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Steve Beynon Profile picture
@StevenBeynon
Nov 13 • 10 tweets • 3 min read • Read on X
A few things about Hegseth, Trump's pick for SECDEF

First, he's way against women serving in combat arms - Saying in a recent podcast, "I'm straight up just saying we should not have women in combat roles."
Rolling back women's roles in service is a top concern among most Army officials I've talked to recently. A proxy for this attack in recent years has been the service's fitness test and the fight over having a gendered standard.
Hegseth, a Guardsman, says he was removed from the 2021 inauguration mission after Jan 6 because he has a Deus vult cross tattoo - an image that has been appropriate with the far-right. Image
"Deus vult" was a battle cry in 1st Crusade in battles against Muslims & Jews. It's a common neo Nazi imagery, including Mauricio Martinez Garcia a mass shooter in 2023, killed 8 people in Dallas. You also see it at most farright protests, including Charlottesville
He's a big culture warrior, writing in his book, "Do we want woke 'diverse' recruits that the Biden administration is curating to be the ones with the guns and guidons?"
Meanwhile, the Army has had to lean on minorities to fill in the ranks. Black recruits, for example, make up about 24% of recent new recruits -- compared to making up 14% of the general population. Hispanics make up 24% of recruits. military.com/daily-news/202…
Women's recruitment has been steady for a decade. You may have heard of the "recruiting crisis," but that's entirely attributed to men -- specifically white men. And it's a decade trend that has more to do with male identity than literal politics. .military.com/daily-news/202…
It's totally anecdotal - but I've talked to three mid to senior-level officials who all say a notable chunk of their teams are LGBT. In short, the math doesn't math if you want a giant Army and you're only interested in recruiting straight, white male troops.
Finally, for recruitment, the Army has had to rely on the Future Soldier Prep Course, which takes applicants who are short on body fat or academic standards and gets them up to snuff.
A lot of these soldiers speak English as a second language and are minorities, many from failing school districts. military.com/daily-news/202…

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More from @StevenBeynon

Steve Beynon Profile picture
Sep 5
For years, two high profile Virginia Guardsmen have been running a militia which has made overtly violent threats against the government

military.com/daily-news/202…
This militia routinely does tactical training, and has made recruiting pitches for children to join. But the main question is - how does one serve in the Guard and a militia which is presumably built to fight a Guard unit. Does this violate Army policy?
Worth noting the militia's commander, a staff sergeant, has been very vocal. He's done interviews with The New York Times an local news several times in the last five years. The Guard knows about him and hasn't acted.
Read 4 tweets
Steve Beynon Profile picture
Nov 22, 2022
Tulsi Gabbard, long know for her pushing of conspiracies and Russian talking points, briefs special ops students on the role of psyops, leadership and disinfo

military.com/daily-news/202…
It's far into the story, but the Army is facing two big problems right now: Its outdated social media/comms policies and top officials are terrified of stirring up right-wing media and GOP lawmakers. No one wants to be the subject of the Tucker Carlson segment.
Given Gabbard literally hosts Tucker Carlson sometimes, that puts the Army in a tough spot. She is also a great communicator, effectively jiu jitsu-ing conversations, lacing in conspiracy theories & Russian talking points without it being obvious.
Read 5 tweets
Steve Beynon Profile picture
Oct 7, 2022
1-2 Stryker Brigade out of Joint Base Lewis McChord lost a M2 .50 cal and soldiers probably lost their 4 day weekend.
Base is on lockdown - no real info yet. I know a missing machine gun sounds bad on paper. But there’s a chance of some dumb mix up - it’s in the wrong supply room or someone had a bad count or something.
Culprit has been identified (but haven’t confirmed ID) but they put the M2 in a dumpster for some reason. So at this point there doesn’t seem to be a reason to keep soldiers locked down. But these things are always fluid and stupid.
Read 4 tweets
Steve Beynon Profile picture
Jun 8, 2022
Big scoop from me and @KToropin: Most members of the far-right Proud Boys extremist group who were indicted on sedition charges previously served in the military.

military.com/daily-news/202…
There’s no evidence vets and service members are more or less likely to be radicalized. But when they do, they’re more dangerous with the tactical and planning skills they have and, more importantly, their inherent social credibility.
But the Proud Boys, an extremist group that is much younger and more aggressive than most others, has managed to recruit young post-9/11 vets with combat experience.
Read 4 tweets
Steve Beynon Profile picture
Jun 1, 2022
A key part of this story, it's a bigger picture than ponytails and making the Army more parent-friendly. These have less obvious, but massive impacts on the force's ability to wage war.
The bottom line, if women can't be comfortable in their combat gear - they can't train for battle effectively. It costs the force nothing to allow soldiers to be comfortable, and it actually saves the VA a ton of money from disability claims related to scalp damage issues.
For parenthood - 80% of Army recruits come from military families. If those families are pushed away, the Army would kneecap future recruiting. But again, it doesn't cost the Army anything to just be more family-friendly.
Read 4 tweets
Steve Beynon Profile picture
May 31, 2022
The Great Reset is the subject of many conspiracy theories, mostly that “global elites” are using the pandemic to obtain more power/establish one world government/destroy US sovereignty/abolish capitalism.
It’s actually a meeting of the World Economic Forum. But the far right on the internet has latched onto it as a “insert your conspiracy theory here” sort of thing. (I’m over simplifying because Twitter)
Here’s some good reporting on that from @GoraLadka

thedailybeast.com/conspiracy-the…
Read 4 tweets

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