Berkeley Simmons

HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Secretary of War Pete Hegseth turns 46 today. From serving in Iraq and Afghanistan to leading the Pentagon, Hegseth has spent decades advocating for America's warfighters and national defense.

Pride this…. Pride that… How about having some pride in AMERICA???

Breaking with normal posts to celebrate some household winning! My son (and I) built and won the best in design award for our troops Lego Derby race car for Trail Life today. America for the win!!! Not bad for the first time and almost won the speed award…3 Hundredths of a second away from the leader! Will be ready to go next year and will be looking to slant the wheels next year! No matter how crazy it gets make sure you take some time to do cool stuff with the kids when the opportunity presents itself! Ready for Lego Masters DoW editon!

Powerful, historic speech by Rubio. The nations in our civilization are drowning in inches of water. All we must do is stand up.

77 years ago today, a 15 year old Mother gave birth to me! She was the strongest Lady I’ve ever known!

Senator Fetterman fires a warning to his own party about boycotting the State of the Union. Enough with the childish antics. Either show up, or don’t...just stop the nonsense. FETTERMAN: “I do plan to attend.” “And I hope that this year they don’t put up those silly paddles and all these kinds of weird protests.” “It’s, like, you don’t have to agree with whatever you’re going to hear, but, you know, like last year, I mean, it just made us look like children.” “It’s just, like, show up or not.” “But to do that kind of thing, like, have some dignity and just, you know, we can agree or disagree and not call people names and behave in such ways like that.”

Why is moral courage rare in the military? Because we engineered it that way. This will be a long one. Let me ask you a primer question though. When was the last time you heard someone in uniform truly inspire you? Not a polished town hall answer or a pre-cleared speech. I mean something real. Something sharp enough to cut. Something you’d repeat years later. I share quotes from past military leaders all the time. Some VERY blunt content. After World War II, the frequency of those voices drops off sharply. That isn’t because greatness disappeared. It’s because the system changed. After 1945, the U.S. military became permanent, global, nuclear, and largely bureaucratic. Then in 1986 came the structural inflection point: Goldwater-Nichols Act. Goldwater-Nichols improved joint warfighting. That’s undeniable. But it also centralized careers. Promotion boards gained power. Joint qualification became mandatory. Advancement became system managed rather than reputation driven. Every time in history when authority centralizes, conformity pressure rises. If a small number of people control the ladder, you don't antagonize them lightly. Fast forward to the post-2014 environment. Three forces converge. 1. Bureaucratic Expansion Two decades of war grew staff structures and compliance regimes. a. Legal review is everywhere. b. Investigations are routine. c. Risk mitigation becomes institutional instinct. In that climate, dissent is reframed as exposure. 2. Social Media & Political Scrutiny Every. Statement. Is. PERMANENT. Ask me how I know. One sentence can: a. Go viral. b. Trigger congressional interest. c. Launch an inquiry. d. Freeze a promotion. Intent matters less than optics. The blast radius is entirely unpredictable. 3. Administrative Weapons a. Relief. b. Inspector General complaints. c. Adverse information files. d. Command climate investigations. Even when unsubstantiated, they halt momentum. The cost of dissent becomes measurable and immediate. Not theoretical. IMMEDIATE. Put it together. Goldwater-Nichols centralized the ladder. Post-2014 made falling off the ladder faster. When promotion is centralized, reputational risk is amplified, and administrative tools can end a trajectory overnight, people adapt. And that's how you get a military where many speak carefully and spinelessly. Moral courage didn't disappear brother. It just became institutionally expensive. And when something is predictably expensive, fewer people buy it. You have no idea how much heat I get for talking on here. Or saying things just as blunt in person. I'm by no means a beacon of morality, but I like to think I tell the truth. I'm here to tell you, the cost is expensive. and it will remain so, until existential crisis burns the stupidity away. The Secretary of War has created an environment where truth can flourish. But what has taken decades to create will take near equal time to undo. Barring a moment of national survival where it makes this nonsense irrelevant.

Saw this bumper sticker today. It’s always creepy for adults to be so into Disney. 😂