Name:	phil -	Reply
Subject:	Could not have happened to a nicer pair
Date:	2/7/2020 4:29:03 PM

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/vindman-fired-anti-trump-impeachment-witness-escorted-out-white-house

Name:	MartiniMan -	Reply
Subject:	Could not have happened to a nicer pair
Date:	2/7/2020 4:37:37 PM

Long overdue.  I am betting they found out the two of them conspired to leak the Bolton book excerpts.  I'll bet anything they sue.  And of course they are wrapping themselves up with the flag and displaying all their medals as they are summarily canned.  I am also betting that they foolishly thought Trump would never have the nerve to say, "You're fired!"  They apparently have not been paying attention.

Name:	Talullahhound -	Reply
Subject:	Could not have happened to a nicer pair
Date:	2/7/2020 4:50:48 PM

Technically, they weren't "fired" but were released from their assignments early.  I believe they will reassigned to snowbird at the Pentagon.  The Vindeman that testified is scheduled to go to the War College this summer.  I don't know the details of the other one - if he is scheduled for the War College as well, but in any case, they'll find him a reassignment.  

Name:	phil -	Reply
Subject:	Could not have happened to a nicer pair
Date:	2/7/2020 5:09:32 PM

In any case they are no longer in the White House as other then on the visitor tour.

Name:	PTClakefan -	Reply
Subject:	Could not have happened to a nicer pair
Date:	2/7/2020 7:52:01 PM

The odds of either Vindman being promoted to Colonel are between slim and none, and I think slim just left town.

Name:	GoneFishin -	Reply
Subject:	NOT VERY CLASSY
Date:	2/7/2020 10:14:49 PM

"And of course they are wrapping themselves up with the flag and displaying all their medals as they are summarily canned."

He earned those medals including the Purple Heart unlike Trump who had a mysterious case of bone spurs. Didn't they teach you at the church school to respect rather than mock veterans who display their medals?  Even I learned that at the government schools.

Name:	PTClakefan -	Reply
Subject:	NOT VERY CLASSY
Date:	2/7/2020 11:51:44 PM

As a veteran and former officer, I agree that whatever medals he previously earned, he more than deserves.  Having said that, however, I cannot condone the way he has conducted himself throughout this whole ordeal.  In the military, there are ways of reporting perceived misconduct, even against those at the highest levels, and it is known as the chain of command.  He totally eschewed that protocal for his own personal reasons (and please spare me the righteous "he did it for god and country"), and now he will likely pay a significant price.  He was a disgruntled Lieutenant Colonel who really fancied himself as a budding diplomat and expert on the Ukraine and went outside his chain of command, blew in the ear of a likeminded person who, by the way, actually had some clout (aka the "whistleblower"), and attempted to trash the POTUS, among many others.  What a hero!  Unfortunately for him, his little coup-d' etat failed, but hopefully the book tour and rubber chicken circuit work out well for him.  Or if not, maybe Bernie or Mayor Pete can give him a high ranking diplomatic position.  

Name:	GoneFishin -	Reply
Subject:	NOT VERY CLASSY
Date:	2/8/2020 12:25:25 AM (updated 2/8/2020 12:31:03 AM)

“He was a disgruntled Lieutenant Colonel who really fancied himself as a budding diplomat and expert on the Ukraine”

You may disagree with his testifying but why do you question his credentials on Ukraine? Why did Trump's staff in 2018 accept his appointment to the NSC if he was not an expert on Ukraine? Only a moron would question his expertise on Ukraine.

He received a master of arts degree from Harvard University in Russian, Eastern European and Central Asian studies.

Beginning in 2008, Vindman became a Foreign Area Officer specializing in Eurasia. In this capacity he served in the U.S. embassies in Kiev, Ukraine, and Moscow, Russia. Returning to Washington, D.C. he was then a politico-military affairs officer focused on Russia for the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Vindman was on the Joint Staff at the Pentagon from September 2015 to July 2018.

In July 2018, Vindman accepted an assignment with the National Security Council. In his role on the NSC, Vindman became part of the U.S. delegation at the inauguration of the Ukraine's newly elected President, Volodymyr Zelensky.

Name:	CRD -	Reply
Subject:	NOT VERY CLASSY
Date:	2/8/2020 7:06:09 AM

No one questioned his resume Fish.  He was the Director of European Affairs on the NSC.  Did you know there was a SENIOR director of European affairs on the NSC?  You would surmise that Vindman was aware of the chain of command at the NSC and he chose to ignore it and discuss the call the the DOS (Kent) and an individual in the intelligence community and NOT the person that he directly reported to.  

His stint at the WH was appropriately terminated early and he goes back  to the DOD to be somebody else's problem.

Name:	PTClakefan -	Reply
Subject:	NOT VERY CLASSY
Date:	2/8/2020 8:22:08 AM

"Beginning in 2008, Vindman became a Foreign Area Officer specializing in Eurasia. In this capacity he served in the U.S. embassies in Kiev, Ukraine, and Moscow, Russia. Returning to Washington, D.C. he was then a politico-military affairs officer focused on Russia for the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Vindman was on the Joint Staff at the Pentagon from September 2015 to July 2018.^[2]"

"In July 2018, Vindman accepted an assignment with the National Security Council.^[11] In his role on the NSC, Vindman became part of the U.S. delegation at the inauguration of Ukraine's newly elected President, Volodymyr Zelensky."

I see you discovered Wikipedia, congratulations.  The next time you lift information verbatim from other works, you should use quotation marks and cite your source(s).  It is the intellectually honest thing to do.

Name:	Talullahhound -	Reply
Subject:	Could not have happened to a nicer pair
Date:	2/8/2020 4:18:00 PM

I disagree.  I don't know where in the promotion cycle either of them are - but they would not be sending Vindeman to the War College if he wasn't destined for promotion.  He may not get a plum assignment, but I expect he will still be promoted.  

Name:	Talullahhound -	Reply
Subject:	NOT VERY CLASSY
Date:	2/8/2020 4:27:47 PM

Just be glad you won't be sitting on that promotion board.  He definitely went outside his chain of command.  I find his case ethically interesting.  Military Officers are told not to be afraid to stand up and point out when something isn't right.  I don't know if he was ever directly told to drop it, or if someone above him told him to speak to the lawyers.  We know someone went to the Whistleblower, but I don't know if it was him.  There is a lot of fuzziness in my mind about who said what when.  I don't know if he badmouthed the President to the Ukrainians.  We are led to believe the Ambassador did, but other people?  It sure would be interesting to see the classified notes of the meetings that weren't on TV.

Name:	GoneFishin -	Reply
Subject:	NOT VERY CLASSY
Date:	2/8/2020 4:49:39 PM (updated 2/8/2020 4:51:06 PM)

CRD

Reread my posts. I have not tried to defend his actions.

“No one questioned his resume Fish.”

My comment to PT was in response to his post “who really fancied himself as a budding diplomat and expert on the Ukraine”.

PT

As a fellow moron, I agree with you. I neglected to include the “”.

Now, answer the question….

“He was a disgruntled Lieutenant Colonel who really fancied himself as a budding diplomat and expert on the Ukraine”

You may disagree with his testifying but why do you question his credentials on Ukraine? Why did Trump's staff in 2018 accept his appointment to the NSC if he was not an expert on Ukraine? Only a moron would question his expertise on Ukraine.

Name:	Talullahhound -	Reply
Subject:	NOT VERY CLASSY
Date:	2/8/2020 8:47:30 PM

Actually, he was considered a "soldier statesman" in the Foreign Area Officers program.  Over the years, I worked with a lot of them.  They speak the language and usually have had an assignment or two there.  They are trained in diplomatic techniques and are considered "experts" on their foreign area.  Not to big a jump that he would want to be a Foreign Area Officer since he was a native Ukraine speaker and likely grew up in the culture.  I had a good friend (now sadly, deceased) who was the same and was a FAO too for Eastern Europe.  

Name:	PTClakefan -	Reply
Subject:	NOT VERY CLASSY
Date:	2/8/2020 9:52:55 PM (updated 2/8/2020 9:56:41 PM)

Fish, his desire to go outside of normal military protocol and interject himself into this drama was what I was referring to.  I really don't dispute that he is knowledgable about the Ukraine, although I can see how you could come to that conclusion from my comment (I guess we are even).  He just struck me as a smug member of the resistance, who vastly over-valued his importance.  Like I said previously, we will see how the book tour and speaker circuit works out, because we all know that is where this is headed.  

Name:	PTClakefan -	Reply
Subject:	NOT VERY CLASSY
Date:	2/8/2020 11:00:19 PM (updated 2/8/2020 11:16:30 PM)

Unless Schiff was doing his best Houdini impersonation, it seems pretty clear that, since Vindman testified that he only discussed the Trump-Zelensky call with two people i.e. George Kent and another person--"Schiff: ""I must caution you, LTC Vindman do not answer if your answer will out the whistleblower"" and Vindman refused to disclose the identity of the other person, he might have been referring to the WHISTLEBLOWER!!  Just a hunch on my part.  As to whether he will be promoted to colonel who knows?  I don't really know that much about his prior military experience (perhaps Fishy will be kind enough to jump on Wikipedia and give us an update).  I do know that unless he has had substantial command experience he will most definately need Army War College to have a reasonable shot, and even then it's a numbers game.  Add in his very public accusation that the Commander in Chief was a criminal, and said Commander in Chief is still Commander in Chief, well let's see how it works out for him.  Of course, if a democrat is elected, he may shoot right up to Brigadier General. 

Name:	MartiniMan -	Reply
Subject:	Has nothing to do with his medals
Date:	2/9/2020 11:24:50 AM

It has everything to do with using them to try to immunize yourself against criticism.  He got hosed by many former military personnel for going outside the chain of command and for testifying in his dress blues when his normal NSC apparel was a suit and tie like everyone else.  Some considered what he did to be even worse than that.  And he was officially reprimanded for denigrating our country.  I suggest you do some research on how this guy was viewed by his former commanders.  Look up Lt. Col. Jim Hickman and his opinion of Vindman when he was his commander.  What he did was not very classy and he deserves being criticized for using his medals as a shield against criticism and he deserved to be canned.

Name:	GoneFishin -	Reply
Subject:	Has nothing to do with his medals
Date:	2/9/2020 8:04:34 PM (updated 2/9/2020 8:08:27 PM)

From the Washington Examiner…

”Clear direction on what someone in Vindman's position should wear while testifying before Congress doesn’t exist, military sources said.

“There’s nothing in the uniform regulations which addresses this in either way,” said Gary Solis, a former military judge and law professor at Georgetown University. "It’s just a matter of local customs," In this case, the custom was that Vindman decided what to wear.

"The same reason he wore a uniform before Congress is the same reason he wears a suit in front of his counterparts on the NSC," Plitsas said. Few in Congress, Democrat or Republican, are likely to question the testimony of a uniformed officer with a Purple Heart, he said. “

If Vindeman is a Democrat activist, then the White House did a another pathetic job vetting him for the position. They deserve his testimony for failing again to vet properly. The Right is pis&ed because they have no rebuttal to Vindeman other than weak posts of him hiding behind his medals.

CHECK OUT OLIVER NORTH, HIS UNIFORM, HIS MEDALS WHEN HE TESTIFIED BEFORE CONGRESS. VINDMAN WAS PROBABLY JUST EMULATING HIS HERO…

Name:	MartiniMan -	Reply
Subject:	Amazing what Trump can cause
Date:	2/9/2020 9:11:02 PM

You're now using Oliver North.  TDS is absolutlely amazing to behold.  Now we have the left using Oliver North as their example.  This is so much fun I can barely stand it.  Thanks for making my day Goofy.

Name:	GoneFishin -	Reply
Subject:	Amazing what Trump can cause
Date:	2/9/2020 11:56:59 PM

Obviously, it doesn't take much to make your day.

Name:	MartiniMan -	Reply
Subject:	Amazing what Trump can cause
Date:	2/10/2020 8:21:14 AM

Nope.....especially when I get to behold the abject insanity of the left and what they will say and do as a result of TDS.  Archie worried about architecure....you using Ollie as an example.....it never stops and it is wildy amusing.