Hillbilly version: thus far Sec. of War shows signs of learning. But there is room for improvement. On the positive side, he did not put his rebuke of the readiness of the armed services on the internet. He chose, instead, to bring a very large contingency from great distances to address the dress code of the personnel. We used to refer to the daily chart for the appropriate uniform of the day. But that was another time. What Hegseth did was not classified by any means. The ability to determine when it is appropriate to use memos has obviously not reached his office. Perhaps a public dressing down of the top leadership of the military over readiness was called for. But personally I doubt it. In a time when the United States is trying to cut back on frivolous expenditures, this type of showmanship might be a bit much. Both professionally and definitely not cost effective.

The concept of withdrawing from the service if you don’t wish to comply with new standards is both embarrassing to professionals with multiple years of experience and demeaning to those who have risen to the top of our military. Certainly Hegseth can follow orders from above. As to his ability to run the department of defense or department of war is yet to be determined. A simple memo would cover dress code and physical fitness. This was the televised version, the one presented to the nation, our allies and our “enemies”. It might not be the one presented to the delegation of upper level professional in private. What is going on? Don’t ask us to belive it was necessary to bring this delegation together to talk about grooming? Even we can not be that stupid!

To suggest that cities within the borders of the United States be used as training grounds in a televised address begs the question. Actually, a lot of questions. The standard being upheld is blind compliance to the orders from above. Forget about things like legalities and actual training. Hegseth stated, we are preparing for WAR. Against whom? The enemy within! And who gets to decide who the enemy is and what exactly is the criteria for an enemy within. Is he suggesting that the people we have working on internal problems are not equipped for their duties. Perhaps they have not shaved and need to be masked to cover up their lack of preparation. A memo should suffice. Somehow, those people whose job it is to work within the cities are not equipped to carry out their mission? and need the support of the military. A military that will be prepared for war. Police work and war efforts are not necessarily the same skill set. Setting a number quota system of so many arrest a day is ridiculous. When you find enemies of the state, do your job. But do your job legally. There are standards and procedures within the borders that apply.

Is Hegseth saying we are not ready to defend ourselves and uphold our obligations? There is a time for parades and looking good but if we should be so unfortunate to find ourselves in a war zone whether a person has a close shave will not be as important as do you have my back. Can I depend upon you is dependent upon your training not your personal appearance.