There was an article published on August 27, 2021, by ABC News: US Special Operations Vets Carry Out Daring Mission to Save Afghan Allies:
In the article one of the “U.S. Special Operations vets” stated, “This Herculean effort couldn’t have been done without the unofficial heroes inside the airfield who defied their orders to not help beyond the airport perimeter, by wading into sewage canals and pulling in these targeted people who were flashing pineapples on their phones.”
If this article is true and accurate, it is just the “tip of the iceberg” of what is a very serious breakdown in the functional capabilities within the U.S. Department of Defense. Below the waterline, not noticed by the mainstream media and our apathetic intellectually challenged Congress is the bureaucratically, intentionally stymied, weapons and other advanced systems’ development processes. What we have now, is a myriad of tangled “programs” that lack connection to the American war fighter and theaters of operation. Staff at program offices attempt to make sense of trying to bring forth systems with “mission requirements” along with strategies and tactics that were determined and drafted many years ago, many of which do not relate to today’s conflicts.
The cause of this situation is not the fault of the present incompetent Secretary of Defense or the inept Joint Chiefs of Staff. However, they have shown during the past few months, with their priorities focused on diversity and inclusion, that they are not the people needed to manage the monumental task of advancing the Department of Defense to meet the demands of the modern hostile world.
The Department of Defense veil needs to be removed to reveal all that is wrong with the systems’ development and procurement processes. If the present Congress would perform their duty of oversight, perhaps the American population would see the constant influence the large defense contractors exert on development and procurement program staff at all levels. They use the term “relationships”, but it is really a never-ending insidious infiltration. The contractors maintain a vigilant campaign that is focused on their profiteering at the expense of the American taxpayer. A simple look at the number of U.S. military officers who retire and transition into well paying “business development” jobs within the defense contractor organizations would provide a good indication of what has been occurring. Yes, there are laws, such as Title 18 U.S.C. § 207 regulating these activities, but it is time to reexamine their effectiveness. What we have right now is, at best hopelessly inefficient, at worst severely corrupt and a detriment to the American war fighter and our nation. The price paid and the time it takes for delivery of weapons and other systems by and to the Department of Defense is almost at an exponential level when contrasted to what would be tolerated in civil commercial markets.
Congress needs to perform their duties, expose and correct what has gone awry in the Department of Defense. The public needs to organize, in constructive manners, in order to force Congress to act in the interest of the citizens of the United States of America. As a start, send this article to your Representative and Senators, ask them what they are going to do about the situation.
