CPT Swenson awarded MOH

Jim · Post by **Jim** » October 15th, 2013, 9:03 pm

He is going to go back on active duty.

http://www.stripes.com/news/us/swenson- ... y-1.247304

RangerX · Post by **RangerX** » October 16th, 2013, 11:49 am

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/video/ca ... g-20582393

Silverback · Post by **Silverback** » October 16th, 2013, 7:30 pm

Jim wrote:He is going to go back on active duty.

http://www.stripes.com/news/us/swenson- ... y-1.247304

I think him returning to active duty is a bad idea. He will be completely unmanageable and will get promoted simply by existing. I don't know of negative information, but the fact that he left active duty and decided he wanted to return only after being awarded the MOH concerns me

Jim · Post by **Jim** » October 16th, 2013, 7:38 pm

Silverback wrote:
Jim wrote:He is going to go back on active duty.

http://www.stripes.com/news/us/swenson- ... y-1.247304
I think him returning to active duty is a bad idea. He will be completely unmanageable and will get promoted simply by existing. I don't know of negative information, but the fact that he left active duty and decided he wanted to return only after being awarded the MOH concerns me

Understand!

Silverback · Post by **Silverback** » October 17th, 2013, 3:57 am

I cannot help it but my gut tells me he has an axe to grind. He even attacked the MOH recipient who championed his award.

RangerX · Post by **RangerX** » October 17th, 2013, 6:17 am

Hey SB, are you talking about Meyer? Apparently there is a LOT of AAA going up about that one. Big time sibling rivalry, accusations of "brand management" by USMC, conflicting reports on what happened on the ground regarding actions by Swenson, Meyer, etc.

I did find it strange that he suddenly wanted back in. From what I had read prior to the ceremony, he was very dissatisfied with his CoC & the Army in general. If he does make it back in theater, I suspect he will have a giant bullseye on his back a la Prince Harry....

Post by **rangertough** » October 17th, 2013, 10:40 am

Some reason Tapatalk wont let me quote SB or X.

I agree with all your points and would add that he will have a bullseye on his back regarding his superiors and most especially his PEERS.

As much as his arguments were valid regarding the battle and how it was managed at higher (got more of the story from the AS3 during the battle: S3 decided it wasn't important enough to warrent his involvement until shit was truly sideways among other issues). Additionally I like a vocal callout to bullshit leaders. I still think this cat is going to get zero traction.

Tough

CatFish Driver · Post by **CatFish Driver** » October 17th, 2013, 9:05 pm

If he manages to come back on active duty he will probably be pigeon-holed somewhere he won't want to be. I don't see him ever being on the line again. I think the book-and-lecture circuit is a more likely avenue for him.

SLEDGE HAMMER · Post by **SLEDGE HAMMER** » October 17th, 2013, 9:10 pm

CatFish Driver wrote:If he manages to come back on active duty he will probably be pigeon-holed somewhere he won't want to be. I don't see him ever being on the line again. I think the book-and-lecture circuit is a more likely avenue for him.

Definitely don't think he'll be on the line again either, but also don't think they'll have him out doing the PR thing. Not with how much animosity he seems to bear. Some hidden room in the Pentagon is my guess.

goon175 · Post by **goon175** » October 17th, 2013, 10:04 pm

I hope he does get back on Active Duty, and I hope he does get promoted to the levels where he can truly effect change. Axe to grind or not, we need more leaders who aren't afraid to say when something is fucked up and also are able to back up their words with action. He is exactly the kind of officer I would be proud to serve under, and is exactly the kind of officer I hope is able to influence new officers coming up.

I don't think he will be shuffled away somewhere, the Pentagon won't risk another bad news story after the revelations of how his MoH nomination was treated.

Silverback · Post by **Silverback** » October 20th, 2013, 4:29 am

You do not find it even slightly puzzling that he left active duty and decided he wanted to return only after being awarded the MOH? Not to mention attacking his teammate, the same guy who wrote a book and toured the country soliciting the award of the MOH to the Captain?

goon175 · Post by **goon175** » October 20th, 2013, 10:36 am

I think that maybe his train of thought was that now with the MoH, he will have the clout to influence the change that he sees necessary. Also, he was basically blacklisted after speaking out about how that battle was mishandled from the TOC, and would have never seen any career progression - so what would be the point in staying in back then? He obviously did not know that a MoH was coming down the pipeline in a few years.

As far as criticizing Dakota Meyer... we'll see how that plays out. Big Marine Corps has some questions to answer based off of what I have been reading lately... I won't criticize Meyer, as I was not there and it is not my place to judge what happened that day. Swenson was there, so if you ask me, he has every right to express his opinion on the matter. My hope is that it is just a simple matter of the fog of war. We all know that you can take ten different guys who were in the same battle, and have ten different stories. I hope thats the case, and not that Big USMC was trying to pull a PR stunt...

CatFish Driver · Post by **CatFish Driver** » October 25th, 2013, 10:32 pm

On a different note, I enjoyed your satire piece about him needing a haircut. It was hilarious how many people you hooked thinking it was real. I'm sure D-bag sergeants major army wide exploded over that little article. Well done.

Jim · Post by **Jim** » October 28th, 2013, 10:26 am

The saga continues. He is not back in the Army yet.

http://www.stripes.com/straight-shooter ... g-1.248659

Jim · Post by **Jim** » October 29th, 2013, 11:37 am

CPT Swenson is still unemployed.

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Military/2 ... -war-video

ArmyRanger.com