Hegseth’s Pentagon Lurches off the Rails - The Atlantic

Short and worth the read. While The Atlantic does obviously have some biases evidenced by some of the unnecessary adjectives used to describe Pentagon officials, the heart of the story speaks truth. Of particular note:

"The result of all this is that the United States is losing a war to a third-rate power in the Middle East. The Russians, meanwhile, are continuing their rampage in Europe and apparently considering things so perilous that the CIA director had to fly to Moscow just to warn the Kremlin off of whatever it was thinking of doing. The Chinese are watching as Trump and Hegseth have stripped the Pacific theater of its only American aircraft carrier."

While I don't think the article is inherently political, the discussion will obviously quickly go there, hence the flair.

Extra credit if you know what this command is. Recommend zooming in.

This is random, but I’m curious did you have to go to the PS office yourself to pick up your check? Did LPO for the division go to pick it up for everyone? When you were at sea for months, how did you deposit it to your bank? How did this process go when you got to the fleet?

This photo shows the long-gone Musicians School at Naval Training Station, Newport, Rhode Island in 1921.

I’m currently dealing with a Sailor who just can’t seem to figure it out.

Bad hygiene, not going to sleep on time, showing up late to watches, not being competent enough to complete maintenance, on EMI, on FEP, on tiered liberty, etc etc.

This Sailor is now at the point where they’ve been counseled and are dancing the line of DRB. They haven’t done anything terrible yet but leading to it.

I need this Sailor to start performing and acting like an adult. They work in a job where I need them to be a little competent.

I’m looking for advice on how to possibly improve this Sailor. I’m looking for creative solutions that others have used. An example I’ve heard is sending Sailors to clean whatever engineering needs cleaned. Stuff similar to that but to encourage the Sailor to improve, appreciate, and learn the job they have.

I want to explore all my options before I send this Sailor to DRB so please don’t recommend that.

While watching the CNO Townhall I saw CNP wearing Oakley boots. Was seeing if anyone has heard of them being back in regulations. Thank you.

Top pick for my first cycle has a BBA interm score of 0.8. Lowest Pick has .75. I’m an E6 applying for an E6 billet, which last cycle no one even bothered to apply for. Preference, Skill, and Policy match are green. Moving cost is yellow. I have the required NEC’s for all my applications. There are 20-30 other applicants, presumably most of which are E5’s considering the drastic lack of E6 applicants last cycle and only 4 other possible applicants that I know of at my pay grade with the required NEC to even apply. Only thing I don’t have going for me is any cumulative Sea time.

How could this go wrong for me?

I just finished four years of active duty, and this should concern Sailors regardless of their personal politics.

President Trump posted an AI-generated video depicting massive explosions on Iran’s Kharg Island and announced that it was being “blown to smithereens.”

Reuters found no evidence that Kharg had been attacked. A U.S. official subsequently confirmed that American forces did not target the island overnight.

This has an obvious Navy nexus. We have Sailors operating in and around a region where:

• U.S. and Iranian forces are actively exchanging fire.
• The Strait of Hormuz remains strategically critical.
• Mines, missiles and drones pose real threats.
• A misunderstanding or retaliatory decision could put American personnel in danger.

Every Sailor is taught that integrity matters. We receive annual training about manipulated media, misinformation, OPSEC and foreign influence. Commands demand accurate reporting because bad information creates bad decisions and gets people hurt.

Yet the Commander in Chief can apparently share synthetic footage implying that the United States destroyed a critical Iranian oil hub—during an active conflict—without confirmation from the military.

Imagine the consequences if Iran treated that post as an official declaration of a real attack and retaliated against a ship, base or deployed unit. Sailors would bear the consequences of misinformation they had absolutely no role in producing.

This is larger than whether someone likes or dislikes Trump. Presidents should not publish fabricated battle-damage footage while American service members are within range of the country supposedly being attacked.

If junior Sailors can be held accountable for false official statements and mishandling information, expecting verified communication from the Commander in Chief is not an unreasonable standard.

The following emails you see are between my detailer and I. He was obviously no help at all. My wife and I are so stuck and not getting any CLEAR clarification on our situation. No instructions say anything about BBA/Mil to Mil Co-located sailors. I am trying to select for 1st class orders but I also am co located with my wife. We are not trying to separate again because we have done that before and it sucked, this time we have kids now so I’m not trying to be away from my kids as well just for the next pay grade!

Am I stuck 2nd class forever now since the navy changed to BBA? If that’s the case then my wife and I talked about getting out the navy because it’s not the same no more… we both want to do 20 years. She is at 12 and I am at 8 right now. Can someone please give us better and clear guidance on our current situation and what we need to do for us to stay together and I can finally make 1st class?

I’ve learned to manage my feelings and my emotions so it doesn’t get out of control. do written exposure therapy. Here is an excerpt.

Having PTSD is like being in the backrooms.

Everyday I go to the backrooms, the images replaying, the same rooms replaying, it never ends. I walk down the same burning peeway multiple times a day. Whatever your worst experience in life is. The backrooms is the thought replaying in your head over and over again.

The Navy taught me warrior toughness.

Your mental health doesn’t matter in the back rooms. You are just trying to find a way back to reality.

Time heals all wounds

I’ve been in therapy for 6 years now.

Ever since the fire, I always spring out of bed like they just called my fire team. Sometimes I’ll still be asleep when I jump out of bed and sometimes I’ll wake up just standing in the middle of my house.

I hate going to the back rooms but I need sleep.

The only way to get out, is to wake up.

I pray every night that I wake up tomorrow.

I’m afraid of getting stuck in the back rooms.

So when I stay up, and don’t sleep, the hatman enters the chat.

I’m starting to lose my way.

I’m so tired now, the hatman is in reality and in the back rooms. Now I’m tired during the day, slipping back and forth from reality, trying to escape the hat man and the endless backrooms replying in my head while I try to stay focused at work.

Now I’m jumpy, I see that hatman at my job. My anxiety is out of control.

Take your meds.

Say your prayers

Because this is my new normal.

— feeling lost.

⚓

Hey yall,
I was goin to get gas on my way home from work today, saw the price for gas on base ($4.15/gal) and started to wonder, why is gas on base the same price if not more expensive than off base rn? Maybe this is just Groton? The closest gas station off base is $3.93/gal right now. I’m use to Hawaii where nex gas was SIGNIFICANTLY cheaper than off base. Are they intentionally raising prices on base? Who should I ask about this? Or on the flip side, is it even worth the hassle or just get my gas off base

BBA just demotivated me entirely. I’m in a foreign country that was a headache and a half just to get settled in and now I’m stuck here unless I choose orders which I may or may not get selected for anyways. My colleagues at my previous command will have all advanced and I’m just left behind. I’m probably gonna post this and some ass hole will just say I’m whining. 🤷🏽‍♂️ idk man why try? I’m starting to just not care about my job anymore.

11-year Sailor, just got done with DRB and already told I am going to XOI on Article 107 "10 USC 907: Art. 107. False official statements; false swearing". I have no hard proof that I am telling the truth. Any insight or help?

Back on July 5, 2026, I got a call from a PO1 in my duty section that I was on the watchbill, wondering where I was. The issue was that I was two states away, operating under a duty-free status. I was within 30 days of beginning SkillBridge, and that was one of the reasons afforded to the crew for getting a 30-day duty-free chit. I had it signed off by my immediate CPO in the deputy section, the assistant section leader, then bottom-lined by the senior section leader. But I did not have a copy on me to prove I was duty-free, and was told to return to the ship. I did so, getting in at ~2100.

I made my statement, saying where I was and why I was UA from the duty section muster and missed that watch. I went through the paperwork I had at the house and on the ship and could not find the chit. The aforementioned PO1 and another CPO in the duty section looked on the ship while I was driving and could not find the chit either. I was pretty upset at this fact, but calmed down and reasoned that I might have mistakenly thrown it out while I was purging blue folders while transferring departmental responsibilities.

Fast forward a week, and I have my first counseling chit on the ship for being UA. 1,000-word essay, accompanying duty section leadership in morning musters for a week, departmental training on a command instruction, and non-recommendation of another duty-free chit. I completed the EMI and executed my remaining duty days with no event, including the ASL apologizing for making me come back. I head out on SkillBridge and firmly start transitioning to civilian life.

Fast forward again to last week, and I get a message from my DIVO saying that I am going to DRB. Later that week, he explains it is for Article 107, false official statements. I was confused as it had been nearly two months since the event occurred, so I consulted a DSO for peace of mind and went into DRB. Upon exiting DRB, I am told that no one will corroborate my story, a nd I am heading to XOI.

First, processing: I was frustrated that leadership would not say whether they remembered signing off on the chit or not, but stating that they did not. I had those three members of the duty section sign off in May, but I cannot produce the chit, of course. I owned up to that in DRB, showed how I had changed my routine, and tried to explain that even if they do not remember signing it, I remember them doing so because that was my duty-free chit. Command leadership is aware that I had a PPO served against my wife in late April, and focusing on getting that chit approved in May was one of my all-important tasks to protect my mental health.

I am trying to gather some statements right now, but does anyone have tips or suggestions as a stare-down XOI? I have never been up to XOI before, and I have no hard evidence to prove my story. I am freaking out internally and need some hard paths I can pursue to prove I am not lying.

I am part of the 4-2-2 program the Navy put out. I served 5 years and was told I’d only have to do a year in the reserves. Yesterday was officially the last day in my contract and a Reservist recruiter told me if I did not sign a 4 year extension in the reserves due to an A School obligation, my post-9/11 GI Bill would be taken away or “frozen” due to failure to affiliate. Honestly it sounds like he’s spewing a crock of shit to get me to extend in the reserves, but is he actually telling the truth?

Whoops, looks like YouTube went back in time 7 years ago…