SecDef Hegseth Gets a Rude and Disrespectful
Welcome by US Military Command in Germany
Red State,
by
Strieff
Original Article
Posted By: Mercedes44,
2/13/2025 4:40:39 AM
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth began a tour of Europe Tuesday, starting at the headquarters of US European Command at Patch Barracks in Stuttgart, Germany. The newly minted SecDef has a heavy schedule in front of him, inspecting US forces in Europe and dealing with his first meeting with NATO. He is obviously trying to move beyond the controversies associated with his confirmation. He is also trying to lead by example and reverse the cultural rot in the US military by force of will.
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Reply 1 - Posted by:
Strike3 2/13/2025 5:01:49 AM (No. 1895289)
The writer is a putz who is wrong on so many comments and was probably the kind of officer hated by his troops. If the troops respect you, that's all that matters. Protesters should not be allowed on military bases. Maybe they haven't heard that DEI is dead and gone.
57 people like this.
Reply 2 - Posted by:
judy 2/13/2025 5:13:08 AM (No. 1895298)
Sounds like the writer wrote the article from his NY office???? From a clip I saw they look content...Pete was exercising with the military...I guess the writer would prefer Pete govern from his DC office???
40 people like this.
Reply 3 - Posted by:
singermom9 2/13/2025 5:13:32 AM (No. 1895299)
Separate them and send them to the middle east to peel potatoes for our real heroes.
37 people like this.
Reply 4 - Posted by:
PostAway 2/13/2025 5:52:53 AM (No. 1895309)
Sounds like a lot of woke culture at Stuttgart and work to be done by Hegseth. Perhaps he went there so early in his tenure as a result of whistleblowing by the troops. It also stands to reason that if the leadership is willing to be so lax in dress and manners towards the Secretary of Defense, the troops are getting treated badly too.
50 people like this.
Reply 5 - Posted by:
5 handicap 2/13/2025 6:07:03 AM (No. 1895313)
Seems as if tthis Lt GEn Peter Principled out at O6, Perhaps he shjould trade his stars for a silver eagle.
24 people like this.
The Army had been wearing BDUs for years as a symbol of being ready for war…. “We are at war…”. I think there was no disrespect and I am sure Hegseth knows this. The writer of the story is ignorant.
28 people like this.
Reply 7 - Posted by:
spacer 2/13/2025 6:30:53 AM (No. 1895328)
Erick must be back and writing under a pen name at Red State.
13 people like this.
Reply 8 - Posted by:
chumley 2/13/2025 6:31:33 AM (No. 1895329)
We only wore dress uniforms for retirements and special functions. The rest of the time it was BDUs. That wasn't our choice, it was the rule. They had to be clean and serviceable, but BDUs were always the uniform of the day. It could be worn off base and for quick trips to the store, but not extended shopping trips. That was also the rule.
This guy is getting bent out of shape over people obeying the rules.
As to the school, the base usually has a liaison officer with the schools. Its often a brand new lieutenant who they otherwise didnt have a place for. He probably didnt know ahead of time that this protest was going to happen.
13 people like this.
Reply 9 - Posted by:
BeatleJeff 2/13/2025 6:42:25 AM (No. 1895344)
The article reminded me of Appomattox, where Lee arrived dressed in his best Class A while Grant showed up wearing a dusty jacket he had borrowed from a private to which he had appended his stars. Somehow I doubt Pete was bothered any by being greeted by a CG dressed in BDUs. The heckling by soldiers' wives is more troublesome. That can be career ending for those women's spouses, and given that recruitment is now on the upswing, those who prefer to play politics within the ranks can (and should) be easily replaced.
50 people like this.
Reply 10 - Posted by:
govlawyer 2/13/2025 6:53:07 AM (No. 1895351)
Mark Milley fanboys and fangirls making it easy to help identify whose next post will be north of the arctic circle.
32 people like this.
Reply 11 - Posted by:
tootall 2/13/2025 7:01:19 AM (No. 1895354)
Is this all you got? What a snarky, prissy column.
Well done SecDef. We're behind you 100%
34 people like this.
Reply 12 - Posted by:
BarryNo 2/13/2025 7:02:11 AM (No. 1895355)
It's a fact finding mission. He finds out who's insubordinate and disloyal, then replaces them.
23 people like this.
The author sounds like a REMF.
15 people like this.
Reply 14 - Posted by:
Lazyman 2/13/2025 8:07:00 AM (No. 1895393)
As a Vietnam, In-Country Vietnam Vet, and not really a willing volunteer, I agree. The use of combat fatigues all the time takes away from the professionalism of the service. Especially the Military Police where we were subject to Guard Mount every day where we were inspected. No chewing gum in ranks either.
7 people like this.
Reply 15 - Posted by:
starsNstripes 2/13/2025 8:17:58 AM (No. 1895396)
In my active duty days, conduct by a spouse or dependent reflected poorly on the service member. I recall more than once an officer getting kicked out of on base housing for having unruly kids. Having an unruly spouse openly protesting your chain of command on foreign soil would have been a career ending move back in my day. FAFO
33 people like this.
Reply 16 - Posted by:
anniebc 2/13/2025 8:37:12 AM (No. 1895404)
Poster #15, I remember a military family getting kicked off base for grossly bad behavior of one of their children. It only happened once; military children, Marine brats, at least were some of the best behaved, well-mannered, and disciplined kids anywhere. That was my experience anyway.
11 people like this.
Reading replies on this thread, I have to say I’m spit and polish. When I was stationed in ÑAS Corpus Christi in summer uniform of the day was dress whites and colder months dress blues. I worked in the admin building and the WAVE officer would drop in to see if everyone was in uniform. The only time I wore fatigues was when I was on mess duty. Civiles when off base.
7 people like this.
Reply 18 - Posted by:
JrSample 2/13/2025 9:01:22 AM (No. 1895420)
Facts don't match the headline. It makes it sound like a mass protest, but when you examine the facts; 50 students walked out in protest of his removing DEI courses. Note the narcissism by students thinking that their presence in school is something that affects anyone but themselves. The protest by wives/dependents numbered in the single digits with their nonsense chanting about ''DEI''. The writer is trying to make something out of nothing.
8 people like this.
Reply 19 - Posted by:
Highlander 2/13/2025 9:13:03 AM (No. 1895423)
As an 18-year-old HS grad in ‘65, I spent two weeks with my oldest brother and his wife at Luke AB in Arizona. He was a captain then. While he was on duty, my sister-in-law would take me with her to the commissary and the officer’s gathering place, and meet the other wives. It was a big surprise how a few of these ladies conducted themselves, especially after a few gimlets and screwdrivers. My own SIL was right there with them, smoking like a chimney and drinking like a fish, laughing at some of the crudest jokes my young ears had heard.
As I reflect on this, now, I wonder if she was a factor in how my brother eventually retired as a major and not a colonel like he wanted. Officers’ families can sure hurt their careers if they don’t present the best images.
12 people like this.
Reply 20 - Posted by:
Jesuslover54 2/13/2025 10:24:40 AM (No. 1895473)
The fit is definitely going to hit the shan.
4 people like this.
Reply 21 - Posted by:
Ragman73 2/13/2025 10:34:00 AM (No. 1895486)
The comments on the BDUs by writer are interesting. Many years ago with the Army I had a superior officer commented on the condition of my uniform. It was absolutely clean, but had a wrinkle or two. He
said " you need to look like officer, look at my BDUs." And I did. I had the discretion of not commenting
that his uniform was "vintage" with frayed cuffs with "strings" that had not been removed. He further asked
" do you see any wrinkles?" I said "no", and pointed out his BDUs were heavily starched. He agreed. My
last comment was " I thought starching BDUs was not regulation", because of something called "the stove
pipe effect". He thought for a moment , looked back an said, " you need to get back to your men, dismissed". Everyone has a uniform story.
5 people like this.
Reply 22 - Posted by:
bighambone 2/13/2025 10:51:57 AM (No. 1895492)
Well Pete Hegseth has been around and no doubt has close in staff who know their way around the uniformed armed services. If there was actual disrespect shown to Hegseth by the General Officers there in Stuttgart it will have been noted. So if that disrespect did occur look for command changes to occur when Hegseth returns to the USA and the smoke clears. No doubt Trump has Hegseth’s back and by being disrespectful to Hegseth, and by extension Trump, any General Officer who took part in such disrespect should be ready to have their careers crash and burn. Those suspected military dependents who shouted “DEI” to Hegseth were just showing that they are dumb with that effort probably reflecting adversely upon their related military member..
7 people like this.
Reply 23 - Posted by:
earlybird 2/13/2025 11:16:00 AM (No. 1895503)
Hegseth nitices everything. There may not be explosions but he may take some actions to correct anything he saw that was out of line.
I got the impression that Streiff was relying on photos and second hand reports.
3 people like this.
Reply 24 - Posted by:
Talk2 2/13/2025 12:04:25 PM (No. 1895547)
I'd bet those protesters were teachers at Patch Middle School. Otherwise, why would students be protesting for DEI continuation.
3 people like this.
Reply 25 - Posted by:
Highvoltage 2/13/2025 12:08:14 PM (No. 1895551)
Trump should close the European bases and fire base personnel.
1 person likes this.
Reply 26 - Posted by:
DVC 2/13/2025 12:29:43 PM (No. 1895579)
Should have looked at the general and said, "Get into your class A uniform, now. I'll be going to lunch and when I'm done, you had better be presentable."
2 people like this.
Reply 27 - Posted by:
DVC 2/13/2025 12:31:28 PM (No. 1895582)
Nice story " we are at war"......except for the small, inconvenient fact that we are NOT at war.
2 people like this.
Reply 28 - Posted by:
john56 2/13/2025 12:46:16 PM (No. 1895605)
Seems to me that the brass would have passed around the hint that the new boss was coming to town and it might be a good idea to clean up the joint, be on your best behavior, and be sure yiur uniforms were at least clean and pressed.
2 people like this.
Reply 29 - Posted by:
MickTurn 2/13/2025 12:50:37 PM (No. 1895613)
I would have had a private meeting with the Commanding General and FIRED his Marxist AZZ!
1 person likes this.
Reply 30 - Posted by:
DVC 2/13/2025 5:23:47 PM (No. 1895842)
Sort pet peeve rant warning:
The really STUPID part of current US military uniforms is that the USN wears some sort of oddball green-brown camo crap. Is this so that they can hide behind their GRAY ship or their gray office furniture? What the heck is this camo for the Navy foolishness? They finally got rid of the even MORE ridiculous 'blueberry' camo, which might be good for hiding in a Smurf Forest or something.
Marines, Army, sure, camo uniforms make sense. They actually DO sneak thru forests and jungles and deserts.
USN? Uh, no, they are on ships or in offices, SEALs excepted, of course. Go back to dungarees and chambray shirts for enlisted working uniforms and khakis for officers. You aren't sneaking thru the jungle on patrol.....ever, unless you are a SEAL.
0 people like this.
I do believe we can expect to hear about a number of reassignments coming down the pike. The only time I ever greeted a general in BDUs was during wartime and even the general was wearing his. This included a visit to the base by the SecDef. Those soldiers working out as part of daily PT were expected to be dressed that way. Otherwise a troop review should feature your shiniest shoes and Class A uniform, inspection ready. As for the teacher leading the DEI walkout, expect to lose your taxpayer funded European vacation and the parent(s) to be reassigned to beautiful locales as Thule, Reykjavik, and Shemya.
0 people like this.
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