The U.S. military pay is not being issued, and Trump asked Hagel to come up with ideas. The prestige he just established is all for nothing.
On October 13, President Trump said that after the federal government shutdown entered its second week, he had ordered Defense Secretary Hagel to use all available funds to ensure that U.S. military personnel could receive their pay on time.
Previously, Hagel had just convened a meeting of global U.S. military generals and vowed to restore the spirit of soldiers. But just a moment later, the military pay couldn't be issued.
Currently, it has been reported that the Pentagon has had to use research and development budgets to pay military salaries, meaning the Department of Defense's cash flow has already faced a crisis. If the shutdown continues, the military salary system may truly stop.
This shutdown crisis is a major blow to both Hagel and Trump.
They had just proposed at the conference to eliminate the "woke" culture in the military, to get the fat generals out of the Pentagon, and to make the military return to the core values of combat effectiveness and loyalty. But reality told them: if they can't even issue salaries, how can they talk about combat effectiveness?
Hagel's attempt to show authority clearly chose the wrong timing. Moreover, the Pentagon's approach of using unused R&D funds to pay military salaries is unprecedented and full of legal risks. If questioned by Congress, it will put the entire military in a passive position.
More seriously, this financial dilemma undermines the symbolic significance of the Trump administration's efforts to restore military prestige.
Hagel originally intended to demonstrate a tough stance through ideological rectification of the military, but instead, he was hit by reality.
Military pay is the bottom line of military morale. Once there is a delay, the morale, trust, and discipline of the troops will all be affected.
Originally, setting up a war minister to clean up the military was to screen out some people so that those who remained would be loyal to Trump rather than the United States. Now it seems all of this has been in vain.
Original article: www.toutiao.com/article/1845846263649546/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author.