Shinseki garners plaudits, doubts

The general's Black Beret boondoggle was not very well thought-out on his part. In fact, it demonstrated how far removed and out of touch the "officers at the top" are, from the soldiers at the sharp end of America's "war spear". The Army Rangers, about 4,000 strong, had to "retire" their black berets and buy khaki-colored berets. On an historic note: the color Khaki represents one of the six combat teams in Merrell's Marauders; each team was identified by a different color. Like WW2's Marauders, the modern Army Airborne Rangers are an "elite force" with an heroic history in serving America going back to 1756 (Roger's Rangers of the French and Indian War). Now,back to my rant: The rest of the Army had to buy new black berets (at $13-$18ea.) that the general thought would make them FEEL better. Of course, the "old", perfectly serviceable, head gear the Army had, now was "retired". Many hundreds of thousands of beret "flashes" (the patch seen at the front of the beret) had to be purchased, too (at $2.50 ea.). The whole situation was a huge waste of money that could have been better spent on ammunition for training. The rest of the Army, now outfitted with new headgear, did not perform any better than it did before the general's bright idea was emplimented. You have to follow the money to find why this foolishness takes place. Merry Christmas Army Airborne Ranger & American Nationalist

Obama just continues to stick it to Bush. Shinseki retired in disgrace for maintaining that we needed at least 200K forces to fight in Iraq. OK, so he was right. Of course, he was also the jerk who took the black berets away from the Rangers. Obama is just a vindictive lowlife SOB.

"The rest of the Army, now outfitted with new headgear, did not perform any better than it did before the general's bright idea was emplimented" So, by that reasoning, the Rangers don't need a piece of black felt on their head to prove their mettle in martial matters, right? I would think that innate ability and superior training is way more important than some exterior symbol.

knowledgeispower, It is the man behind the rifle and not the rifle itself that makes the Ranger deadly. The rifle is just a tool. The funny little hat they wear is just a hat that the Rangers earned. By the way, the Rangers do get a lot of trigger time in training. I know I did and have made some fantastic shots, day and night, rain or shine because of that training. In order to make it in the Ranger Battalions, one must be a triple volunteer: 1.) Army 2.)Airborne 3.)Ranger Battalion. Not so many make it "all the way!". It takes unusual men who will jump (parachute) out of an airplane, swim across swamps & rivers, land navigate with map & compass for twenty miles and then make an attack on a fixed position, all in the deep darkness of the same night (and without hardly a word spoken). Merry Christmas Army Airborne Ranger & American Nationalist

I'm getting pretty tired of people sitting in their armchairs dissing people who have a lot a merit and have not even been given a chance to show what they can do. When obama picks people with experience like Clinton, they ask "hpw's that gonna bring change?" and when he picks a fresh face like shisheki, they say "what does he bring to the table" well make up your minds anti-obamas, or expose yourselves as frauds, jumping on any argument to discredit obama's record which stands at http://www.spinwhip.com/obama and is rock solid, more than your petty arguments will ever be/.

More Clinton leftovers. Shuffling them to other positions is sort of "change" right?

I hope Shinseki can live up to the huge task at hand. There is nothing more important than taking care of those who have sacrificed and served our country. I am ashamed at how the government has failed to provide adequately for our veterans in so many areas. With the current fiscal situation, the General will have a tough row to hoe. http://timetorevoltamerica.blogspot.com

The General will fit right in. As we used to say in the pentagon conference rooms "The quality of the decision is inversely proportional to the number of stars in the room." The entire VA system is a marxist nightmare. The General will thrive and the vets will continue to suffer.

The beret does not make one a better soldier, but it used to be a mark of accomplishment. His misguided thinking that it would boost moral and make better soldiers was just plain stupidity. Of course all the Legs out there got excited because they could wear a beret they did not have to earn. Maybe he will issue veterans new headgear to make them all feel special and show that he cares about them

DKyle, Right-On! It is all about "FEELINGS"; let the facts be damned. Well said, Merry Christmas Army Airborne Ranger & American Nationalist

I think General Shinseki is a good choice to head the VA. He appears to be a man of integrity, who had the courage to go before Congress and tell the truth about Iraq, even at the cost of his job. Others such as Powell who knew we needed more forces to secure the country did not have the courage to speak up. This leads me to believe he will speak up when needed. As to sources that are to big of a coward to state their name who cares what they think. Yes he made a mistake about the berets, although it may anger Green Berets it is not a reason to not confirm the man. We need leaders that will state the truth in the face of their critics to find the best course out of our current problems.

Jdenham, I think that General Shinseki may have learned something useful in the black beret issue and will not repeat that performance. The General made the right call for the force size issue and had to figuratively fall on his sword on that. I agree with Jdenham, that Shinseki will likely do a good job in the VA. Merry Christmas Army Airborne Ranger & American Nationalist

General Shinseki called for a minimum of 200,000 troops for Iraq. Secretary Rumsfeld was low on his estimate, and General Shinseki was high. Better high than low, but General Petraeus was able to win the war with just over 150,000 primarily because of a change in tactics. General Shinseki is a good man who stood his ground based on what he believed to be right, and I admire that. However, he was in charge during the time that Walter Reed was going down hill (if you believe the news reports about Walter Reed; I'm still not certain whether or not that was overplayed because of media "Bush hatred"). He was gone before Walter Reed hit the front pages, but, if the situation was as a bad as the media portrayed, it did not happen overnight. That gives me some pause about General Shinseki although I don't question his heart or his character.

I think this is a good shakeup. If you can lead men into battle you can do anything. Nothing is more difficult.

Anyone who can make it to the rank of General in the Army has to be intelligent, organized and disciplined. Obama brought Shinseki in for two reasons: (1) to build credibility with the military and (2) Shinseki was contentious with the Bush administration. How emphathetic he was with his men and women has yet to be seen, but taking care of his people should have been a major characteristic of his leadership to fill this position.