Trump’s Christmas Message to the Troops: F*ck You.

High School Cadet Capt. Trump. Thank you for your service.

Before leaving for holiday R&R at Mar-a-Lago, bone spur survivor and U.S. Commander-in-Chief Donald Trump vetoed the Defense Bill because it didn’t defend him from being called out on Twitter. The bill would have provided pay raises to U.S. Armed Forces members. Mr. Trump also objected to removing names of previous violators of constitutional oaths from military installations, apparently fearing it would keep the Pentagon from naming Space Force facilities after himself.

More:

“Trump Vetoes Annual Defense Policy Bill, Including Military Pay Raise,” Kevin Freking, AP via Military.com

“Trump Vetoes Defense Bill, Defends Confederate Bases Over Troops’ Pay,” Arya Hodjat, Daily Beast

“Trump vetoes $741 billion defense bill over his completely unrelated spat with social-media companies and against the wishes of top Republicans,” John Haltiwanger, Business Insider

“Trump vetoes $740B defense bill, citing ‘failure to terminate’ Section 230,” Kate Cox, Ars Technica

“Trump vetoes $740bn US military bill over clause to rename bases honoring Confederates,” Griffin Connolly, The Independent

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Top image: Cadet Capt. Trump’s high school picture. Download a copy here.

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Space Force ‘Guardians’ Get Lapel Pins. Secret Decoder Rings Next?

Lapel Pins, too. Collect ’em all!

Members of outgoing president Donald Trump’s pet Space Force will be issued a nifty official lapel pin to wear on their U.S. Air Force uniforms. That will differentiate them from other flyboys until their capes come back from the tailor. Space Force members, heretofore called “Space Cadets” perhaps, will henceforth be known as “Guardians,” Viceroy Vice President Mike Pence decreed.

“Will ‘Guardian’ be implemented into the rank structure,” asks Gizmodo’s Tom McKay, “like, does someone get promoted from Guardian to Sentinel to Space Paladin to Tython, The Secessionist King Of Mars or something?”

In other space uniform news, Gen. John Raymond, chief of the U.S. Space Force, became a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in some kind of robing ceremony last Friday.

Meanwhile, as the Trump administration had its eyes on the stars and Space Force “Guardians” played video games, real-life antagonists conducted successful cyber attacks on the Pentagon and other U.S. government agencies.

Related:

“Abolish the Space Force,” Sarah Jones, New York Magazine

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Trump Fires Pentagon Brass, Commemorates Veterans Day

High School Cadet Capt. Trump. Thank you for your service.

On Wednesday it was raining too hard to play golf, so President Donald Trump commemorated Veterans Day by visiting Arlington National Cemetery and silently laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Mr. Trump had prepared for the event on Monday by firing West Point graduate Mark Esper, his more-or-less 5th Secretary of Defense. Mr. Esper, a veteran of the Army’s 101st Airborne Division, was awarded the Bronze Star for his service in Iraq. You may recall that Mr. Trump has a service-related disability: he was gravely wounded as soon as he became eligible for the Vietnam draft lottery, and was treated (on paper) at a Queens NY storefront a podiatrist rented from Fred Trump, his dad.

Armed Forces Fact: The Pentagon is in Arlington, Virginia, only 2 miles from Arlington National Cemetery.

More:

“Trump Fires Mark Esper, Defense Secretary Who Opposed Use of Troops on U.S. Streets,”Helene Cooper, Eric Schmitt and Maggie Haberman,  New York Times

“Pentagon sees flurry of resignations after Trump ousts secretary,” Ellen Mitchell, The Hill

“‘Devastating’: Top Pentagon leadership gutted as fears rise over national security,” Lara Seligman and Daniel Lippman, Politico

“Worries grow about rudderless post-election Pentagon,” Ellen Mitchell, The Hill

“Trump administration upends senior Pentagon ranks, installing loyalists,” Dan Lamothe, Missy Ryan, Josh Dawsey and Paul Sonne, Washington Post

“Trump loyalists elevated to powerful roles at the Pentagon after firing of Defense Secretary Esper,” Amanda Macias. CNBC

“Trump Stacks the Pentagon and Intel Agencies With Loyalists. To What End?” David E. Sanger and Eric Schmitt, New York Times

“Republicans muzzle anger over Trump’s Pentagon culling, afraid antagonizing him could imperil Georgia runoff,” Karoun Demirjian, Washington Post

Updates:

“Military wary that shakeup could upend its apolitical nature,” Lolitia C. Baldor, Associated Press

“Why Trump is suddenly replacing Pentagon officials with loyalists,” Alex Ward, Vox

Related:

“Gen. Milley’s nurse wife gave CPR to bystander who collapsed at ceremony,” Marina Pitofsky, The Hill

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Top image: Cadet Capt. Trump’s high school picture. Download a copy here.

Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.

U.S. Troops in Space!

Space Force: Enlist and Blast Off Today!

Military troops in the Space Force will someday deploy to orbit, one of the service’s top operations officials said Sept. 29.

‘At some point, yes, we will be putting humans into space,’ Maj. Gen. John E. Shaw, head of the Space Force’s Space Operations Command and part of U.S. Space Command leadership, said during a conference organized by the AFWERX innovation group. ‘They may be operating command centers somewhere in the lunar environment or someplace else.’

Space Force officials, wary of being confused with NASA, usually shy away from questions about whether military personnel will go to the Final Frontier themselves. Experts have split on whether a Space Force astronaut corps is a good idea in the next couple of decades, if at all.

— “Space Force Will Eventually Put Troops in Orbit, Ops Boss Says,” Rachel S. Cohen, Air Force Magazine

Note: Space Force Chief of Space Operations Gen. John W. “Jay” Raymond is among the senior U.S. military leaders in self-quarantine due to COVID-19 exposure at the White House.

Related:

“Space Force Fears COVID Loss Of Commercial Startups: Gen. Thompson,” Theresa Hitchens, Breaking Defense

Update:

“U.S. Space Force unveils lapel pins for U.S. Air Force uniforms,” Ed Adamczyk, UPI

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Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and lengU.S. Troops in Space!th.

Space Force: Countdown to Blast Off!

U.S. Space Operations Force. Enlist now!

“‘I said maybe we need a new force, we’ll call it the Space Force,’ Trump said at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in March 2018. ‘And I was not really serious. Then I said,’What a great idea, maybe we’ll have to do that.'”

“Now, key lawmakers leading the charge have the support they need to make a new U.S. space service a reality. The House and the Senate have both proposed plans for Space Force in their versions of the annual defense bill.

And next month, a congressional conference committee could hammer out a final blueprint in its approval of the fiscal year 2020 National Defense Authorization Act.”

— “With Congressional Blessing, Space Force Is Closer To Launch,” Claudia Grisales, NPR News

Update:

“US Launches Space Command Today,” Carla Babb, VOA

Related:

“Why the Space Force Is Just Like Trump University,” Erin Durkin, The Atlantic

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Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.

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Space Force!

U.S. Space Operations Force. Enlist now!

President Trump’s promised Space Force is in development, said Vice President Mike Pence at the Pentagon on Thursday. “You can be confident,” he assured military leaders, citing Psalm 139, “that you will go with the prayers of millions of Americans who will claim on your behalf, … ‘even if you go up to the heavens, even there His hand will guide [you], His right hand will hold [you] fast.’ And He will hold fast this great nation in the great beyond.”

What can account for the religious fervor of Mr. Pence’s belief in the need for a Space Force? It’s not his fear of gay space aliens, it’s something else….