it on and when they turn it off. They are sitting comfortably in the homes of their parents and some of them don't even have to get up to get something to eat.

Why would they go to combat in the real world? Ideas such as freedoms, right, and make America great again, mean little or nothing to them. In fact any buzz words or triggering words, that may have worked in the past to motivate young men and women to leave home, take up a gun, and shoot strangers they had been programmed to hate, for no other reason than their government told them to, is just not going to fly with today's young adults.

(06-21-2023, 08:05 AM)727Sky Wrote: The next war if it pops with China is gonna be a hum dinger and there may not be a hole deep enough to crawl into to avoid the true nastiness of a real shooten war.

(06-21-2023, 12:37 AM)xuenchen Wrote: The thinning of the military is planned and part of a master game script. 
So is the Border Blast and every other ass backwards program failure.
Bye-Bye is getting near

(06-21-2023, 08:55 PM)Ninurta Wrote:

(06-21-2023, 12:37 AM)xuenchen Wrote: The thinning of the military is planned and part of a master game script. 
So is the Border Blast and every other ass backwards program failure.
Bye-Bye is getting near

I personally think it is more than just a "thinning" of the military. I think that they are re-structuring the military to support a domestic war, for the Leftist/Collectivist/Authoritarian/Communist end of the spectrum. While it may be getting smaller, it is shifting focus from foreign enemies to "domestic terrorists" as defined by the Progressives. Even more than that, in addition to restructuring the military for some egregious Posse Commitatus violations, they are also prepping the public to be more accepting of the changes coming by constantly and consistently hammering on "domestic terrorists" and attempting to link that phrase to Conservatives/republicans/Right-wingers, and letting the Leftists skate no matter what crimes they commit against the populace. Leftists cannot be, by the new definitions, "domestic terrorists", and certainly not in the same way that Right  wingers can be so defined these days.

Leftists can burn down entire neighborhoods, and have a get-out-of-jail-free card, but Right wingers have only to express an opinion publicly to get labeled as a "domestic terrorist", and hunted down like a dog.

They appear to be re-structuring the military to support that mission domestically, by changing the Left-Right balance of it and skewing it towards the Left. Some Leftisits can, and are willing to, fight. Just take a look at the Antifa phenomenon. What I believe they have not yet factored in is the coming Right wing backlash against the changes. And make no mistake, it IS coming. The Left has pushed too far, too fast, and increasing numbers of people both right and left are starting to question that push.

Now, while the Left can be induced to fight, the Right was born to it. They don't, I think, fight much at the moment because they realize what will come if they unleash themselves. They know what they are capable of, and dread it. When the gloves finally come off, all hell will break loose, and no one want to see that. However, with the Left increasingly pushing harder and accelerating their agenda, there will come a breaking point where it is inevitable. Win or lose, the Right will eventually fight back, and like any cornered animal, they will fight to win, whether they do win or not. There are more individuals on the Right with a "death before dishonor" attitude, more of them that will fight to the death and die fighting on their feet rather than continue living on their knees... and that is going to make for a very ugly situation. It always does when any given group develops a "win or die" attitude. That is where "ethnic cleansings", "genocides", and all manner of unspeakable acts springs from. The Right does not want to be pushed that far, but the Left WILL do it - they don't think that far ahead, and they don't learn from history. Together with those things, the Left has an unshakeable faith that they will somehow win, despite the lessons of history - even when they did win in any particular area, it has never lasted for even a century, anywhere. The Right has always reached a point where they've had enough of slavery, and push back... and pushed back very effectively and ugly. As ugly as necessary to regain their freedoms, whatever that took.

Younger folks who determine to defend their freedom should (and appear to be doing) stay well away from a "woke" military that does not and cannot have their best interests at heart. Additionally, they should study in-depth the works of Von Clauscwictz, "Mao on Guerrilla Warfare", Che Guevara's "Guerrilla Warfare", and things like Carlos Marighela's works. It seems counter-intuitive to study communist guerrilla warfare doctrines, but those doctrines are sound, and have led to a lot of victory in the past 150 years - it's just that after the victory, their communist doctrines could not bear the pressure of actually leading a civilian population. It always devolves into an oligarchy where the top dawgs are only looking out for Number One, and enriching themselves at the expense of the Proletariat. Every. Time.

In addition to the communist sources, there is value in studying Sun Tzu's "The Art of War" and Miyamoto Mushashi's "A Book of Five Rings".

Special Forces guerrilla training used to use those very texts, communist and non-communist alike. I don't know what they are doing now, in the "woke" era of non-governance. Once upon a time, there was value in joining the military in order to learn how to fight, and fight as part of a unit. Those times are gone. They left when the military became more of an indoctrination kindergarten than a defense force. That started, I believe, under the Obama regime, when Obama fired all those generals and replaced them with "woke" counterparts, and the military started rotting from the top down as that virus was spread by the brass.

Now, the US enters the era of asymmetrical warfare, and we are going to need bright young minds schooled in asymmetrical warfare, but untainted by woke indoctrination, to lead that charge. Asymmetrical warfare is the only way for a loose and fairly disorganized population to win against an organized, but overbearing and fairly clueless government. It uses those very "weaknesses" as it's strengths. for the guerrillas.

.

(06-22-2023, 04:00 AM)Schmoe Wrote: I go back and forth all the time with what our military would do in the event of some sort of civil war within the United States.  Part of me thinks there's no way they fight against their own civilians.  Then I think, in this age of wokeness, especially in the military, I'm not so sure.  Combine that wokeness with your average grunts being gung-ho 18-22 year olds, and I'm just not so sure they wouldn't.

(06-22-2023, 04:50 AM)BodhisattvaStyle Wrote: What if this whole thing with the weakening of our military is on purpose?
Everything else has worked like clockwork. I mean, they've been able to sway the masses for generations now. And now, with the tech today, it's even easier to "control thought" and "influence" the youth. So, I'm suspicious as to the purpose of weakening our armed forces.

Outside influence, maybe? 

I'm thinking it's all part of the plan. I wouldn't doubt it if we saw a foreign attack, of some sort soon. But, my tin foil hat has gotten thicker and thicker lately. So, what do I know? ?  Either way, I think it's all part of the plan. Make us (even more) vulnerable... Would be a great way to 'push some more fear' for the agenda.

(06-22-2023, 04:00 AM)Schmoe Wrote: I go back and forth all the time with what our military would do in the event of some sort of civil war within the United States.  Part of me thinks there's no way they fight against their own civilians.  Then I think, in this age of wokeness, especially in the military, I'm not so sure.  Combine that wokeness with your average grunts being gung-ho 18-22 year olds, and I'm just not so sure they wouldn't.

(06-22-2023, 05:03 AM)NightskyeB4Dawn Wrote: I hear you. That is why my spidey senses says look at trees on this one.

Americans are being pulled into a thousand directions at one time. We are afraid of everything. It seems that we are being attacked at all angles. Our food is being threatened, our homes, our children, our finances. our religion, our health, our future, our rights, our freedoms. We are so overwhelmed and feeling hopeless that we are very likely to latch onto any snake oil salesman that comes down the pike.

In reality, if the SHTF, which it is very likely to do, we will end up in exactly the same spot regardless. The main difference will be, and the determining factor will be, are we in control, or are we being controlled.

(06-22-2023, 06:46 AM)Ninurta Wrote:

(06-22-2023, 04:00 AM)Schmoe Wrote: I go back and forth all the time with what our military would do in the event of some sort of civil war within the United States.  Part of me thinks there's no way they fight against their own civilians.  Then I think, in this age of wokeness, especially in the military, I'm not so sure.  Combine that wokeness with your average grunts being gung-ho 18-22 year olds, and I'm just not so sure they wouldn't.

Once upon a time, I was sure the military would rebel against orders to fire on civilians. Then, for  while, I was teetering on the fence. Now, I'm as sure as I can be that they would fire. I think that is the entire purpose for woke-ing up the military, and labeling anyone questioning the Party Line, even if only verbally, as "domestic terrorists".

It looks to me like they are trying to put the finishing touches on it, and may be ready to spring before long.

Furthermore, you can't always be sure of which neighbors or acquaintances may drop the dime on you, and bring smoke on you. That is the kind of society they are setting up - just like in WWII Germany, just like in Soviet Russia, just like in Cuba, Nicaragua, Cambodia, Rhodesia, Angola, and any number of communist hell-holes that sprang up like mushrooms after a rain during the Cold War.

And as you observe, it's the youth that fight the wars... they are going after the youth to indoctrinate them... and when they are ready, they will most likely aim them squarely at the domestic population to "weed out" the dissidents.

This is no longer the American military of our day, or of our parent's day - it's being molded into the WWII military of Germany, or the post-revolution military of the Soviets, or the post-revolution military of Cuba... etc. What gives hope is that at least some of the young-'uns are seeing through the bullshit, and electing not to join a military that may be turned upon their parents, or grandparents, or friends.

But just not joining is not going to be enough, because some ARE still joining. They need to be preparing to repel the Progressives' forces. If they are not prepared, they will get rolled right over. It's our jobs to prepare them.

"Raise a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it". WE need to be doing the raising, and disallowing the Progressives to get their foot in the door. Not just oppose them, positively disallow them.

It's not just our lives that depend upon it, it's also the lives of our kids and grandkids, for the next 60 or 70 or 80 years.

.