For John, BLUF: Getting good political appointees in Federal Government could be getting harder. Nothing to see here; just move along.
From the Department of Defense, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs):
Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel is traveling.That was Friday last. Here is a news report (last week's news)…
Acting Deputy Secretary of Defense Christine H. Fox and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin E. Dempsey have no public or media events on their schedules.
Christine Fox, who inspired the Kelly McGillis role in the movie "Top Gun," [Charlie] has been called back to the Pentagon to serve as a temporary replacement for outgoing Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton Carter.And, then the Secretary of Defense, Chuck Hegal, signed the whole shebang over to her as he went on a trip.
Acting Deputy Secretary of Defense Christine H. Fox has full power and authority to act for the Secretary of Defense and to exercise the powers of the Secretary of Defense upon any and all matters concerning which the Secretary of Defense is authorized to act pursuant to law.But, we are seeing a trend in our Nation's Capitol. Folks are turning down jobs because of the US Senate. Perhaps we will trend toward only Senators being appointed to the Cabinet. From Breaking Defense on 4 December we have this lede:
Department of Defense Directive [DoDD] 5105.02
The fact that the Obama administration selected Christine Fox, the former CAPE director, as Deputy Defense Secretary illustrates two truths: 7 First, several people turned down the job or withdrew from consideration because of the hideous confirmation process; second, the political impulse to place a female in the position was intense and, ultimately, successful.Putting someone in place for 210 days bridges a gap and allows time to build consensus for a permanent appointment.
From a different perspective, someone commented:
As the leader of the Strategic Choices and Management Review [the SCMR, pronounced Scamer], which some top Service leaders have criticized for advancing harsh cuts, Fox may now be in a position to reinforce its role as the analytical basis for QDR 2014 [Quadrennial Defense Review]. Some will see her as the Secretary's enforcer.Yes, the Defense Budget must come down, unless some foreign power does something really stupid, and the Department of Defense initial approach was the SCMR. And now Ms Christine Fox is back in the henhouse.
Regards — Cliff
1 comment:
And thus the flaw. "Yes the defense budget must come down unless some foreign power does something really stupid." Once we take down the military by reducing its financial support.....we return to the 20's and 30's....but this time....a Pearl Harbor will leave us unable to respond at all....there will simply not be time to "gear up."
You are either strong enough to repel even the thought of attack......or you aren't.
For those who argue that we are in an era of "different sort of warfare" are confusing apples with oranges. AQ and their associates are non-state actors and as such, international criminals....and nothing more. And the "war against terror" that we are sacrificing our best blood for is a total misadventure undertaken for political rather than security reasons. Sadly however, my engaging in misdirected military actions against an idea, a criminal conspiracy, we have reduced our military capability almost beyond repair. Reducing the budget will have the effect of decapitating what was once the strongest military force in history......and the US will be vulnerable to state actors like China, Iran, and even Russia.
In re Christine Fox, this was a political coup of sorts. The Obama folks have exactly who they want and need in the DoD. The Fox is indeed in the hen house....and she has her orders.
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