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Not a single dictator or aspiring dictator has ever assembled the complete senior officer corps of their armed forces in a single location to belittle them as failures and humiliate them for their slovenly personal appearance, while degrading entire groups serving in the army, navy and air force as inferior and unworthy.

Donald Trump is used to entering events with energetic audiences cheering to music. "I've never walked into a room so quiet before," he stated when addressing the country's highest-ranking military leaders at the Marine Corps Base Quantico. "Don't laugh. Unsure if you're permitted to do that." He tried to elicit some amusement, an old performance technique to energize a unresponsive audience. "You know what? Just have a good time."

His logic perfectly encapsulated his mindset of victimhood and approach of retribution. Should you do not bend the knee to him, he is deeply wounded. Your failure to worship him deserves to be penalized. Your slight of his majesty dooms you to destruction.

Armed Forces Professionalism vs. Partisan Demands

The speaker cannot grasp that the quiet demeanor of the commanders during his unprecedented speech to them demonstrated their highest duty. Their composure showed fidelity to maintain their pledge to the nation's founding document. By their stillness they presented themselves as models for the rest of the officer corps and the service members.

They are not devoted to Trump or any cult of personality, but to his legal position.

They served as a background for a political rally, but they were resistant to serving as partisan players.

Basic Misunderstanding

His inability to understand their stolidity in the presence of his provocations showed his lack of understanding not only of the military but the executive office under the legal system. As he took offense at their unresponsive silence his criticism disclosed that he viewed them simply as his tools.

Trump had come on an pressing task for them to carry out. He was there to inform the armed forces leadership they were to be his unquestioning agents for the greatest change of defense policy since the "war on terror" – an unprecedented conflict to be waged against his viewed domestic rivals at home in contravention of the federal law of 1878, which forbids the internal use of the US military as a police force.

Context and Executive Actions

All the high-ranking generals had been assembled for the unprecedented gathering at the Marine Corps Base Quantico on the directive of the defense chief. They possessed no inkling for what momentous occasion they were being called. They wouldn't speculate that they were being assembled to be a captive crowd for a self-referential vanity presentation seeking to rehabilitate his reputation and establish his authority.

However the commanders could have gotten more than a clue that they were being rounded up for the latest episode of political theater by reading the executive order Labeling Antifa as a terror group, an "entity" that lacks formal structure. This was followed included a security directive citing various events as pretexts: "These incidents is not a collection of unconnected incidents and does not emerge organically.

Philosophical Basis

Per the directive, a new "government approach" would be enacted against an belief system of "anti-Americanism, anti-capitalism, and anti-Christianity; advocacy of the overthrow of the United States Government; extremism on migration, ethnicity, and sex; and opposition towards those who hold conservative values on family structure, faith, and morality."

These concepts were not a description of an ideology so much as a mixture of political catchphrases. If there were belief system expressed it was an undeveloped fascism based on a repressive drive that conjured up an all-purpose enemy called "Antifa".

Defense Secretary's Presentation

The dramatic presentation at Quantico began with the defense secretary moving rapidly on the platform. He was a inspirational presenter as a military instructor with a book to hawk – and a opening performance for the main speaker.

The ex military reserve officer said he had been "deemed an radical"; he was flagged as a possible "insider threat" by colleagues. Regardless of numerous accounts of his alcoholism, he told media in an interview: "I never had a drinking problem," but then reportedly promised a legislator that he would "not touch alcohol while I have this role."

Policy Modifications and Contentious Remarks

As a television host, the defense secretary had been a leading supporter for pardoning or granting clemency to service members charged or convicted of military offenses. He described them as "fighters" rather than "offenders".

Now, in his speech, he declared he was removing "the debris". He encouraged relaxing regulations aimed at stopping prohibited violence within the armed forces. He declared the "restructuring" of the inspector general and informant reporting system, which would weaken safeguards and protect aggressive or reckless violators from responsibility.

He planned to, he said, impose discriminatory measures of "unisex" or "masculine standard" fitness requirements for combat roles, stating: "If that means no women meet standards for some military positions, that's acceptable."

Confrontational Language and Military Response

The defense secretary swaggered in front of the military leaders, shouting vulgar language – "Acronym for explicit phrase", or vulgar expression. "No more identity months, DEI offices, cross-dressing individuals. End environmental focus. No more separation, distraction or identity issues. No more unnecessary elements. As I've said before and repeat again, we are done with that nonsense."

The generals sat without reaction at his crude language that could be considered under the Uniform Military Code of Justice as a violation against improper speech that "neglects to the detriment of good order and military standards".

Appearance Requirements and Individual Observations

According to the defense chief, it was the out-of-shape commanders who required to exercise following his example. "It's completely improper to see overweight generals and admirals in the corridors of the Pentagon and leading commands around the nation and the globe. It's a bad look," he said. "Eliminate beardos."

Concluding Remarks and Governmental Context

Not once did the defense secretary mention "Russia" or "Ukraine". He made not the slightest reference to Russia's massive aerial assaults striking Ukraine, Russian drones over European nations, the strained relations over US wavering within the international coalition, or utter anything that might be interpreted as a military consideration.

Following his threatening address, the speaker made way for Donald Trump. The president displayed his customary disrespect for the armed forces by provoking them with an series of partisan insults to which they remained rigidly unresponsive.

In the middle of his stream of consciousness, he introduced his new objective for the armed forces against the "enemy from within", with major American cities as the "training grounds … the ones that are governed by the radical-left Democrats … And this is going to be a significant part for some of the individuals in this room. This represents conflict, too. It's combat from within." No response.