With regard to military transgender policy — the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff essentially told the President that — our military colossus does not turn on Anyone's whimsically delivered dime

© 2017 Peter Free

 

27 July 2017

 

 

Leadership by tweet (thankfully) will not cut it with our Armed Forces

 

The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Marine General Joseph Dunford, made appropriately interrupting work of President Trump's tweeted transgender policy reversal.

 

In a simple letter addressed to the nation's "Service Chiefs, Commanders and Senior Enlisted Leaders," the General wrote that:

 

 

I know there are questions about yesterday's announcement on the transgender policy by the President. There will be no modifications to the current policy until the President's direction has been received by the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary has issued implementation guidance.

 

In the meantime, we will continue to treat all of our personnel with respect. As importantly, given the current fight and the challenges we face, we will all remain focused on accomplishing our assigned missions.

 

 

A sense of quasi-responsible order was probably restored thereby

 

Thank you, General Dunford.

 

 

The moral? — One can infer that the President is irritating some among the nation's more responsible command structure

 

A chief executive of thoughtful substance does not whimsically reverse the gargantuan flow of past announced military policy — and its in-progress implementation effort — without first:

 

 

discussing the proposed change with his highest-ranking military subordinates

 

and

 

initiating the necessary bureaucratic formalities.

 

 

Even implementing soullessness has its operationally necessary pre-requirements.

 

That the President would attempt the LGBT reversal in such a casual manner demonstrates how unimaginatively ignorant he seems to be, regarding the intricate and difficult to coordinate nature of the colossus he commands.