Everyone Gets Left Behind: A Conversation with Commander Bobby R. Jones

Summary

The Politics Girl Podcast: "Everyone Gets Left Behind: A Conversation with Commander Bobby R. Jones"

Release Date: March 25, 2025

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Introduction

In this powerful episode of The Politics Girl Podcast, host Lee McGowan engages in a candid and impassioned discussion with Commander Bobby R. Jones, a retired Navy veteran and current president of Veterans for Responsible Leadership. The conversation delves deep into the systemic challenges facing American veterans, the erasure of minority contributions in military history, and the detrimental effects of recent federal funding cuts spearheaded by the current administration.

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Guest Background: Commander Bobby R. Jones

Commander Bobby R. Jones brings a wealth of experience and accolades to the conversation. A graduate of the United States Naval Academy and holder of advanced degrees in National Security and Strategic Studies, Jones has served extensively in the Navy, including commanding a riverine squadron in the Middle East and Central America. His commitment to veterans' causes is evident through his leadership of Veterans for Responsible Leadership and his involvement with Valor Media, a podcast focused on healthy masculinity.

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Current Challenges Facing Veterans

The discussion opens with Commander Jones highlighting the precarious state of the American military and veterans' affairs under current leadership. He emphasizes the human element often overlooked when discussing military deployments and the subsequent impact on service members.

[00:07] Commander Bobby R. Jones: "We're still human beings. And to be thrown around like just some asset... it's callous."

Jones criticizes the administration's approach to using the military as a tool for political and real estate agendas without considering the personal toll on those who serve.

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Impact of Administration Policies

Jones provides a scathing critique of the recent federal funding cuts affecting the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Pentagon. He outlines how these cuts threaten the very infrastructure designed to support veterans, including significant job losses and reduced services.

[04:22] Lee McGowan: "Trump is cutting the VA jobs, Joe Biden was investing in the VA... so they're creating a bigger crisis than what we would have had five years ago."

He underscores the irony of dismantling support systems while simultaneously erasing the historical contributions of minority service members.

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Erasure of Minority Contributions in Military History

A significant portion of the conversation focuses on the administration's attempts to remove historical links to women, Black people, and people of color from national cemeteries and military websites. Jones vehemently opposes these actions, arguing that they dishonor the sacrifices made by these groups.

[16:24] Lee McGowan: "They are removing Medgar Evers from Arlington National Cemetery website... What was in it for them? What was in it for us?"

Jones recounts the heroic legacies of the Tuskegee Airmen, the Harlem Hellfighters, and other minority units, lamenting their omission from official histories.

[10:37] Commander Bobby R. Jones: "We're not talking about... the Tuskegee Airmen did that the planes they flew... were test piloted by the women’s Air Force service pilots, the WASP. Over 30 women died testing the designs."

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Funding Cuts to VA and Pentagon

The conversation delves into the staggering numbers associated with the VA and Pentagon cuts. Jones explains how slashing 83,000 VA jobs exacerbates existing issues like long wait times and inadequate healthcare for veterans.

[26:50] Commander Bobby R. Jones: "The VA is basically the culmination of things that were first promised... now you're creating a bigger crisis than what we would have had five years ago."

He argues that these cuts undermine the trust veterans place in the government to honor their service and sacrifices.

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Impact on Service Members and Recruitment

Jones highlights the adverse effects of these policies on current and prospective service members. He warns of a looming recruitment crisis as the lack of support and recognition deters individuals from enlisting.

[31:15] Lee McGowan: "Why would you sign up to do this now?"

Jones emphasizes that active-duty service members cannot voice their concerns politically, placing the onus on veterans to advocate for change.

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Hypothetical Scenarios and Constitutional Concerns

The discussion takes a critical turn as Jones explores potential constitutional crises stemming from the administration's actions. He presents a hypothetical scenario where military orders could conflict with constitutional rights, highlighting the fragility of checks and balances within the military hierarchy.

[34:08] Lee McGowan: "Does the National Guard come up against the US Military? Do they fire on each other?"

Jones expresses grave concerns about the military's role under the current leadership and the preservation of democratic principles.

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Redefining Masculinity and Valor Media

Toward the end of the episode, Jones introduces Valor Media, a platform dedicated to redefining masculinity. He stresses the importance of healthy masculinity that emphasizes accountability, resilience, and community support rather than outdated stereotypes.

[59:05] Commander Bobby R. Jones: "My definition of being a man... is about helping that woman become the best version of herself."

This initiative aims to counter toxic masculinity narratives and promote positive role models for men in society.

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Conclusion

The episode concludes with a heartfelt plea from both Lee McGowan and Commander Jones to recognize and honor the true value of military service. They call for a collective effort to preserve the integrity of American democracy and ensure that veterans receive the respect and support they deserve.

[57:19] Lee McGowan: "The American military are not the president's beard... They are people that are willing to give up our lives if need be to protect this experiment."

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Key Takeaways

• Systemic Neglect: Federal funding cuts to the VA and Pentagon are severely impacting veterans' services and military readiness.

• Historical Erasure: The administration's removal of minority contributions from military history dishonors the sacrifices of marginalized groups.

• Constitutional Risks: Potential conflicts between military orders and constitutional rights pose a threat to democratic integrity.

• Redefining Masculinity: Initiatives like Valor Media are essential in promoting healthy, accountable, and supportive models of masculinity.

• Call to Action: Veterans and citizens alike must advocate for the protection and honoring of those who serve to preserve American democracy.

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Notable Quotes

• Commander Bobby R. Jones [00:07]: "We're still human beings... it's callous."

• Lee McGowan [04:22]: "Trump is cutting the VA jobs, Joe Biden was investing in the VA... creating a bigger crisis."

• Commander Bobby R. Jones [10:37]: "History was the Tuskegee Airmen... we're not ignoring it, we're overcoming it."

• Lee McGowan [31:15]: "Why would you sign up to do this now?"

• Commander Bobby R. Jones [59:05]: "My definition of being a man... is about helping that woman become the best version of herself."

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This episode serves as a crucial reminder of the ongoing struggles veterans face and the imperative to uphold the promises made to those who serve. Commander Bobby R. Jones' insights shed light on the urgent need for systemic change to honor and support the true heroes of American democracy.

Transcript

[Commander Bobby R. Jones]

The American military. We will do whatever, like I said, our civilian leadership wants us to do. But at the same time, we're still human beings.

[Lee McGowan]

Yes, you are.

[Commander Bobby R. Jones]

We're still human beings. And to be thrown around like just some asset, right, that can be thrown at will to shape real estate deals and possibly create genocide or help in a genocide, it's callous.

[Lee McGowan]

Hello, and welcome to the Politics Girl podcast. I'm your host, Lee McGowan. Let's get into it. Almost all Americans will be affected by these gigantic federal funding cuts, cuts that are primarily spearheaded by the richest man in the world, or we should probably say the most selfish man in the world. And while all citizens will be affected in some way, research shows that these budget slashes will be especially hard on those who served in the military. In Trump's first term, he was committed to expanding services for veterans. Now they are cutting everything from everybody. 83,000 jobs have already been slashed from the VA, affecting their health care and their services. And Trump is even talking about getting rid of people's disability benefits if they receive veteran benefits or getting rid of veteran benefits if they're receiving disability benefits, as if veterans are somehow double dipping rather than acknowledging that most of them are disabled because of their service. Add to this the fact that Trump just ordered the Pentagon and the Department of Veteran affairs to eliminate all historical links to women, black people, and people of color from our national cemeteries and websites, and it's just callousness on top of cruelty. Thank you for your service has become thank you for nothing. If you aren't a white man, you don't exist. So today we're going to talk about what's happening with our veterans in America with Commander Bobby R. Jones, a retired Navy veteran who. Who graduated from Annapolis as a surface warfare officer, received a master's degree in National Security and Strategic Studies from the United States Naval War College and is currently pursuing a second master's degree at the School for Public International affairs in the University of Georgia. For his valiant service in the military, Commander Jones was the recipient of many awards and citations, including the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Joint Combination Medal, and multiple Battle E Awards. He was the 2021 Navy recipient of the Blacks in Government Military Meritorious Service Award and is now the president of Veterans for Responsible Leadership. He also has a successful podcast on healthy masculinity with Valor Media. So without further ado, please welcome my guest, president of Veterans for Responsible Leadership, Navy hero and true American Patriot, Commander Bobby R. Jones. Welcome, Bobby.

[Commander Bobby R. Jones]

Thank you. Thank you, Lee for having me. I would not say I'm a hero, but I did serve in the Navy.

[Lee McGowan]

So we can talk about that. I think you guys are heroes, honestly. Anyone that puts their on the line, puts their career ahead of every other career to really serve our military. I think you guys are all heroes, honestly. That's why we say thank you for your service, because we really mean it.

[Commander Bobby R. Jones]

Oh, well, thank you for the kind words. I'm very, very honored to be here.

[Lee McGowan]

Yeah, well, thanks for joining me. I mean, we have a mutual friend, Ken Harborough, and when I was talking to him about how I felt like there was really an attack on our veterans right now and on this nation, he suggested I talk to you to get some perspective. So I'm really pleased that you could join us.

[Commander Bobby R. Jones]

I'm now president of Veterans for Responsible Leadership. So if anybody definitely wants to find out more, please go to that website, bfrl.org Veterans have not really been as loud as we could be. Historically in this country, we're trained while we're in uniform to absorb a lot. Absorb a lot. And so when you finally deal with people who are trying to tell you, okay, well, we're not going to give you what we promised or this, that and the other. It sometimes takes us a little bit to speak up, but, oh, when we finally speak up, we're very demonstrative. And my organization, and not just my organization, but just vets in general, we're finding it necessary to speak up very loudly here for the first time in a long time. And that should concern everybody.

[Lee McGowan]

Yeah, I think it should concern everybody. I mean, you guys just had a march in Washington. How did that go?

[Commander Bobby R. Jones]

Yeah, the veterans did a march. We're planning one ourselves here in this spring. Dates to follow, but that was a grassroots spur of the moment. Not really a central organization organizing and not a large one, at least.

[Lee McGowan]

Yeah, much like the sort of how the Tea Party started, you know, like pretty much from the ground up, saying we are unhappy pretty much.

[Commander Bobby R. Jones]

And understand a lot of this has to do with services and things changing so quickly without any process. Right. It's just the executive order, sign a pen, and then the execution of it being so widespread, so callous, and I'm using that word callous in its execution is what is disturbing. They came with a meat cleaver where you definitely need to have a scalpel and be very nuanced in what you're cutting. I mean, within what, 24, 48 hours of the new administration taking power. The veterans suicide hotline is offline.

[Lee McGowan]

I know. Gross. It was unbelievable, right?

[Commander Bobby R. Jones]

And understand this. That right there is a bigger threat to any vet or any active duty service member than any war. Right now we're losing, like known 22 a day. The fact that that went offline because they all just shut off all the funding shows to me two things. Two things. Number one, there's no one in that inner circle of the current administration that understands military service and the ripple effects thereof. And number two, even when it was pointed out, the initial reaction was not one of contrition, but one of indignation. And that bothers me too, because how dare you sit there and question what we do? Well, that's the whole point of our democracy and the republic that we have set up. When you travel the entire world like I have, by being a member of the Navy for 20 plus years, you start to see patterns in other countries that you think would never happen in America. But now you're starting to see it. And that's why my spidey sense, that's why our organization has become much more vocal about what's happening.

[Lee McGowan]

This is exactly it. If people don't know. America has about 1.3 million active duty military members, another 760,000 in the military reserve, and approximately 15.8 military veterans in this nation. So as of June 2024, we had about 166,000 troops stationed abroad. And then we had about the same amount of number of people stationed just in California. Right. Active duty. So the majority of our veterans served during the two Gulf wars and another third serv in Vietnam. So if we're talking about wars and where we served and background, tell us a bit about your military background and what inspired you to join the military in the first place.

[Commander Bobby R. Jones]

I'm originally from the metro Atlanta area. A small town, Fayetteville, right outside of Atlanta, about 10 minutes from the busy airport. My father grew up in abject segregated poverty in north Florida. Some pockets, they still think they're fighting the civil war there. And my mother grew up in Greenville, South Carolina. They met because my father was actually good enough athletically to make it to the NFL. All of his brothers, though, all of them served in the military. He was the baby. My uncle Floyd went to Vietnam, this, that, and the other. And it was a way out of that poverty for my family. My grandfather served in the Korean War, and then my wife's great. My wife's grandfather was a Tuskegee airman. So this military thing was kind of baked in, Right?

[Lee McGowan]

Sure was.

[Commander Bobby R. Jones]

So I was able to basically get A scholarship to go to the best school in the state of Georgia. Financial scholarships. When I was in seventh grade, my dad finally allowed me to play football my junior year. And I started getting recruited by everybody and their mama. And the thing is, when I went to these great football schools like uga, Tennessee, I never got to see the classrooms. And that bothered me. The one place that did show me that and didn't care I played football was the United States Naval Academy. And so I chose to pursue my appointment there by going to a larger football school. And I showed up July 1, 1997, and I wanted to go home July 1, 1997. I was like, what the hell am I doing getting yelled at and this, that and the other, right? So I struggled there. My freshman year was terrible. I had to dig myself out of an academic hole and I graduated dead last in my class. When I graduated, President Bush was there to give me my diploma. I was so happy that I accidentally picked him up. The Secret Service frowned upon those actions. Had to write apology letters. He didn't care. Matter of fact, we've been pen pals for 20 something years, writing letters back to each and forth to each other. He followed my career. And 109 days after he gave us our diploma, 9, 11 happened and class 2001. So I spent 20 years away from home. My brother followed me. He actually went to what I call that college in Colorado, the United States Air Force Academy or one of our rival schools and sports. And he became a combat pilot during the global war on terrorism. So both me and my brother were deployed. My mom and dad had two sons that proactively fought the longest war in American history. And thank, I want to thank God for my sister, my older sister, who kind of helped hold the family together while we were dispersed all over the place. I met my wife at the Naval Academy. She graduated two years behind me. And six months after we had our first child, we had to bring her to Atlanta because mom and dad both deployed at the same time. I was in the jungles of Africa, she was in the Middle East. So this is the type of stuff that we dealt with in this 20 year war that no one talks about. And this is kind of why I'm a little salty. And by a little, I mean a lot about what's happening right now with the DEI stuff and all this kind of stuff. There were hardcore sacrifices that were made in all of our wars, but for someone who lived it, the thousands, actually millions of people who lived it with stories like ours that have not been told, but have been proactively been erased is in my mind a breach of a sacred trust. Right. The thing that I tried to do and I rose through the ranks. I got command of a riverine squadron in the Middle east, in the jungles of Central America, all those areas was I wanted to prove that I was good enough to lead. And I did not want to be the weak link. Right now, understand by being in the Navy as an officer, people who look like me are about 8% of the officer corps.

[Lee McGowan]

And yet the people that look like you are often a large disproportionate amount of the military itself.

[Commander Bobby R. Jones]

Exactly. So when you look at those demographics, you just read the African American population using us as an example, we make about 13% of Americans, but we serve at Dang near 20% of the armed forces. Right. Depending on the branch of service, that is a overwhelmingly disproportionate number. But here's the thing. It's always been like that. The propensity to serve has always been highest in the African American community, more so than any other demographic in America. The first American to die for what became America, Crispus Attucks, was a black sailor at the Boston Massacre. So when you look at his sacrifice at what, 1770, if I want to call it the Boston Massacre, to General Charles Brown, who was just fired as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, another black man, you're Talking about over 250 years of dedicated, selfless service that the African American community has given loving our country that does not necessarily love us back. For Donald Trump and for Pete Hegseth to come in and immediately start erasing stories like that is not only a disservice to the people that serve, but it's a disservice to America because our history is complex and convoluted, but that's why people still love us. We're able to continue to try to overcome those things. You don't ignore it, you overcome it. I have done a lot of research over the course of my military career and are into what the service looks like, you know, what my service means and how I could be better. And I've missed a lot of holidays, I missed a lot of birthdays. You know, I had over what I want to say, seven. Seven years of actually at sea, out of 22 years, like on a ship, away from home, away from everybody else. But you do it anyway because you want to protect people at home.

[Lee McGowan]

Yeah, listen, my father in law was away when my husband's brother was born. And he didn't meet him until he was, you know, six months old. This is a very typical story for our military officers. It's why I called you a hero at the beginning. You guys are giving up your lives for our lives, for the life of the country, for the way America was perceived overseas. I mean, the thing is, is that you started this by saying that for your family, in many ways, military was a way out of poverty. It was a way to step up. And I think that if you look at the disproportionate amount of black Americans that serve, in many ways, they're doing that for that reason because they have been held back by American society, and then they choose to step out of poverty to also give to the society that held them back. And as you said, it is so disheartening to see what the Trump administration is doing right now to eliminate all these historical links to black people, to people of color, to women who have given so much to this nation and call it something stupid like dei. You know, like, I'm looking at it and I'm thinking, it must just make you crazy. What is it like to be a black man and a black veteran watching this happen?

[Commander Bobby R. Jones]

Well, it's frustrating when I look at how the public reacts, but at the.

[Lee McGowan]

Same time, tell me what that means, the public reacts.

[Commander Bobby R. Jones]

So when I hear Pete Hex of Day one comes in and says, I think diversity are is our strength is the single stupidest phrase I've heard in the military, I'm like, well, then you must have flunked history at some point because let me just throw some, some facts at you. We can forget dei. We're talking about merit based and who's excellent. The number one aviation unit in American history. History was the Tuskegee Airmen. Their combat record is not even touchable. Here's the piece though, right as the Tuskegee Airmen did that the planes they flew every one of their planes, the designs of their planes were test piloted by the women's Air Force service pilots, the Wasp. Over 30 women died testing the designs of the P51, the P47, the torpedo bombs, all of these to include the B29 Superfortress that bombed the hell out of Germany. Women flew those and died. We're not talking about. They were removed from that website. When you talk about the most combat effective ground unit the American military has ever put forth, it is the 442nd Combat Regiment. All Japanese Americans that were interned on American soil illegally. They were recruited from behind barbed wires. All they did was have over 9,000 Purple Hearts, 21 Medal of Honor. Somebody said, I want 21 Medals of Honor kicking ass and taking names. Okay? The Harlem Hell Fighters, they weren't wanted by General John Pershing, who we put on a pedestal when they showed up to France. Not only did they bring jazz and all this American culture to France, they fought in the trenches for 191 days in a row. A combat record, trench warfare for over half a year, every damn day. So in essence, if it's all about meritocracy, the stories that I'm highlighting should be the first things on your damn website. The problem is it doesn't fit your narrative of square jawed white guy looking like John Wayne in the Sansa, Iwo Jima in some movie. It doesn't fit your narrative. I'm sorry it doesn't fit your narrative. I'm sorry that the first dude that said we're going to fight for this thing called America was black. I'm sorry that despite the fact you denied, denied all these men at Tuskegee the opportunity to fly originally, when they finally got the flow, they kicked ass and take niggas.

[Lee McGowan]

I'm not going to.

[Commander Bobby R. Jones]

I'm sorry that you don't like that. I'm sorry that the women that were denied veteran status until 1977, that test flew all of those planes that won the greatest conflict in the history of humankind. I'm sorry it doesn't fit your narrative, but it happened.

[Lee McGowan]

It happened, it happened.

[Commander Bobby R. Jones]

So you want to talk about dei, let's talk about it. The reality of it is if you have a minority group or females that excel in that space, especially the military, because guess what? Bullets don't discriminate. Chances are they're a minority group. The Navajo code talkers. That famous flag raising at Iwo Jima does not happen without them transmitting over 800 messages in the first two days of a week long battle flawlessly in their native language. The Marines don't win. They don't win. If you don't highlight these groups that you classify as di. There is no America. It's that simple. I'm just mad about it. I should be mad about it.

[Lee McGowan]

I'm mad about it. And I look like this, right? Like I'm mad about it. Like, here's the thing, you look at someone like, like World War II veteran Medgar Evers, right? He's Evers.

[Commander Bobby R. Jones]

Yeah.

[Lee McGowan]

President Trump himself called him a great American hero in his first term. Now he's being erased from Arlington National Cemetery website. He was featured in A section honoring black Americans from the US army website that's been removed. He was a civil rights leader, he was a sergeant, and he was assassinated by white suprem nemesis in Jackson, Mississippi. Right. Like, unbelievable. But it's. Evers isn't the only one, right? Like, it is. Donald Trump ordered the Pentagon and the Department of Veteran affairs to eliminate historical links to thousands of American heroes, including historic Firsts Medal honor winners, the entire division of the Japanese American soldiers From World War II, the Navajo Cold breakers, which you just mentioned, and all women from our websites and cemeteries. And I should note, I should note that the Department of Defense is now claiming they mistakenly using that word deleted pages on the Navajo code talkers and the black Medal of Honor recipients and Jackie Robinson, like, hello, Right? But they labeled them dei. It wasn't like it mistakenly happened. They changed the URL so it said dei. So, as you know, I was listening to Fred Wellman, who's also a veteran, and he was like, they're just constantly lying. Like, they did this on purpose. They got caught and now they're like, whoops, wait, what a mistake.

[Commander Bobby R. Jones]

Yeah, they're backpedaling fast because they completely underestimated the fallout from this. And here's the thing, here's the thing. There are veterans that'll tell you stories of how they got to know another group, someone who had a different background than them because of the situation they found themselves. That's why it's so, it's so personal to us. You know what I'm saying? We come from these different parts of society, but the first thing they do in boot camp, they put you together and be like, we don't care what your back background is. The Marines are notorious for that. They'll take a gang banger from LA and a redneck from Alabama, like, guess what? Y'all are battle buddies. Sorry. That's what we're going to do. And why do they do that? Because they understand that you have to be focused on the common goal. Your background gives you unique perspective, but you focus on the common goal. When you have a guy that dies a draft five times talking about these issues, of course he doesn't understand. Or Stephen Miller, who did not have the testicular fortitude himself to go do something like this, I can go all with this, right? But for them to be the arbiters of what should be included in American history, specifically American military history, that is the equivalent of a fox sitting outside of a deli, being the watchdog. It makes no sense. It makes no sense. And so the thing that I would tell Americans is this. Either you're going to acknowledge all of American history or none at all. But understand this. The limestones that are sitting in rows at Arlington Cemetery deserve better than what the hell they're getting. Okay? They do. Colin Powell, of all people, has been removed from that website. Okay? Are you. Are you serious? Are you kidding me? People who have done nothing to dedicate their lives to service. And let me tell you something, the fact that these guys will parade around and talk about how patriotic they are, I think that's the most insulting thing to me. Why would you say that when you purposely, like you said, go into the URL type DEI 404 file not found by people who have never stepped foot in a military recruiting office. They had every opportunity they could have served. As many generations as Trumps have been in here in America. Let's remember they showed up here because the great, great grandfather was dodging the Prussian draft, okay? They've had ample opportunity to give back. They've chosen not to. Instead, we'll just create some AI images and superimpose their faces over ripped bodies looking like they're a fake military. Because that's convenient. This is why I'm speaking out. My grandfather in law was a Tuskegee airman. And the stuff that he talked about that he had to go through just to get the opportunity to be part of this blows my mind. When people are like, well, you don't have any fear talking about this. You damn right I don't. Because just like if it was the white guy that lives right down the street that served for 30 years and they were pissing on his service, I do the same for him too. We all deserve to have these stories taught. We don't ask so much. When you think about it like this, logically, the active duty service member is the most underpaid person in American society. We really are. Because it's not a 9 to 5 job. It's a 247 lifestyle. And then my generation of veterans that served in the longest conflict in American history, September 11, 2001 to basically August 21 of 2021. Continuous deployments, continuous retrofit. Go back. Deploy, deploy, deploy, deploy. Don't complain. We just do the job. Our bodies taxing, mentally taxing, all of these things, taxing. But no one cared about that. When they were scared of terrorist attacks, when they wanted us to go after these people. And now forget just the removal of our contributions. Now you want to mess with the Veteran Affairs Department?

[Lee McGowan]

This is what I want to say to you, it's not just the legacies that are being lost, right? It's your jobs. As I said in the interview introduction, so far, 83,000 jobs have been gutted from the VA and the cuts are completely reckless. They defund everything from health care to, as you said, suicide prevention. So talk to me about these cuts because if the audience isn't familiar with the va, the VA manages and directly provides services to American veterans. These services include health care, short and long term housing, life insurance, pensions, education, stipends, assistance if you are in a legal agreement. But the VA also employs and engages in public health research, right? They're doing a lot of research that actually helps the general public. And at least a quarter of the VA's almost 500,000 employees are veterans, right? So when you are cutting these jobs, you are directly affecting veterans. So talk to me about these cuts. Deleteme makes it easy, quick and safe to remove your personal data online At a time when surveillance and data breaches are common enough to make everyone vulnerable, DeleteMe knows your privacy is worth protecting. You sign up and provide Deleteme with exactly the information you want deleted and their experts take it from there. DeleteMe does the hard work of wiping your family's personal information from the data broker websites. They then send you regular personalized privacy reports showing what info they found, where they found it, and what they removed. As someone with a very active online presence, privacy has become increasingly important to me. Me, it's a scary time to do this work and honestly, I don't love having all my personal information out there for people to find. Using a service like Delete Me helps me limit the worry I feel for myself and my family. So take control of your data and keep your private life private by signing up for Delete Me now at a special discount for our listeners today. Get 20% off your delete Me plan by texting Politics Girl to 64,000. The only way to get 20% off is to text Politics Girl to 64,000. That's Politics Girl all one word to 64000 message and data rates may apply. Politics Girl is sponsored by FAE and I'm excited to be partnering with them because I think a lot of people feel like they could change their relationship with food, but don't know how. Faye is a revolutionary program that connects you with your own personal registered dietitian, making expert nutritional guidance accessible and affordable. So whether you're looking to help lose weight, improve your general health, or manage a health condition, Faye has A dietitian ready for you. And the best part is that all their dietitians on Fay accept insurance with over 700 insurance plans included. So you will likely pay $0 out of pocket for this service. If you're tired of one size fits all diet plans or generic nutritional advice, or just saving tips randomly on Instagram like I do, I think you will find dietitians at FAY are different because they work one on one to create a customized program tailored specifically to you and your needs. It's more than a diet plan because these dietitians are focusing on clinically proven methods to improve your relationship with food that will instill positive long term habits. And it works. 93% of clients reported an improved relationship with food and 85% reached their target weight. A third party study showed that FAE clients lost almost three times more weight working with their dietitian compared to a comparable weight loss program. With dietitians that specialize in over 30 areas including weight loss, sports nutrition, women's health, postpartum gut health and eating disorders and offer both virtual and in person sessions, you can customize your FE experience to whatever is most convenient and best suited to you. So achieve lasting results with the help of a registered dietitian. Through Faye, listeners of Politics Girl can qualify to see a registered dietitian for as little as $0 by visiting fay nutrition.com politicsgirl that's faynutrition.com politicsgirl one last time f a y nutrition.com politicsgirl and make sure you use my URL so they know that I sent you. Talk to me about these cuts to.

[Commander Bobby R. Jones]

Continue to give a little bit of background. The VA is basically the culmination of things that were first promised. The veterans back to the revolution, the pension Civil war. And so in 1930, Herbert Hoover pulled them all together and formed that department. And then Reagan elevated to cabinet level status. Why? Because in the 80s you had the World War II generation starting to fade and needed a lot of help, right? And so to show that the sacrifices they made to save, I don't know, the world was important, they elevated it to a cabinet level position. You're absolutely right about what it does for us. And so over the years, the services have basically fell apart. They disintegrated. You have people dying on wait lists to be seen. President Biden comes in, is like, we gotta fix this. And plussed up all of the dang VA billets and made sure there were enough people when we were still ramping up. That's where the 60 to 70,000 came from. They keep talking about, we want to go back to 2019 levels. Well, the problem with that is 2019 levels sucked. Yeah, they were terrible. You had to wait months to be seen. You know, the Atlanta VA Hospital here, it was just terrible to see you go in there and just people just sitting there waiting and feeling like they don't matter.

[Lee McGowan]

Just so people understand, as Trump is cutting the VA jobs, Joe Biden, the president before, was investing in the VA and he was trying to address this long standing problem that veterans weren't being treated fast enough. They weren't being seen fast enough. They couldn't get to a doctor. So in 2024, the VA reported having 66,000 job jobs that still needed to be filled to improve their health care and treatment of veterans. Because we have over 9 million veterans waiting around. And one year we have hired no one. Right. One year later from when they said we need 66,000 more jobs, we have not only not tried to fill those jobs, we have cut 83,000 other jobs. So I just want people to understand those numbers.

[Commander Bobby R. Jones]

Right. So you're creating a bigger crisis than what we would have had five years ago. And here's the thing. The Biden administration understood something. With us withdrawing from Afghanistan, with that war being ramped down, there was going to be a huge number of veterans that needed help. So you're looking at this surge of veterans that will be going into the system. How do we mitigate that effect? Thus the hiring. What we are being told now is those are too many people. Y'all don't really matter. And it's a violation of the sacred trust. You can send me as an active duty member to the gates of hell, I'm gonna go hell. Some of us did, right? All we ask is two things. One, you take care of our families back home, and when my time is done, you take care of me. That's all we care about. We don't complain that it's that simple and so simple that the people who didn't go, going back to what I said, you know, Donald Trump Jr. And I are the same age. Didn't see him signing up, or Eric didn't see any of them signing up, but they want to sit and go hunt in Africa and act like they're min men. All you have to do is just keep the sacred oath that has been held since the 1700s with us. Just take care of us. And here's the thing, like you mentioned, up to one third of the VA are vets. We're trying to take Care of ourselves. We're not looking for a handout. But let me tell you something. I served, counting Annapolis, 26 years, right? When I wake up in the morning, I'm a bowl of Rice Krispies. I snap, crackle, and pop. Every time I sit up, just pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, right? And I sit there, and I don't get mad about. I'm like, hey, that's the price that I paid physically to protect my home. All we want is people to just help us help ourselves. The removal of all of this at the same time as you remove the history. So let's think about this. You're taking away the history. You're eradicating the future as far as VA services. So the present is going to be affected by this simple question. Who the hell would want to sign up to do this in a volunteer force when your contributions may not be recognized when you get done, and then when you actually are physically done with all of this, you may not get taken care of the way you're supposed to? It's going to create a recruiting problem that they don't see coming yet. And we have already had this conversations in the veterans community, like, why the hell would I sign up to do this now?

[Lee McGowan]

Yeah, why would you? I mean, I was gonna ask you, what do you think even the enlisted troops are feeling right now? I mean, how does it feel to be fighting for a country that's telling you when you're done? We don't care about you. We don't care about your family at home. And on top of that, we're gonna change loyalties while you're in our uniform, we're gonna tell you that you have a totally new set of enemies, and it's people like Canada, and we are now allied with people like Russia. Like, how does that make you feel? How does an enl.

[Commander Bobby R. Jones]

So. So. So, you know, active duty cannot speak out politically. Right? So it's up to veterans to do it. And I've only been out a year and a half going on two years, so I have a lot of friends that are still in my. My phone blows up all the time with text asking, why are they doing this? This doesn't make any sense. We have people who identify LGBTQ who are scared. Scared. They have reached out to me. We have people who. And the officer Corps are scared that they may be told to execute unlawful orders. Now, let me give. Let me give your people some background here. When you enlist as an enlisted person in the armed services, you take a specific oath, and it says, in that oath to obey the President and the officers appointed above me. However, when you go in as an officer, that clause to the President does not exist. The officers of the United States military are the last safety check to a tyrannical commander in chief. Let me say that very. Let me say that one more time. We, as the officer corps are the last check. That's why the obey the president is not in there. So if you bring them up and look both of them, you'll see a difference. When I was in the seat, when I was in command of Coastal river Marine Squadron 4, I'm about 300 miles, not even 300 miles, 200 some odd miles from D.C. on January 6th, my concern was because of what we do for a living, we can go into an area and secure an area very quickly, anywhere around the world. My concern was that Trump was going to have us go up there and turn weapons on American citizens.

[Lee McGowan]

I think that's what he wanted to do, right?

[Commander Bobby R. Jones]

I'll never forget I called my parents watching the Capitol Building on fire, and I said, if the President of the United States orders my unit up to Washington D.C. to occupy that city and turn weapons against American citizens, I will not follow that order and I will get court martialed. The fact that I even had to say that to make that phone call shows the seriousness of the constitutional crisis that an officer can be put in. Under this current administration, the norms have gone out the window. And so those active duty service members have no voice because guess what, Pete Hegseth's supposed to be their voice, right? And all he has done is told them in no uncertain terms down to you shaving. Your opinion doesn't matter. We're looking for a look. We're looking for an aesthetic. We're not looking for competency. That the grooming standard thing that he came out with this past week.

[Lee McGowan]

Tell people what that is. Just so they know, the Department of.

[Commander Bobby R. Jones]

Defense is reviewing their entire grooming standards, right? But one thing in particular jumped out. Fickleitis or razor bumps is something they're going to look at now that disproportionately affects black men because of the way our hair is the United States Marine Corps, you're supposed to be clean shaven, right? And if you have any issues with your facial hair, they could kick you out. They're looking at this because they want to reduce, in my humble opinion, the amount of African Americans that come into the service, specifically African American men. And the Marines are the ones that are most strict on that facial grooming standard as A matter of fact, the Marines also were the last service to integrate. They integrated in 1942. Everybody else did that decades and centuries earlier. So make no mistake, with the firing of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Brown, the firing of the chief of Naval Operations, the number one admiral in the Navy, Admiral Franchetti, who by the way, was the first woman to sit on the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who by the way, her Navy shot more missiles in the last two years under her command than they did in the last 30 combined and knocked down every last one of them. So they were combat ready and combat kicking ass. When you remove this and now you have monochrome white men that and Trump's words look like stepped out of central casting. Now granted, that's a Humphrey Bogart movie, probably from the 40s. You are doing the ultimate thing that you're talking about has happened in the past. Dei non qualified, not as qualified, not proven people in those roles. The person that's been nominated to take General Brown's place is technically illegal. He can't take the position. You have to be a former four star.

[Lee McGowan]

He wasn't have the qualifications.

[Commander Bobby R. Jones]

He doesn't have the qualifications. He had to be a service chief, maybe in charge of the Air Force. He wasn't that. So he's going to require Congress to write a waiver for him to take the job. Sounds like DEI to me based on how they define it. So let me make sure I understand this. You take away the black guy that's a combat veteran, combat pilot, thousands of hours, Air Force Academy graduate, sits there and taught and had all of these things that and people loved. You remove him and you place replace him with a guy not nearly as qualified to take the position. All because when you went out to the Middle east, he kissed your ass and said, I'd kill for you, sir. And you're like, that's the guy I want. That's the qualification. Loyalty. Right?

[Lee McGowan]

Yeah.

[Commander Bobby R. Jones]

Or Lisa Franchetti, who like I said, had commanded every level. Every level. And by the way, the reason she was kicking ass, the Navy was kicking ass in the Red Sea. She commanded that fleet before she became cno. You can't get more qualified and experienced than her. But we fired her because she's a her. She's a her. So, yeah, I don't want to hear this about the most competent, the most capable, because I have laid out in this conversation the most historically competent units the military has ever formed were minority by minority units. Facts. I didn't make this up. Life did Okay, I just laid out for you, the people that just got fired as chairman of the Joint chief and Chief of Naval Operations were minorities. And I just showed you how qualified they were. And look who's replacing them. Less qualified people. The one thing they have in common, though, they're white men. Yeah, they're white men.

[Lee McGowan]

This implication that someone like General Charles Brown is some sort of a DEI hire after 40 year career, you know, as against a fighter pilot and a leader and only the second black general to ever serve as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Like, he's incredible. The man was incredible. And like you said, we're firing these women. The very first military officer that Trump fired was the female head of the Coast Guard commander. So like he just came in and picked it out. Like if we're talking about, you know, firing people and then replacing them with people that have less qualifications, what they claim DEI does, that's exactly what we're doing. Because even if you look at Hegseth himself, who, as you said, the Reagan elevated the head of the Department of Defense to a secretary position, to a cabinet position back in his day. So Hegseth is the Secretary of Defense. And even if you ignore that he paid a woman who accused him of raping her off, that his own mother called him a user of women, that he's run 2 not for profit military organizations into bankruptcy, that he was constantly so drunk at work events that he needed to be carried out, he was still a Fox News weekend host when he was hired for this job, Right? So someone who does not. And it doesn't matter if he won an award. It doesn't matter if he looks the part. It doesn't matter if he has the jaw. This is the world's largest and most lethal military. Their budget is so out of control big. And this guy hasn't even run a small organization's budget, right? So he himself is the ultimate quote unquote, DEI hire.

[Commander Bobby R. Jones]

I am literally more qualified to be Secretary of Defense than him. I achieved a higher rank. I actually had command. He did not. I, I, I'm highly more educated. Him. Here's the thing that bothers me with Hex up. I mean, shoot, even if you're a talk show host, at least be the weekday talk show host. You didn't have the temerity to be weekdays your weekends. So you're the B team there. So what makes you think you should be in charge of the most lethal fighting force the world has ever seen? Right? Because he looks the part.

[Lee McGowan]

Because, you know, because he'll say yes. Let's be honest. He'll say yes to whatever he's told. When we talk about someone like Mark Milley, who was in that role back when Trump was president the first time, and Trump said, hey, can we shoot these protesters? And Mark Milley was like, holy hell, no. We cannot shoot the protesters. First Amendment right says they can protest. And he was like, can we just shoot them in the knees? And he was like, no, sir, we can't shoot them in the knees. Hegseth will not say no. And that's why he was putting that.

[Commander Bobby R. Jones]

And I'm glad you highlighted Millie, right? What Millie had to go through as chairman is unprecedented. Number one, to show you the pettiness of the Trump administration, the first thing that Hegseth did when he got to the Pentagon was take down his portrait. Because there's a hallway that has all the former chairmans of Joint Chiefs and they took down Millis. Why? Why? That's just petty. Okay, fine. You want to do that? They then gut the JAG Corps. They gut the JAG Corps.

[Lee McGowan]

Tell people what? The JAG Corps, so the JAG Corps.

[Commander Bobby R. Jones]

So the Judge Advocate General, that's basically military lawyers. And so within a month of coming on board, Hegseth fired the head lawyer for the army, the head lawyer for the Air Force, and the head lawyer for the Navy, which also covers the Marine Corps, fired them.

[Lee McGowan]

And their job, just so people understand the JAG Corps, their job as lawyers for the military is to tell the military what is a legal and illegal order.

[Commander Bobby R. Jones]

Right? They help with rules of engagement. I had a junior JAG with me on my deployments as a commanding officer. I had to ask how, hey, does this make sense? Can we do this? Rules of engagement, international law, human rights, all of that factors in to the warfare and combat environment. When you remove people who have been trained for decades in it. So you can be like, we'll put this person here because we know they'll say yes. The scary thing that you need to ask yourself is this, why did they do it? It's not even just about abroad and overseas. They will be able to give the legal cover in their mind or justification to turn the American military into an occupying force on home soil, meaning martial law in the streets. All of these things that we have not dealt with as a nation that you have seen in the news in other places goes away. When the legal protection, when the legal justification goes away and they're like, do what you want. And that's why they're doing it. When you look systemically at who was fired in the Department of Defense. You see a black man that's the head of the, of the entire military, basically a woman that's in charge of the most powerful Navy. So that's international. You have overall. And then the domestic policies and legalities wiped out in each branch of service all within 30 days. You tell me what that means because that's never happened before. It's never happened before. So I'm not trying to be an alarmist, I'm a realist. You don't remove that kind of subject matter expertise unless you have an agenda that is next level and understand who's in that inner circle. Steve Bannon, he graduated from the US Naval War College. I did the same thing with the same degree. I know what he's doing. A lot of us do. Right. And the problem that I have is the opposition. And I say opposition because it's not just Democrats. There are Republicans, class of Republicans who are like, what the hell is happening here? The opposition has not thought strategically and have not rallied hard enough to start to stave this stuff off. Right. It's scary because every day you wake up, you're seeing something else happening, right? You talk about it all the time. I mean, I don't know how you guys get sleep. I mean, every other day something's popping off that you have to comment on. We don't get sleep.

[Lee McGowan]

We don't. It's miserable.

[Commander Bobby R. Jones]

I mean, come on, right? And so, so from a military standpoint, you know, we are, we, we pride ourselves in doing what civilians tell us to do. That's why you've never had a military coup in this country. We submit to civilian authority. What the American people need to understand is that civilian authority, the chief, the commander in chief, the President, United States and Congress in particular, y'all have to tell them what you expect out of the military because if you don't, if you don't, you're going to see this stuff run wild and sideways like they're setting up to do politics.

[Lee McGowan]

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[Commander Bobby R. Jones]

With Honey Love, y'all have to tell them what you expect out of the military, because if you don't, if you don't, you're going to see this stuff run wild and sideways like they're setting up to do.

[Lee McGowan]

Yeah. And they've been setting it up to do it for a long time. Donald Trump was talking about the insurrection act on January 6th. He wanted so much to put the military on our own citizens. He is currently talking about having the military march into Chicago to arrest its mayor. He's talked about having the military go into blue states to get them in line. Trump just did the weirdest interview with Laura Ingraham, which had Laura Ingraham, like, fighting for my side. Right. It was, like, so weird. He was doubling down on what I think was initially a harebrained idea and is now a hostile idea that Canada was meant to be the 51st state. He started saying that Canadians were the nastiest people to deal with, that they charge tremendous. And then he just stopped talking. Tremendous, tremendous. Whatever that means. Right. So what happens, you know, like, what happens if Trump says to our military, I want you to invade Canada, or he really does send troops into Chicago or to invade a blue state like California? Does the National Guard come up against the US Military? Do they fire on each other? What happens? Because, like you're saying, at the end of the day, the military officers pledge an allegiance to the Constitution to protect it from any foreign. And domestic. And domestic. Right. And. And when you take the officers out, they don't pledge to obey the president like the enlisted do. So where does that leave us? How does it come down in that hypothetical scenario where he tells the military to do something that really he should not be doing?

[Commander Bobby R. Jones]

I tell you, this is the nightmare scenario. Right? And so when I took that oath for the first time at 18, I envisioned fighting foreign adversaries. I never thought the fight of my life would be here in America, the domestic side. And so you talk about that National Guard, which, by the way, is under the control of the governors, unless nationalized. And the American military, we don't know how that plays out. Canada, we literally landed on Normandy with one other country. Canada. Canada. Okay? So don't sit there and say that all of a sudden they're a threat, they're our closest allies. And what's it's almost, it's scary to watch narcissistic behavior happen in real time. So instead of just saying, yeah, I was just kidding, and move on, he doubles down. He doubles and triples down. And by doing that, and here's the second, third, fourth order effect, and we haven't even talked about this. NATO, the longest standing international alliance in human history that has prevented thus far a third world war has gone to shit because of it. Where now France is looking like they're gonna just take over leadership because we're removing ourselves, because they can no longer rely on the United States internationally. You can't rely on the United States and their military domestically. You don't know what you're getting. My nightmare scenario is that the President orders some, you know, a military unit to Chicago or somewhere like that to squeal a protest. Not that it's violent, but the fact that it's happening, see, that's the other piece of it too. And so he will jump over all levels of authority just to get to him and say, send them. Because if you haven't noticed, like when we're doing the deportation flights, it costs three times as much to send the immigrants that have come here right back in military aircraft. Vice, regular civilian Learjets and whatever, right?

[Lee McGowan]

It's like $800,000 a flight or something.

[Commander Bobby R. Jones]

Because it's not about policy, it's about intim. Intimidation. He wants that fascist looking, military fatigue marching aesthetic to everything he does because he believes it's masculine and it's powerful.

[Lee McGowan]

Yeah. He wanted tanks to go down Pennsylvania Avenue last time he was in. He wanted a military parade to himself.

[Commander Bobby R. Jones]

He wanted a Kim Jong il parade in D.C. right, because he thinks the projection of strength, strength matters. That's his quote, art of the deal. Well, again, you had five chances. You went to a military high school because you were a terror in New York. You could have signed up for this, but you were busy, as you put it, having your own personal Vietnam, dodging STDs in the 60s and 70s in the New York nightclub.

[Lee McGowan]

That's a direct quote, by the way. If people. His personal Vietnam was making sure he didn't get an STD in the 70s.

[Commander Bobby R. Jones]

And that is the leader of the most powerful military in the world. That's the guy. And so I knew the McCain, I knew Senator John McCain. Right? And I understand his political views. But as far as his service, believe you me, there's no comparison. There's a reason he went after him. There's a reason that Trump has Said more things against veterans than he has on their behalf. You don't have to tell me how you feel about us. You show me. He went to Afghanistan one time and was scared to do it. He was terrified to land. One time. One time. He doesn't want to see disabled veterans in his sight. Why would anybody want to see that? Have you noticed you haven't seen him around any disabled vets in his entire time of being president? Both the first time and the second time. Not a coincidence. How many times has he gone to military bases and why has he gone? He usually goes after something happens that makes him look weak. He uses us as backdrop. Okay, show me what you think of me. Don't tell me. So you're showing me, by cutting 60,000 DoD jobs, which was announced this week by Hexa, you're showing me by cutting 80,000 jobs that were needed in the VA, you're showing me you want to cut the defense budget by 8%. That's fine, whatever. But you're not reducing the requirements that these guys have to deploy and deal with. You're showing me that you don't care. I don't care about your rhetoric. Show me your time and your budget spreadsheet and I'll show you your priorities.

[Lee McGowan]

Yeah, it's always been like that. And honestly, I think he doesn't like military veterans, and he doesn't like military people that don't kowtow to him because they make him feel like less of a man. The same way smart women make him feel like less of a man. And he doesn't want us around either. Right. I think in many ways, the way dogs make him feel, because dogs recognize if you're a good person or not. And he's never around animals because they know who he is. I think that's the thing, like, you're talking about that this horror show hypothetical scenario. I hope that our military is prepared to stand up for the Constitution and the people and the rule of law, should they be asked to do something that they shouldn't be doing. I can't imagine what it must feel like to be enlisted right now or be an officer right now and be hearing that we're going to put boots on the ground in Gaza to gut it and build the Riviera of the Middle East. That's not what any of these people signed up for.

[Commander Bobby R. Jones]

No, no, and I'm glad you brought that up. The American military, we will do whatever, like I said, our civilian leadership wants us to do. But at the same time, we're still Human beings.

[Lee McGowan]

Yes, you are.

[Commander Bobby R. Jones]

We're still human beings. And to be thrown around like just some asset, right, that can be thrown at will to shape real estate deals, to eliminate and possibly create genocide or help in a genocide. It's callous. It's callous. And to be completely honest, I don't. We can say whatever you want to about Donald Trump's character or how he's wired or put together. The reality of it is this. He cannot relate to the mindset of someone saying, I'm willing to give my life for something that does not benefit me. And I think that is the core issue that he deals with. When he was in Europe and he saw all the graves for the D Day commemoration, he said what he said to General Kelly, who had lost a son, right? He functionally cannot understand sacrifice for somebody else. Hell, sacrifice for people you don't know.

[Lee McGowan]

Yeah. He said what? He said, what's in it for them? What was in it for them?

[Commander Bobby R. Jones]

Look, as someone who understands that America is not perfect, I've been called nigger in uniform, okay? But I'm still willing to give my life for the person that called me. That. That is such a far and away conceptual disconnect from his way of thinking that none of it makes sense. And so when you don't understand something, you become much more callous about it. You may not want to deal with it or you may want to learn all about it. He's chosen the former. Right. I would love for him to just visit a VA hospital. I would love for him to walk the corridors of the Atlanta VA Hospital where we have a lot of veterans there, broke in, still trying to hold on to some semblance of pride and self dignity, wearing their Vietnam veteran hat or what unit they came from, just trying to get the basic services. I want him to walk that pathway and sit there and tell them that they were suckers or what's in it. What was in it for you? You know what was in it for us? The country acts and we went. That's what was in it for us. And guess what? Every generation of Americans have had that small percentage of people to do the exact same damn thing. His family's wealth was built on the back of military. His dad was a damn housing contractor in World War II and got all those government grants. Yeah, he owes us more than the average American. But instead he chooses to erase us.

[Lee McGowan]

You treat you like little soldiers you would play with, you know, let's put them over here. Let's do this. Like you aren't Real people. Like you said, we're humans, right? We're here doing the right thing for our country. And he's treating you like pawns in a game only he is playing. It's sickening. And I just want to say I. I'm just your image of this VA hospital and these gentlemen who served in Vietnam.

[Commander Bobby R. Jones]

Ladies too, which was.

[Lee McGowan]

But ladies too, but that was a terrible war that we treated our soldiers terribly when the opinion turned on that war and we tried to sort of erase them. In many ways, the Vietnam wall was such an important part of our history because it really brought back all the sacrifice that those soldiers had done going overseas for a war that maybe we shouldn't have been in. But they went with all good intentions, and our soldiers were heroes for that too. So just that thought of walking the corridors, which of course, our president and commander in chief will never do because it makes him uncomfort because he has no interest in it. He thinks disability is gross, let alone disability. You chose because of service, right?

[Commander Bobby R. Jones]

Like, we had a say so. Like veterans had a say so on what happened to him.

[Lee McGowan]

Unbelievable. I mean, you guys are such heroes. I'm so, so sorry for that. It just breaks my heart to think of that image just in general. But it comes back. Before we leave, I just want to say it comes back to this concept of the projection of strength, of the idea of masculinity, of the central casting of the American military as oppos, who you really are. And I think it's interesting, as we end off this episode, to talk about what you're doing right now, which is with valor Media, you know, with other people who have served in our uniform. And you're talking about healthy masculinity, about being a real man in our society and what that really means in a time where toxic masculinity has kind of come to the forefront. So before you go, will you please tell us about this podcast? Because I think this is what we need when we talk about men feeling left behind. It isn't, you know, allowing you to. To treat women like shit again. It's not about putting on a fake costume of masculinity. It's about what men really are and respecting that. Would you just tell us a little bit about that?

[Commander Bobby R. Jones]

No. Thanks for the opportunity to talk about it. So myself and Dan Berkoff, who was the first president of Veterans for Responsible Leadership, he's my Annapolis classmate. He is a Navy SEAL trauma surgeon, so he served in the SEAL team.

[Lee McGowan]

So he's a real man's man, right.

[Commander Bobby R. Jones]

Well, yeah, you know, and obviously he's an undergrad underachiever. I mean, he went to Harvard Med School and did all that. Yeah. I mean, Navy seal, and now he's an emergency room trauma surgeon. He started Veterans Responsible Leadership. Ken Harbaugh, who, our mutual friend also, at around the same time, had the idea for Valor Media. So Valor Media Network, which is on YouTube, like. Like you guys are, has a collection of different veterans and different men talking about this in different ways. So Dan and I specifically talk about military. You have Jason Cantor, who's also a vet, who talks about the sports aspect. It's about redefining masculinity in 2025 and beyond. Because what's happened here, and part of it is that second, third effect of Trump from his first tour. You got men like Andrew Tate and the Joe Rogans and all this, basically saying, yeah, to be basically a heathen is to be a man. And, I mean, some of the most ridiculous things I've ever heard come out of men's mouth regarding women, regarding society, regarding jobs. I'm like, what planet did you guys come from from? Right? You know, a woman should know her placement, blah, blah, blah, blah. Well, my definition of being a man, a real man, is never going to be intimidated by an empowered woman. Why would he be? Why would he be? You're talking to a guy who had commanding officers that were women and they were badasses. Why would you be right to. Redefining this masculinity thing is not about you as a man. It's about what you as a man provides for society. You are protected, protector, an enabler to help others get better, to. To push past and have the resiliency to do hard things, not to sit there and quit because it's hard and then want to blame somebody else. You take accountability for your actions. That way, when people come to you, they know you're trustworthy because they know the words that come out of your mouth will be followed by the deeds that you perform. That's being a man. It's not calling a woman this, that out of her name. It's about helping that woman become the best version of herself. Okay? And to be in touch with those different aspects of your personality, constantly improving yourself. Because guess what? When you wake up in the morning, you either getting better or you're getting worse. There's no in between. And guess what? You are responsible for that. Not blaming other people or sitting there saying, this person is this and this person is that. It's ridiculous. Do you really think guys that flew. I'll give you a perfect example. Combat missions in World War II in the United States Navy where they were dive bombers, right? And they're having to dive into basically, like, volcanoes of gunfire flying in their face. You really think those men were like, well, you know, it's probably this dude's fault that I did this, and I should have never talked to that chick back home that's waiting for me. But no, he was accountable for his actions. He's like, what can I do to be better? What can I do to save the guy that's in the back as a rear gunner so he gets to go back home to his family? He took on responsibility, and he pushed himself through. That's American masculinity, not this B.S. now, where you want to flex and look cool and da, da, da, and have the substance of silly Putty. That's what's going on right now. And so we put together this network where you have different aspects. The mental. The mental and ethical side of it, the stories of what has happened in the past that hopefully inspires people to move forward into the future. Knowing that masculinity is not about you being seen as a God. It's about you enabling others to be better and you pulling your community together, you holding your family together, leading with love, with, with, with, with. A lot of things that sound soft, but when you think about it, are hard to do. That's what we're trying to do. Because, damn it, I'm sick and tired of turning on YouTube or something and having a clip of the most ridiculous stuff I have ever seen. Dudes with no shirts on, smoking a cigar. I'm a man. Really? Really? That. That. That's what does it for you? I mean.

[Lee McGowan]

Well, I mean, I think it's so fascinating that we've highlighted and. And held up everyone who is an adjudicated or convicted or known rapist. Right? Like, to me, there's nothing more beta than a guy that needs to physically overwhelm a woman to get sex. There's nothing more beta than that, baby. And you are the administration of rapists.

[Commander Bobby R. Jones]

So well done with the littlest of B's. Right? I mean, the bottom line is, if you're supposed to be that guy, you supposed to be able to walk in and your presence alone has women attract themselves to. But no, we're gonna go do that. Trump. You know what? The. The Billy Bush tape before his first.

[Lee McGowan]

Election, the thing that should have ended it, right?

[Commander Bobby R. Jones]

It showed me everything I need to know about him as a person and as a man. Because there is no man, even in the classical sense that they have. It would sit there and have to scheme like that. You know what I'm saying? Because you have the confidence to be like, this lady obviously is picking up what I'm putting down because I'm that guy instead of. I gotta. I move like a bitch. I mean, what the. I just don't get it. I mean, I'm just. I'm a simple man from the state of Georgia, and I just don't get how this is your king. I don't understand it. And if people want to get mad at me, that's fine, because there are people who've spoken out against a lot worse people in a lot harder times. But let's call a spade a spade. We are not your beard. The American military is not your beard. President Trump. Secretary Hexif. We're not. We're people that are willing to give up our lives if need be to protect this experiment that has been going on for 248 years. And mind you, it's an experiment. And each person, each generation that comes into that lab has to do their best to try to take care of it and make it better. The founding fathers knew it wasn't perfect. They knew it. That's why they enabled us and gave us a system to improve it, to form a more perfect. Perfect union. Not to be perfect, but a more perfect union. And right now, we have someone in the lab that wants to play with Silly Putty and play DOH instead of attending to this experiment.

[Lee McGowan]

Well, I think that's the best place to leave it. Thank you so much for joining us today. I am so grateful. Commander Bobby R. Jones, everybody. Thank you so much. And go listen to Valor Media. That's where the men are.

[Commander Bobby R. Jones]

Thank you.

[Lee McGowan]

Thank you. So that was Commander Bobby Jones reminding us that it is called military service for a reason. You are serving the country. You are offering everything you have for a nation that promises to care for your people while you're in and take care of you if you live to be out. But we have let them down. And under their current leadership, we are setting them up. Our military may be, as Bobby said, trained to absorb a lot, but they shouldn't have to absorb this kind of disrespect. The American military are not the president's beard. They are not window dressing to make him appear masculine or a personal enforcement brigade to deliver real estate deals or bring political enemies to heel. The way our military is being treated is callous. And calculated. And we can only hope a military leadership beyond the yes men that surround the President will still be holding to the their oath of office to protect the Constitution above all else. I want to thank Commander Jones for joining us today and you for caring enough about democracy to be here. Now go check out valor Media on YouTube and let's get some healthy male role models out there. Until next week. Peachy Out. Before you go, I just want to thank the premium members of this podcast for their support and to encourage the non members to join us. The independent media space is where real information comes from. Now this is where the truth is and we are working really hard against some destructive and honestly scary forces to bring you facts rather than propaganda. So if you aren't a member of Politics Girl Premium, please go to politicsgirl.com and sign up. You will get this podcast ad free, along with my rants and bonus content sent directly to your inbox. So even if my work is silenced on social media, you will still get access to the truth. There's a link to sign up in the bio of this episode, but [e-mail] and as always, please like and share these podcasts so we can grow the audience. The more people who have access to real information, the more effective we can be at defeating what's going on. As always, thank you so much for your time and support. Politics Girl Podcast is written and performed by me, Lee McGowan in partnership with the Midas Media Network and produced and edited by Happy Warrior Entertainment. All rights reserved.