Politics US Navy FIRES captain of coronavirus-stricken aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt

And neither of them are known for demeaning POWs.

 

A lot of people applied for deferremnetrs (not just politicians as a lot of politicians have also served) for various reasons and some got the deferrement. trumps dad made a deal with a doctor renting space from him to write the deferremnet approval. Money talks.

 

I know...But even Joe who was an athlete in college and HS got a medical deferment in 68, which was the height of the war.
This has nothing to do with Donald, put two guys in contention for the democratic nominee that skated around the service.

 

To date we've never had a President that served in Vietnam, which is fine by me either way.

 

No

 

Personally, I believe that in order to be qualified to run for president, an individual should be required to have had some level of military service. It is unconscionable to me that a Commander In Chief (of all American military forces) can actually order men and women into harm’s way without that CIC having military experience themselves. There is absolutely no way they can truly understand the ramifications involved in sending others to die. And ROTC doesn’t count.

 

I wouldn't object to that at all.

 

1000's.........lol

 

I only know of two, if you include my cousin.

 

The president is in charge of so much. Should they be required to have experience in everything they are going to oversee? Isn't that generally why they appoint people to help with those matters?

 

They most certainly should have military experience if they are going to send Americans to die. What part of “the president makes the final decision to go to war” don’t you understand??? We do not go to war unless the president says so. You cannot begin to have a clue as to what is involved until you have actually experienced the military. Sorry, but there it is. Argue till the cows come home. Playing army in your backyard is not an acceptable substitute.

 

Yeah I'll disagree with that.

 

But again, hes often making the final decisions about many things. I get sending people to die is a horrific and scary thing. They put people in power that they trust to make the right decisions, and then act upon them. They have the final say on signing the budget each year. Do they need to be an accountant? They have final say on health care legislation. Do they need to be an insurance specialist or a doctor? A lot more lives are impacted by the decisions made over our healthcare, education, etc. than likely are by sending someone to war. Why does that one need experience and the others dont? That just seems like a ridiculous litmus test to me.

 

And I believe, technically, we don't get to declare war unless congress says so. So now we need all of them to have military experience as well, I suppose. So why have a democracy, when it seems we need a stratocracy?

 

Let me guess, you were never in the military.

 

It helps but it's more important that the man who sets the tone when it comes to war is the most important person to have some sort of military experience.

 

I was not in the military but like almost everyone I have a lot of family members who were, and I also have a couple who are very ranking members of the air force. I dont know if I’d say it should be a requirement to have military experience but there are some important things learned in the military in regards to leadership that is very rare for civilian life, and in a situation like this would make a huge difference.

Take for instance the chain of the command and delegation. Not only do members of the military have a clear understanding who is in charge, but when they have “specialists”, they understand heavily that you let the specialists do their jobs. You learn that a leaders job is to take responsibility for what arises, deflection is much less likely.

Almost every job teaches skills and you can get many important skills in civilian work, but the military provides a unique experience in leadership, delegation, teamwork, putting others needs in front of your own, and a plethora of other things that having success in the military can be a very good thing for the leaders.

In fact, Id venture to bet, most of the “best” leaders had military experience.

 

Lincoln so far as I know did not serve, neither did FDR. I can think of some of the worst heads of state I world history who had military experience. Hitler, Mao, Pinochet.

Acting Secretary of Navy got the job in November after previous secretary objected to pardoning war criminals. Trump needed someone more loyal to him. This jerk flew to Guam at taxpayer expense to go before sailors and insult their captain.

 

Exceptions to general statements dont make a case. I did not offer any absolutes in fact I said I wouldn't make it a requirement.

Kinda funny though that you circled it back to Trump because he wasnt just some one who lacked military experience he dodged the draft.