Obama Purges U.S. Military Command
Is Obama "weeding out" those military leaders that he feels are not completely loyal to him and his foreign policy agenda? Or, perhaps as is said in this article, is there or was there a military plot to to remove Obama because of the fact that he is not constitutionally speaking, the POTUS and fears, rightly justified, that 4 more years under this illegal regime may be more than our nation can survive? I find it quite interesting that just recently a "Presidential Memorandum" was sent out by Obama in somewhat veiled language that dealt with "insider threats". Quite a coincidence, is it not? - W.E.
NOTE: I have combined this two-part series from FOTM into one article.
Fellowshipoftheminds
Several days ago, FOTM’s lowtechgrannie posted a video of a media rarity — a reporter who doesn’t toe the party line and isn’t afraid to speak the truth. He’s Fox19 Cincinnati news anchor and investigative reporter Ben Swann.
At the end of the video, Swann noted that in the space of less than one month after the 7-hour Islamic terrorist attack of September 22, 2012, on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, four high-level U.S. military flag officers had been removed, for one ostensible reason or another. The four are Generals Petraeus, Allen, and Ham, and Admiral Gaouette. (In the U.S. military, flag officers are general officers in the Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard of such senior rank that they are entitled to fly their own flags to mark where the officer exercises command.)
Swann withheld speculating on what this quite unprecedented attrition of senior U.S. military officers means. But this attrition cries out for some effort at explanation, no matter how speculative.
We’ll begin with the facts that we’ve been told.
1. General David Petraeus
Gen. Petraeus and Paula Broadwell
A highly-decorated four-star general who had served over 37 years in the U.S. Army, 60-year-old David Petraeus had been Commander of the International Security Assistance Force; Commander of U.S. Forces Afghanistan; 10th Commander, U.S. Central Command; and Commanding General of Multi-National Force – Iraq who oversaw all coalition forces in Iraq.
On September 6, 2011, Obama recruited Petraeus to be Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. A week before, in anticipation of that appointment, Petraeus had retired from the U.S. Army.
Petraeus lasted 14 months as CIA director. On November 9, 2012, he resigned from the CIA, citing his extramarital affair with Paula Broadwell, a married woman who is the principal author of Petraeus’ biography, All In: The Education of General David Petraeus. Petraeus claims that the affair had begun in late 2011 when he was no longer an active duty military officer, and ended in the summer of 2012. The affair reportedly was discovered in the course of an FBI investigation into harassing emails that Broadwell had been sending to Jill Kelley, a Tampa socialite and a longstanding family friend of the Petraeuses whom Broadwell perceived to be a romantic rival.
2. General John R. Allen
Gen. Allen (l); Jill Kelley (r)
A four-star general of the U.S. Marine Corps, 58-year-old General John Allen had succeeded Petraeus as Commander of U.S. Forces Afghanistan on July 18, 2011. He was nominated to be NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander, Europe, pending confirmation by the United States Senate.
As part of the fallout of the Petraeus-Broadwell affair, correspondence between Allen and Jill Kelley also came to light. The FBI reportedly uncovered 20,000 to 30,000 pages of correspondence — mostly email — between Allen and Kelley from 2010 to 2012. Reportedly, their correspondence was “flirtatious” and “inappropriate” as Allen and Kelley are both married, but not to each other. (Good grief. How could a 4-star general even have so much free time as to write 20,000 to 30,000 emails in the space of two years to ANYONE?)
On November 13, 2012, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta suspended Allen’s confirmation hearing, pending investigations into the general’s “inappropriate communication” with Kelley. Panetta also requested Congress to speed the confirmation of General Joseph Dunford to take over as commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan. In effect, not only will Allen not be promoted, he has lost his present command post in Afghanistan.
3. General Carter F. Ham
U.S. Army General Carter Ham
A well-decorated U.S. Army general, 60-year-old Ham became Commander of U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) on March 8, 2011.
U.S. AFRICOM is one of nine Unified Combatant Commands of the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD). As one of six that are regionally focused, AFRICOM is devoted solely to Africa. James S. Robbins of The Washington Times writes that Gen. Ham “is a very well regarded officer who made AFRICOM into a true Combatant Command after the ineffective leadership of his predecessor, General William E. ‘Kip’ Ward.”
On October 18, 2012, in a DoD news briefing, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta announced that Gen. Ham was
According to Joint doctrine, “the tour length for combatant commanders and Defense agency directors is three years.” But Gen. Ham had only been in the commander position at AFRICOM for a year and a half and the informal word was that he wasn’t scheduled to rotate out until March 2013.
Pat Dollard of BareNakedIslam claims that the scuttlebutt is that, on September 11, 2012, Gen. Ham had received the same e-mails the White House received — from our people in Benghazi, requesting help/support as the terrorist attack was taking place. Ham immediately had a rapid response unit ready and communicated to the Pentagon that he had the unit ready. Dollard writes:
“General
Ham then received the order to stand down. His response was to screw it,
he was going to help anyhow. Within 30 seconds to a minute after making
the move to respond, his second in command apprehended General Ham and
told him that he was now relieved of his command.”
Gen. Ham’s “second in command” is not named. The Pentagon’s official line is that Ham had retired.4. Rear Admiral Charles M. Gaouette
Rear Admiral Charles Gaouette
Carrier Strike Group 3 is one of five U.S. Navy carrier strike groups currently assigned to the U.S. Pacific Fleet. U.S. Navy carrier strike groups are employed in a variety of roles that involve gaining and maintaining sea control and projecting power ashore, as well as projecting naval airpower ashore.
The aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis is the strike group’s current flagship, and as of 2012, other units assigned to Carrier Strike Group 3 include Carrier Air Wing Nine; the guided-missile cruisers USS Mobile Bay and USS Antietam; and the ships of Destroyer Squadron 21, the guided-missile destroyers USS Wayne E. Meyer, USS Dewey, USS Kidd, and USS Milius.
Carrier Group Three formed the core of the naval power during the initial phase of Operation Enduring Freedom in 2001. “Operation Enduring Freedom” is the official name used by the U.S. government for the War in Afghanistan, together with a number of smaller military actions, under the umbrella of the Global “War on Terror”. On 16 July 2012, the U.S. Department of Defense announced that the scheduled deployment of Carrier Strike Group Ten was advanced by four months, with its anticipated area of operation shifting from the U.S. Seventh Fleet in the Western Pacific to the U.S. Fifth Fleet in the Persian Gulf and North Arabian Sea. On 27 August 2012, four months ahead of schedule, Carrier Strike Group Three departed for an eight-month deployment to the U.S. Fifth Fleet under the command of Rear Admiral Charles M. Gaouette.
On October 27, 2012, the commander of the U.S. Fifth Fleet, Vice Admiral John W. Miller, ordered the temporary re-assignment of Rear Admiral Charles M. Gaouette pending the results of an investigation by the Naval Inspector General. Gaouette’s chief of staff, Captain William C. Minter, will lead the strike group until the arrival of Rear Admiral Troy M. (“Mike”) Shoemaker, who will assume command of the strike group.
Tom Lombardo writes for the Navy Times, Oct. 27, 2012, that Adm. Gaouette was relieved, mid-deployment, and is accused of “inappropriate leadership judgment,” according to a Navy official familiar with the case. Gaouette was told to go home — to return to the Carrier Strike Group’s homeport in Bremerton, Washington, until the investigation is complete.
There you have it. Within two months after the Benghazi attack, four senior U.S. military officers were purged:
- Gen. Ham, on October 18.
- Adm. Gaouette, on October 27.
- Gen. Petraeus, on November 9.
- Gen. Allen, on November 13.
So what should we make of all this? Is it all just coincidence or something more sinister?
Ann Barnhardt, in her blog of Nov. 13, 2012, calls it Obama’s “night of the long knives.”
The last step in Hitler’s quest for total, dictatorial power was the purging of the German military of any factions that were in any way autonomous and not 100% loyal to him, specifically the SA (Sturmabteilung or Storm Detachment). The SA was run by Ernst Rohm. On June 30, 1934, the “Night of the Long Knives” was executed when Hitler had Rohm and the rest of the SA leaders killed. Hitler publicly explained that the purge was executed because of sexual perversion in the ranks of the SA who were “plotting” against him.
Barnhardt writes:
And now, the Obama putsch regime is
purging them and anyone else they deem to be a threat. It won’t surprise
me if Petraeus is indeed court martialed and stripped of his pension,
because that is what the rest of the flag officer corps fears more than
death. Make an example of Petraeus, and maybe Allen, and that will whip
the rest of them into line.
This process of a totalitarian
oligarchy constantly purging its own ranks in fits of paranoia and
demands for total personal loyalty is as old as the hills. Lenin and
Stalin eventually murdered almost every person that entered their
inner-circles. Same with Mao. Same with Saddam Hussein. Same with the
three Kims in North Korea. Beyond the Night of the Long Knives, Hitler
was also having his own people killed continuously.
Just as the Night of the Long Knives
in ’34 was just the beginning, so too is this situation in the former
American republic just the beginning.
Writing for Veterans Today, Gordon Duff has an even more provocative take on the four military officers:
The decision [to fire Admiral
Gaouette] was made based on a conversation with the Secretary of Defense
who, at the end of the talk, believed Gaouette was part of a group of
military officers who have been under suspicion for planning a “Seven
Days in May” type overthrow of the US government if President Obama is
re-elected.
This is not conjecture, dozens of key
officers face firing, hundreds are under investigation, all with direct
ties to extremist elements in the Republican Party and the Israeli
lobby.
Reports received are sourced at the
highest levels of the Pentagon and indicate that the administration has
been aware of these plans for months.
Whatever the truth, one thing of which we can be sure is that the
firings of three generals and an admiral have something (or everything)
to do with the Benghazi attack. It’ll be interesting if the
newly-elected 113th U.S. Congress will conduct serious investigations
and hearings on Benghazi, although Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Florida) is
already on record as being opposed to an independent investigation. PART TWO
U.S. Air Force
In 2011, 157 U.S. Air Force officers were fired on the eve of their retirement, to avoid paying their pensions.Joshua Flynn-Brown and Kyndra Miller Rotunda write in The Wall Street Journal of December 28, 2011, that the “relieved” officers included pilots flying dangerous missions. According to Department of Defense Instructions, those within six years of their 20-year retirement (with no disciplinary blemishes on their record) have the option to remain in service. Nevertheless, the Air Force terminated airmen a few years away from retirement en masse, citing budget constraints.
One of the exemplary “relieved” officers is Maj. Kale Mosley (photo to right), an Air Force Academy graduate and a pilot who has flown more than 250 combat missions. He deployed to Libya in the summer of 2011 with 30 hours notice. When he returned, the military immediately sent him to Iraq. Just as he was boarding the plane for Iraq, the Air Force gave him his walking papers, effective Nov. 30. Maj. Mosley, the father of a toddler and a newborn, will not receive a pension or long-term health-care benefits for his family.There was briefly a law that allowed people who left the military short of twenty years to get prorated pension and health care benefits, but it expired in 2001.
( I found a Kale Mosley on LinkedIn, who identifies himself as a Multiengine Transport Instructor Pilot in Wichita, Kansas Area. ~Eowyn)
U.S. Navy
In 2012, 25 U.S. Navy commanders were relieved of duty. Here’s a list of the commanders, from the Stars and Stripes of September 12, 2012. The list is sure to grow because 2012 isn’t over yet.1. Cmdr. Derick Armstrong, commanding officer of the guided missile destroyer USS The Sullivans, was relieved “as result of an unprofessional command climate that was contrary to good order and discipline.”
2. Cmdr. Martin Arriola, commanding officer of the USS Porter, fired Aug. 30 due to loss of confidence in his ability to command after the vessel collided with a tanker.
3. Capt. Antonio Cardoso, commanding officer of Training Support Center San Diego, fired Sept. 21 for violating the Navy’s policy on hazing.
4. Capt. James CoBell, commanding officer of Oceana Naval Air Station’s Fleet Readiness Center Mid-Atlantic, was fired Sept. 10 pending an investigation into his leadership.
5. Cmdr. Joseph E. Darlak was replaced as the skipper of the USS Vandegrift on Nov. 2, after a rowdy and booze-fueled port visit to Vladivostok, Russia, in the month previous.
6. Cmdr. Franklin Fernandez, commanding officer of Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 24, fired Aug. 21 due to a loss of confidence in his ability to command for allegedly driving under the influence.
7. Rear Adm. Charles M. Gaouette was replaced as commanding officer of the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis pending the outcome of an internal investigation into allegations of inappropriate judgment, the Navy announced on Oct. 27.
8. Cmdr. Ray Hartman, commanding officer of the amphibious dock-landing ship Fort McHenry, dismissed Nov. 19 for allegations of misconduct.
9. Cmdr. Jon Haydel, commanding officer of the amphibious transport dock USS San Diego, fired March 12 amid an investigation into “personal misconduct.”
10. Cmdr. Diego Hernandez, commanding offer of the ballistic-missile submarine USS Wyoming, relieved Feb. 4 after he was convicted in an admiral’s mast of dereliction of duty for mishandling classified materials.
11. Cmdr. Lee Hoey, commanding officer of the Navy Drug Screening Laboratory, San Diego, fired May 1 due to poor command climate.
12. Cmdr. Dennis Klein, commander of the submarine USS Columbia, fired May 1 for inadequate performance in administration and operations.
13. Capt. Marcia “Kim” Lyons, commander of Naval Health Clinic New England, relieved April 6 after problems were identified in an annual command climate survey.
14. Capt. Chuck Litchfield was relieved from command of the USS Essex after it collided with the replenishment oiler Yukon off the Southern California coast on May 16.
15. Capt. Robert Marin, commander of the USS Cowpens, relieved Feb. 10 on suspicion of “inappropriate personal behavior.”
16. Capt. Sean McDonell, commander of Seabee reserve unit Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 14 in Jacksonville, Fla., relieved of duty Nov. 26 for mismanagement and unspecified “major program deficiencies.”
17. Cmdr. Corrine Parker, head of Fleet Logistics Support Squadron 1, fired April 16 after an investigation revealed the possible falsification of administrative records.
18. Capt. Lisa Raimondo, commander of Naval Health Clinic Patuxent River, Md., relieved of command on June 29 due to a ”a significant lack of leadership and integrity that eroded good order and discipline in the command.”
19. Capt. Jeffrey Riedel, program manager of the Littoral Combat Ship program, was “temporarily reassigned” pending a command investigation into allegations of inappropriate personal behavior.
20. Cmdr. Sara Santoski, commanding officer of the Helicopter Mine Countermeasures Squadron 15, fired Sept. 1 due to a loss of confidence in her ability to command following a crash that resulted in the death of two sailors.
21. Cmdr. Sheryl Tannahill, commanding officer of Navy Operational Support Center Nashville, relieved of command Sept. 16 amid allegations of an inappropriate relationship.
22. Cmdr. Michael Ward, commanding officer of the USS Pittsburgh, fired Aug. 10 for personal misconduct.
23. Capt. Michael Wiegand, commanding officer of Southwest Regional Maintenance Center in San Diego, relieved Nov. 8 amid allegations that funds were misused under his watch.
24. Capt. Ted Williams, commanding officer of the Mount Whitney in Italy, was fired Nov. 19 for allegations of misconduct.
25. Cmdr. Jeffrey Wissel, commander of Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron 1, fired Feb. 27 amid allegations of “personal misconduct.”
