Internal 82nd Airborne Division communications reviewed by Military.com reveal a tightly orchestrated effort to curate the optics of Trump’s recent visit, including handpicking soldiers for the audience based on political leanings and physical appearance. The troops ultimately selected to be behind Trump and visible to the cameras were almost exclusively male.
One unit-level message bluntly said “no fat soldiers.”
“If soldiers have political views that are in opposition to the current administration and they don’t want to be in the audience then they need to speak with their leadership and get swapped out,” another note to troops said.
Cherry picking your fan boys, very Alpha move.
The military has always been heavily populated by some of the shittiest people. The prospect of carrying a weapon and killing others or just wielding power over others, attracts a certain type of person. In the US since at least 9/11, there’s been a disgusting amount of military propaganda that has certainly brought in some people that care and want to do the right thing (for the ignorant wrong reasons) but also the shits that are all in because they think they’re tough shit.
Service people don’t deserve any more respect than any other profession, and I’d argue in many cases, they deserve less respect. There’s hasn’t been a draft in a hot minute, so everyone currently in is voluntary. Some soldiers do wind to in life threatening situations, but it’s far from the most dangerous job and to me, killing innocence in the middle east for no good reason doesn’t earn you any valor in my book.
They’re all a bunch of pawns, and I’ve seen about 2 out of all of them actually stand up and oppose the Trump admin and thousands of others bend over, take it, and ask for more. This article and LA further reenforces my belief that being in the military isn’t something noble, but more akin to being in a gang where all of the members are brainwashed and have no spines.