r/leftistveterans

I’ve been thinking of enlisting into the coast guard as a reserve, for detail I would like to be an MK more on ANT side and possibly be a Coxswain down the rode

The trump administration is something I worry about I stand against everything they are and truly think down of them, I’m on the fence of joining solely because of them.

I’m going to trade school to become a welder and doing the coast guard will be a positive for me when it comes to building an impressive resume and also learning new life skills plus many more.

So my question is, is worth taking this leap under this administration, I don’t want to be part of the problem and betray my morals for a rich man ego

If an active coast guard,veterans of coast guard, or any branch can give me insight in this please comment

Former Army Secretary Dan Driscoll is pulling back the curtain on his tumultuous time working under Pete Hegseth before he resigned in frustration last month.

Driscoll resigned in September after just 18 months in the role, and he has revealed that he and Hegseth had very different views on what a modern military looks like.

Tension between the two was widely reported throughout Driscoll’s year-and-a-half as army secretary, but insiders told Rolling Stone of one incident early on that seemed to trigger Hegseth. According to them, Driscoll had approached Hegseth with what he viewed as a “gift,” telling the defense secretary that they could use his close friendship with Vice President JD Vance to get things done at the Pentagon.

Two sources told the outlet that Hegseth “blew up at him” over that move, fuming that all contact with the White House needed to go through him.

The duo seemed to fail to see eye-to-eye on many issues from that point forward, with Hegseth’s passion for firings and blocking promotions—particularly of DEI candidates—reported to have fueled the tension.

One former senior Army officer told Rolling Stone that Hegseth simply targeted naysayers, particularly those aiming for military modernization over PR opportunities.

“All the guys who had guts and were willing to speak the truth about where we needed to go and what we needed to do, they got rid of, right?” they said.

“Because they want people that are compliant and loyal, not people who think. They’re culture warriors. They care about culture. And it’s only their culture, which is compliance and loyalty above your duty.”

Driscoll was reportedly due for purging before his own resignation, and saw the firing of his pro-modernization ally Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George—who was set to retire in summer 2027—in April this year.

George told the outlet that despite just being down the hall from the secretary of defense, Hegseth fired him in a “15-second call,” and that he was “never really given a reason.”

A former Army official said: “I think [Driscoll] sacrificed any potential he had [for] a good working relationship with Pete to try to protect those guys, because it was the right thing to do for the Army.”

Driscoll told Rolling Stone: “Once he makes a decision, there’s nothing I can do about it. I don’t have to like it.”

Despite the rockiness of his 18 months as army secretary, he said it wasn’t all bad: “But I think it’s unfair to describe our relationship so flatly—that every interaction was bad, or that we disagreed on everything.

“If you polled us, we probably agreed on more than 50 percent of things. What’s been reported is all the things we disagree on.”

Excellent!

US soldiers tasked with hacking American adversaries and defending the nation’s computers are set to see their incentive pay cut by as much as $12,000 a year as part of a broader overhaul that’s drawn ire from the ranks, according to documents reviewed by Bloomberg and people familiar with the situation.

Cyber Command analysts, developers and operators with a basic level proficiency are set to see their incentive pay drop by as much as $1,000 a month, according to US Army documents. Meanwhile, a small group of “masters”-level soldiers who are highly trained and certified will get raises of as much as $3,500 a month, the documents show.

The internal backlash over the plan has proven so strong that senior leaders are drafting talking points to address concerns and lay out the rationale, emails reviewed by Bloomberg show. They’re also considering a grace period to cut incentive pay gradually rather than all at once, according to the people familiar with the situation, who asked not to be identified discussing private matters.

The debate over incentive pay highlights the US military’s broader challenge of keeping skilled cyber specialists in uniform as the Trump administration puts greater emphasis on offensive operations. The White House’s March cyber strategy calls for using the full range of US offensive cyber capabilities, and an August presidential memorandum directed the creation of a program for vetted companies to conduct cyberattacks against foreign cybercrime groups. Cyber Command needs experienced operators to carry out its mission, but the proposed overhaul could reduce pay for many personnel before they reach the elite ranks the Pentagon is seeking to build.

When reached for comment, a Cyber Command spokesperson referred Bloomberg to the Pentagon. A Pentagon representative acknowledged a request for comment but didn’t respond.

DefenseScoop previously reported on the plan.

Incentive pay is added to the regular salaries of soldiers in critical roles to help recruit and retain them. For many, at Cyber Command it’s been part of their monthly paycheck for years. In late September, the Army’s cyber commander summarized the pay concerns in a message offering advice to other military leaders facing questions from troops, according to emails reviewed by Bloomberg.

Lt. Gen. Christopher Eubank wrote to colleagues on Sept. 25, outlining a scenario in which a soldier asks why their monthly incentive pay was being slashed from $1,000 to zero. Eubank suggested telling troops that the cuts are “just half the picture,” explaining that they could volunteer for additional duties to qualify for more pay and directing them to financial assistance programs.

Cyber Command ranks troops by expertise from basic to master, with the latter working most directly on military hacking missions. The new pay structure is set to take effect this month. The Pentagon and Cyber Command didn’t respond to questions about its current status.

The pay changes are a central part of the Pentagon’s broader effort to remake Cyber Command. “We’re ripping out the bureaucratic debris and replacing one-size-fits-all career paths and incentives with a system built strictly on meritocracy, technical excellence and uncompromising standards,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said in an August video about the initiative, dubbed “CyberCom 2.0.”

Cyber Command staff has been under intense pressure and heavy workloads driven by the war with Iran, other foreign conflicts and artificial intelligence technology that’s increasingly adept at hacking computer systems. Personnel also are still grappling with a cluster of deaths by suicide among their colleagues over the summer.

Cyber Command has struggled to develop and retain master operators, its most highly skilled specialists, according to people familiar with the matter. Master operators are key to overseeing and executing cyber operations, especially the most important and sensitive missions, while basic operators rarely contribute directly, the people said. Though the command says its core team numbers more than 6,000 people, about two dozen are master operators, according to people familiar with the matter.

Training one master operator can cost more than $1.5 million over several years, according to the people, but the investment may bring little return if those soldiers depart for private sector jobs that can be less stressful and more lucrative. The shortage also puts greater demands on the people who stay, contributing to further burnout.

Among the Cyber Command employees who face incentive pay cuts are basic capability developers who build tools that are used in operations, according to the people.

“I don’t think it will have a positive effect on morale,” said Matt Pearl, the former director for emerging technologies on the Biden White House National Security Council. “They’re not thinking about developing the talent pipeline in a holistic way.”

Pentagon and Cyber Command leaders anticipated blowback after the policy was announced publicly earlier this year, but staff have widely complained that it wasn’t adequately explained, the people said.

In the talking points he circulated, Eubank, the Army cyber commander, also urged leadership to handle “danger areas” in conversations with frustrated soldiers and acknowledged “there is no doubt the execution will inevitably create friction for some of our soldiers.” He told commanders to respond with a message of “optimism and progress.”