Twilight’s last gleaming…

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Can our present Army win a war?

In our National Anthem, a song written to glorify the United States, its flag, and the courageous men that defended both, there is a stanza that reflected the author’s pride in the sheer will and determination of the fort’s defenders. It states: “What so proudly we hail’d at the twilight’s last gleaming.” The song, which began as a poem to honor Fort McHenry defenders, salutes their courage under a constant barrage of mortar, cannon, and rocket fire.

It was our first test as a nation after winning independence in our Revolution, the War of 1812, and that twilight’s last gleaming signaled the hope of this nation, as the song’s author, Francis Scott Keys, observed our flag standing tall as the last rays of light disappeared below the horizon. Throughout the night the relentless bombardment continued and the flashes of gun and rocket fire gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.

As the morning light shown, a huge American flag flew on the pole, “O say does that star-spangled banner yet wave, O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.” It sends chills up my spine in visceral recognition of the courage it took to turn this nation into the Greatest Nation on Earth. The men willing to sacrifice everything for something bigger than them.

For 244 years that tradition of honor, duty, and courage was instilled into every man, later woman, who put on the uniform. It seemed like that light of greatness would never burn out. Yet today we face a new twilight. This is the last gleaming of our once glorious past, because today’s military is not able to fight and win a war. Nor is it willing to sacrifice for anything greater than themselves.

The Land of the Free and Home of the Brave is no more

Those brave defenders in the War of 1812, and other heroes from our Revolution, and every war since, were real American patriots, and men of honor. Men with true grit, in the face of danger, whose courage could be measured by their actions. Men whose tenacity under fire would become the folklore this nation thrived on as it grew into The Greatest Nation on Earth.

And today those very men of grit, honor, and courage are being purged by a military who sees them as the biggest threat to democracy

Today’s military leaders, none of whom have ever tasted victory because of Obama’s purges of the generals/admirals that has led to today’s crop of leaders, only real abilities lay in their political affiliations. Please tell me of the last general/admiral that threatened to resign to stop a disaster, like the withdrawal from Afghanistan? Those Marxist politicians in uniform are leading our military straight into oblivion.

And our military leadership is Marxist because Obama put only dedicated socialist in upper positions within the military

The worst of all scenarios happened under Obama. He ran the ongoing wars utilizing lawyers overseeing field commanders and determining who could and could not be killed. In fact Obama’s lawyers relished their ability to prosecute anyone who may have killed an enemy combatant that they didn’t first approve.  Army 1st Lt. Clint Lorance was charged by Obama’s military lawyers and sentenced to 20 years in prison for the crime of protecting those troops that served under him.

In a 2019 Fox News opinion report of one incident it stated: “But President Barack Obama’s rules of engagement – requiring soldiers to play battlefield lawyer, complete with mandated on-the-spot legal analysis before deciding to fire – made it impossible for soldiers like Justin Sisson to defend themselves.”

The Rules of Engagement (ROE) was just the preface of his destruction of the military. It was the precursor of his purge of all patriotic top tier generals/admirals. Under Obama a military leader had to bend a knee, kiss the ring of power and forego his oath of office to get promoted. And they lined up to do so.

By the time Trump became president the upper echelon of the military was fully corrupted. And they openly worked against their commander-in-chief. Throughout Trump’s presidency, even against orders, the military continued to promote only true Democrat political officers. Just think about Spenser Rapone. At his graduation from West Point he proudly displayed a “communism will win” sign and was a dedicated communist. It took over a year to have this tratior discharged. One would have thought that things couldn’t get worse.

And then along came Biden, who demanded that the military humiliate themselves by accepting the fantasyland of the LGBT community. Almost overnight we had mentally demented officers in charge of the military…like Space Force Lieutenant Colonel Bree Fram.

As soon as Lloyd Austin was appointed Secretary of Defense he immediately ordered an unprecedented stand down of all troops, in every branch of the armed forces, “to address the challenge of extremism in the ranks,” according to a Department of Defense memo.

What really happened was a purge of patriotic officers, non-commissioned officers and enlisted personnel. The men of honor and pride in America. They were replaced with highly motivated Marxists, transgenders, homosexuals, unqualified and under-qualified blacks, and females incapable of performing the duties in which they found themselves.

The proven warriors, especially the leaders, if they believed in the Constitution, and their oaths of office, were replaced, en mass, by those whose political beliefs match those of the Biden administration. From the top generals/admirals to the lowest ranking airmen, privates, seamen, and guardians, if they were American patriots they became a threat to democracy, especially if they were white males.

This has led to a military incapable of fighting a determined foe, like those in China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. In fact, they cannot beat back Houthi tribesmen in backwater Yemen

Under Biden our military has deteriorated to a level that has not been seen since before our Civil War. Worse; however, is that the new military is weak and unskilled in the matters of lethal  warfare. Our Army cannot recruit enough men, women and other diverse individuals to merely fill the ranks. Those who do join are more motivated to help the underdogs of the world than kill people and break things. You know, what the Army has done since 1775.

Our Navy is more interested in fielding drag queen shows than teaching its personnel how to actually operate a ship of war. How many more incidents do we need where the navy sets their ships on fire or run into other ships at sea before we admit that there is a problem?

The Air Force is flying 60 to 70 year old airplanes, and doesn’t have enough of even these obsolete relics to fight a war. Their best fighter, the F-22 Raptor, is so limited that we only have enough for one good fight with a peer nation, like China. And the Air Force is more interested in equity, diversity, and inclusion than warfighting.

While the Marines met their recruiting goals, they still fall under the wokeness of the Biden regime. They spent millions on a survey of the effectiveness of females in combat, which proved that females do not belong in certain combat roles, like infantry, artillery or armor, yet disregard their own study and fielded women in combat rolls just the same. Which will degrade our military’s warfighting capabilities.

Today the rules of engagement are no different than under Obama. Our military is weakened by diversity, which gives preference to the weak and feeble over totally fit fighting men, and women. As does the idea that white men are a problem rather than the answer. Which is why the services are not meeting recruiting goals.

With all the emphasis placed on DEI that Austin brought into the military when he became the Secretary of Defense, our forces have degraded significantly. Both Austin and our new Chairman of the Joint Chief’s of Staff, General Charles Q. Brown Jr., are an affirmative action generals. Promoted only because they are black. Their abilities to actually the job do not matter to Biden, as long as they are the right minority.

In Austin’s case, at least, he has proven himself not of the quality necessary for the job. Our Chief of Naval Operations is Admiral Lisa Franchetti, who was placed in that position by Biden because she is a female. Her ability to do the job was not a criterion for her promotion. So far the navy is performing well under Houthi fire. Yet we do not know if she has the necessary leadership abilities in a combat situation, as she has never been in one.

Which tells us everything we need to know about DEI in the military. So, the question remains, can our military win a war?

No one can answer that question. However, what is known is that perception of strength is as important as strength itself. And now our military does not show any strength. And then, at the SOTU address Biden announced we are sending troops into harm’s way again in Gaza. I’m sure it will end up just as the withdrawal from Afghanistan did. After all, the same players are in charge.

China is paying attention, so is Russia, and North Korea. Worst of all Iran already knows how unsettled our military is and has attacked us through their surrogates in Syria and Iraq, killing three and wounding over 150 soldiers, Marines and airmen in close to 200 attacks on our troops. Most unanswered by Biden as he sucks on his ice cream cones and threatens patriotic Americans with F-15 attacks if we don’t give up our guns.

There is only one cure for our weakened military, and that is electing Donald Trump president on November 5, 2024. Even if you are conflicted about Trump, he is the only choice this nation has before we are consumed by those nations that hate us. Hopefully he will have learned by his past mistakes with our military leadership and on January 20, 2025, he will fire all the DEI generals/admirals now destroying our once great armed forces.

The choice is up to us. Vote for Trump, or prepare to lose our freedom and rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Joe Ragonese
Joe Ragonese
Joe Ragonese is a veteran, retired policeman, businessman, journalist, writer, publisher, editor, author, and a prognosticator. A lover of history who believes we can only avoid repeating our past by understanding it.

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