Friday, December 07, 2018

ALL US PRESIDENTS SHOULD HAVE SERVED IN THE MILITARY AS A QUALIFICATION TO BE COMMANDER IN CHIEF

The Constitution should be amended to change the qualifications for president to include at least three years of service in the military

I strongly believe that we should amend the Constitution to change the qualifications for president to include at least three years of service in our army, marines, navy or air force.

Here is a list of the military service of presidents since FDR who could not serve because he suffered from polio:

Harry S. Truman – 37 years in National Guard, artillery officer in France during WW1

Dwight D. Eisenhower – 46 years in U.S. Army, Supreme Allied Commander in WW2

John F. Kennedy – U.S. Navy PT boat commander in Pacific during WW2

Lyndon B. Johnson – U.S. Naval Reserve

Richard Nixon – U.S. Naval Reserve

Gerald Ford – U.S. Naval Reserve

Jimmy Carter – U.S. Navy

Ronald Reagan – U.S. Army Air Force

George H. W. Bush – U.S. Naval Reserve, shot down over the Pacific during WW2

Bill Clinton – Draft dodger

George W. Bush – Texas Air National Guard

Barack Obama – No military service

Donald Trump – Draft dodger

Since the president is Commander in Chief, he or she should have had some military experience before taking office. A minimum of three years seems about right.

6 comments:

Trey Rusk said...

There are 5 branches of the U.S. Military.

BarkGrowlBite said...

Sorry, but I do not consider the Coast Guard on the same tier as the other four.

bob walsh said...

Great idea. Ain't never gonna happen. (Robert Heinline said some interesting stuff about his in his iconic story Starship Trooper.)

Trey Rusk said...

No, I'm sorry.
Please be more accurate in your blogs:
U.S. Military 101 - Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard.

Tell that to my son who is was on a Direct Action Team and is now disabled from performing covert missions world wide on the MSRT.

The MSRT is the only unit within the Coast Guard that has counterterrorism capabilities to conduct action against hostile targets. The MSRT is trained to be the first responder to potential terrorist threats, deny preemptive terrorist actions, execute security actions against armed hostiles and/or non-compliant threats, execute tactical facility entry, participate in port level counterterrorism exercises, and educate other forces on Coast Guard counterterrorism procedures. Although the MSRT's focus is primarily on the safety and security of homeland defense, it is capable of rapidly deploying worldwide in response to incidents.[4] Other specialized units and federal agencies that MSRT routinely train with are U.S. Navy SEAL teams, U.S. Navy HSC Squadrons, Navy EOD, Special Mission Units, the U.S. Secret Service, FBI, U.S. Border Patrol's BORTAC, and US Customs and Border Protection SRT. Their motto, as seen on their unit patch, is "Nox Noctis est Nostri", which translates to "The Night is Ours".
MSRT Special Capabilities include:
Counterterrorism (CT)
Direct Action (DA)
Advanced Interdiction (AI)
Hostage Rescue/Personnel Recovery
Small Unit Tactics
Counter Assault
Tactical Maritime Law Enforcement
Medium to High risk boardings (Level III & IV)
Airborne Use of Force (AUF)
K9 explosive detection teams
CBRNE
Elements of the MSRT's primary assault force are known as a Direct Action Section (DAS). Members of a DAS may include a Team Leader, Comms/JTAC's, Breachers, Medics, Precision Marksmen, Observation members (snipers/observers), and team members trained to identify Chemical Biological Nuclear Radiological (CBRN) threats. These assault force teams train extensively in advanced close quarters combat and advanced combat marksmanship. They are well equipped to quickly and surreptitiously board suspicious vessels, secure gas and oil platforms or secure land based targets by fast-roping from helicopters or using other undisclosed methods to neutralize enemy personnel. The Tactical Delivery Team (TDT), boat assault force, are trained in advanced vessel delivery tactics and stealthy delivery of the main assault force (DAS) as well as follow on forces.

BarkGrowlBite said...

I'm sorry Trey, but you are wrong. With all due respect to your son, who is a true hero, the Coast Guard is not on the same tier as the Army, Marine Corps, Navy and Air Force.

Take a look at the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The composition of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is defined by statute and consists of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS), Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (VCJCS), the Military Service Chiefs from the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, and Air Force, and the Chief of the National Guard Bureau.

The Coast Guard is not included among the Joint Chiefs of Staff!

Everything you said about the MSRT and DAS is true and most commendable, but that does not make the Coast Guard the same as the Army, Marine Corps, Navy and Air Force.

Dave Freeman said...

Maybe we should further restrict the qualification to combat veterans. After all, there are tons of cooks, clerks, and truck drivers in the military. In fact, only about 1 in 8 military veterans even served in a combat unit. So then, MOST^ of those who serve in Howie's approved four branches of service are not the same as those who fought.

So maybe we could restrict it even further...to combat veterans who actually engaged the enemy, or maybe to those who engaged them with only they're bare hands. Or to those who received wounds from the enemy. Or to those who received severe wounds. Or to former POW's. (Arizona's former POW senator who ran for president didn't fare too well, but so what)?

Don't get me wrong. I think that a history of military service is an excellent experience and would like to see it for ALL elected officials. But by making it a mandatory condition of employment as it were...then stating that you would leave out those who served in the Coast Guard...

Don't you see how ridiculous that is?