From the Halls of Montezuma, to the Shores of Pauly

On Monday, the DC press freaked out because (spins dial) the “Marines are without a Senate-confirmed leader for first time since 1859 after GOP senator blocks nominee,” as NBC put it.

Oh no! What shall the Marines do without a Senate-confirmed leader? Oh, they have a leader. General Eric Smith as the acting commandant taking command from General David H. Berger, whose four year term ended on Monday. But General Smith isn’t Senate-confirmed.

Well, Smith was confirmed by the Senate when he got his fourth star, as well as stars one, two and three. He was confirmed by the Senate in July 2021 as Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps.

But he isn’t Senate-confirmed as commandant.

Justin Katz of Breaking Defense explained two weeks ago, “A real ‘ripple effect’: Why it matters Smith will be ‘acting’ Marine Corps commandant.”

Are you ready for the problem? By becoming the commandant, Smith does not have an assistant commandant to help him.

Oh my!

Katz wrote, “He Will Still Be The Assistant Commandant.

“Despite the extra workload associated with being the acting commandant, Smith will remain as the Marine Corps’ second most senior officer. To manage both billets simultaneously, Smith said he’ll have to delegate certain responsibilities to various subordinate officers.

“In turn, those officers, who also already have full-time workloads, will likely end up doing the same to their subordinates. And the chain goes on.

“The real impact to all of this — aside from everyone having to do more work — is that one of the assistant commandant’s chief responsibilities is to be present on a variety of oversight boards and councils to ensure ‘that there’s synergy across the Marine Corps in the Marine Corps message across all forums,’ he said.”

There will be no synergy.

What will Marines do without synergy? How can the commandant handle the paperwork of being the commandant AND the assistant commandant? He’s not Superman, you know.

Katz also wrote, “The commandant’s planning guidance, as the name implies, is a document each new Marine Corps chief regularly publishes at the start of their tenure to provide the force with a preview of the direction the new top officer plans to take it.

“In Berger’s guidance, he previewed many of the changes to come as part of his plan to revamp the service, dubbed Force Design 2030, and set the tone for four years that would be filled with changes — some less comfortable than others.

“As acting chief, Smith said he won’t be permitted to publish that guidance; that privilege is reserved for the 39th commandant, ‘whoever that may be,’ he added.”

Well, you have to have guidance and you have to have everyone on the same page, which is impossible if the page isn’t published. But the Marines do have a few other people who are higher in the chain of command than the commandant. Let’s see, there’s the secretary of the Navy, the secretary of defense, and the commander-in-chief, Joe Biden. They have the power to publish the document.

I was never in the Marines and I was barely in the Army, but it seems we have a tempest in a teacup going on. That’s even more trifling than a tempest in a teapot.

Golly, if today’s Marines are so sensitive and so fragile that they cannot be led by an acting commandant, then maybe we should replace them with Walmart greeters.

Of course the Marines are not weaklings and idiots who are stymied by the word acting. This is just DC nonsense that diverts attention from Hunter, inflation and the coming annexation of the USA by Red China.

The Hill reported, “The blockade from Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) on about 250 of the Pentagon’s general and flag officers has left the Marine Corps without a confirmed leader for the first time in 164 years.”

Well, why is Coach Tommy doing that?

The Hill got around to explaining that in Paragraph 4: “It’s unclear when Smith could be confirmed. Tuberville’s hold on the Pentagon nominees, which he began in March to protest the Defense Department’s new abortion policy, shows no signs of weakening, even as the block has sparked bipartisan frustration.”

This is a new Pentagon policy.

The Hill said, “Tuberville is protesting the Pentagon’s abortion policy because it provides paid leave and reimbursement costs for travel for servicemembers who cross state lines to get an abortion. The senator says it violates the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits federal funds from paying for abortions.”

The policy was changed this spring — but not the law.

The Hill said, “Republicans have reportedly suggested an off-ramp to Tuberville, but the senator says he will only lift the ban on two conditions: the policy is formalized in law or dropped.”

So why not change the law? If abortion for women soldiers and military wives is so important, then change the law. If not, dump the policy and obey the law.

Everyone in the military is sworn to defend the Constitution. Part of that defense is obeying the Constitution. That means acknowledging that the president is the commander-in-chief and that Congress writes and passes laws — usually with presidential approval but occasionally without it by overriding the veto.

The last time the marines had no Senate-confirmed commandant was when Archibald Henderson died on January 6, 1859.

Henderson was a legendary commandant whose career spanned the Shores of Tripoli, the Halls of Montezuma and beyond. He was commandant for 38 years — more than half his life. He fought in the War of 1812, various Indian wars and oversaw the Marines in the Mexican–American War.

Legend has it that he pinned a note to his door, “Gone to Florida to fight the Indians. Will be back when the war is over.”

At the end of the Mexican war, they gave the commandant a sword inscribed, “From the Halls of Montezuma, to the Shores of Tripoli.”

That inscription later became the opening line of the Marine Hymn.

Henderson’s greatest achievement was keeping the Army from swallowing the Marines. He got Congress to keep the Corps part of the Navy.

What America needs now are military leaders who won’t play these partisan political games. We need commanders who put their troops first, last and always. If abortion is so important, then get Congress to change the law. If not, dump the policy and obey the laws that are on the books.

Instead, we have the Marines looking like they are running around like chickens with their heads cut off because they don’t have a Senate-confirmed leader. Disgusting.