Growing up, I knew some veterans of World War I; several more from World War II; and many more from Korea and Vietnam. Especially the latter. Some of the older people knew of those who went through the Civil War and the Spanish-American War. One could respect those who fought for America's defense when the need arose.
Things, though, have changed since then. Since the First Bush Administration, the Military has become the instrument of furthering the ends of the Corporate Deep State. Like all other Corporate instruments, American Veterans of today often had to go against their own consciences carrying out inhuman orders and left the Military under varying degrees of traumatization. Also, like other Corporate instruments, such people became expendable once they were of no further use to the Military-Industrial Complex.
Others in the Postmodern Military, however, took the realistic approach and accommodated themselves to the New Normal. These are the kinds who thrive in a system of corruption and don't let things like War Crimes bother their conscience too much. Such a character is the current head of the so-called Department of War, Pete Hegseth.
Since taking over the Pentagon in January, Hegseth has engaged in purges of the officer corps, practically eliminated any civilian oversight of his department, is building a paramilitary strike force for domestic purposes, and---after a few ineffectual bombing campaigns in Yemen and Iran---has been more recently sating his sadistic impulses by destroying motor-boats off the South American Coast. The death toll from these murders is reportedly over 60 now; according to the Pentagon, they were drug-smugglers---although none of the vessels seem to have either the fuel capacity or the structural integrity to go across the Caribbean Sea to the United States. We have no way of knowing since the Corporate Media slavishly takes the Pentagon's word for everything; but even if Hegseth's accusations are true, he has no jurisdiction over narcotics-trafficking.
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Many have questioned Hegseth's competence, but there are increasing numbers who question his actual sanity. His seeming obsession with killing non-Whites, his open disregard for civilized Rules of Military Engagement, his reported irrational outbursts, the unmistakable symptoms of acute Paranoia and latent homosexuality are evident to anybody not wholly subsumed by the MAGA Cult of the Alpha Superman.
If we had a functioning Congress, there would be demands for Hegseth to be relieved of duties pending an independent psychiatric evaluation (and, yes, there is precedent for this). Then again, if we had a functioning Congress, Hegseth never would have been confirmed in the first place. The Senate overlooked things like Hegseth's sheer incompetence, his ties to a Christian Nationalist Cult, suspicions of his ties to White Supremacists; instead, focusing on ridiculous allegations of sexual impropriety, which, unfortunately, to both Congressmen and the American Public these days are considered more serious than Hegseth's other moral crimes.
On this veteran's day, groups representing former American servicemen should take stock of the dangerous direction our Military is taking, put partisan differences aside and demand the removal of the madman, Hegseth. That the Pentagon---and the Military generally---is in serious need of reform, no one doubts; but reform is different from reactionary politics. The damage done under a fanatic will only make a bad situation worse.
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