Dear Nick,
Between the military parade in DC, the General Patton cosplay, and the government shutdown immediately following - leaving dozens or more Commanding Officers separated from their units in other parts of the world - exactly how much more lobbed excrement do you think the military is willing to take before something snaps? Personally, I figured that being separated from their units d/t the shutdown would’ve started something.
What do you think?
I’m interested in hearing a take on this from Millennials in the service. Most of my Vets are Baby Boomers and Gen-Xers, so I haven’t heard much from the most recent generation of military personnel - active duty or DD-214.
I have an 18 year old 2nd cousin (Gen-Zoomer) who’s going to be enlisting in the Marine Corps. Any words of wisdom I can pass on to him besides “always wear a condom if you don’t want to receive the peanut butter shot”. The kid’s father is a MAGA philandering POS who filled his head with so much MAGA propaganda that his girlfriend broke up with him…she took him to a cemetery to break up with him - very symbolic and probably appropriate too.
Dear Citizen,
Before I dig in and answer your questions, I wanted to say thank you for asking and showing your care — it’s important right now to actively express those cares. We cannot sit by idle while our Constitution is being trampled upon — I hope my responses offer helpful insights and give you (and others) some simple approaches to these sometimes difficult conversations.
Let’s first talk about the culminating events — from squeaky tanks and out-of-step troops to the stone-faced Generals to the planned Republican shutdown — where there are obvious signs of dissent amongst the ranks. That dissent was most apparent during Trump’s tiny tank parade — squeaky wheels, out-of-step marching, heart-hands, and a general lack of discipline and decorum. The next most obvious form of dissent was from the Generals and Flag Officers who sat stone-faced and silent while The Little Boy & The Madman rambled about loyalty and grievances — this example has yet to fully play out and we won’t know the results of this dissent until all Orders and guidelines are fully disseminated.
We also know that what we see and hear about is only a fraction of the truth going with so much more happening behind-the-scenes and flying under-the-radar. What is in the public sphere is bad enough — what is coming out and being discovered is worse. The most insidious example is SecDef Pete Hegseth’s memorandum using the Armed Forces transition program, SkillsBridge, to actively promote and approve all non-mission-critical requests for service members to participate in on-the-job training with ICE during the final 180-days of their federal contract. This second example is highly unusual — first, the Armed Forces never show preference for any post military job; second, and most importantly, this is a way to get around the Posse Comitatus Act preventing active duty service members from participating in law enforcement & policing within the U.S. without very specific justifications.
I bring this example up because it contradicts the public displays of dissent and adds an additional layer to the reason ICE agents wear masks — they know what they are doing is wrong and illegal yet they do it anyway. That is the style of “leadership” being taught — the example your cousin and all others are walking into when they join the Armed Forces. That is bullying and abuse masked as leadership. It saddens me to no end.
And so what do I suggest? First, I suggest you ask your 2nd cousin a lot of what and why questions — and make them personal. For me, 3 good starting points would be:
Why do you want to Serve?
What does ‘freedom, liberty, and justice for all’ mean to you?
What would you do if I [you in this scenario] stood across from you in a protest and you are ordered to shoot?
For any of the questions you ask — don’t just accept the first answer. Keep asking and digging — the answers to these are so fundamental and can offer so many insights you weren’t expecting.
My next suggestion, dissuade your cousin from joining the Armed Forces for the next few years. Actively encourage them to defer this option and promote viable alternatives — joining a trade union/apprenticeship offers many of the same benefits without the physical or emotional traumas. This second suggestion may have less impact — especially if your cousin has been brainwashed by his father; however, it is important that they know you care about their future.
In the end — your goal cannot be to attack your cousin’s choice or his father’s parenting. Your goal should be to break down walls — offer empathy and understanding — offer love and compassion — offer honesty and trust.
~Nick Paro
Nick’s Notes
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Thanks so much for providing a rough script of talking points for Q&A! I feel grief for this year’s high school graduating class. You want to send them out into the world with hope and joy and something to look forward to when they graduate, but this year the hope is being systematically sucked out everything.
Thanks again Nick!
📣 Hands Off Chicago demonstrations in Madison and Milwaukee have been CALLED. They will happen on WED, OCT 8 @ 5:30 PM. Date/Time change to coincide with CHICAGO protests.