Top Marine General Let Emails Leak, Sources Say (Newsweek)

[gratuitous]

I'm not military (far from it), but perhaps some more knowledgeable DUers can explain just how unusual this action by a high-ranking military officer is:

Top Marine General Let Emails Leak, Sources Say

The Marines’ top general allowed memorandums to leak out of the Pentagon to bring attention to service families living among hurricane ravished military installations as the Trump administration tries to bankroll the southwest border with defense funds at the expense of combat readiness.

General Robert Neller, the commandant of the Marine Corps, let two internal Defense Department memorandums leak to The Los Angeles Times and NBC News in the past two weeks, two Pentagon sources, who asked not to be named due to U.S. military media regulations, told Newsweek.

* * *

When asked why Neller would allow internal memorandums to leak to press outlets, one Defense Department source expressed bluntly, “Because he didn’t want the Marines and families at Camp Lejeune [in North Carolina] to get f***ed.”

[struggle4progress]

1. Let memos leak to demonstrate border deployment hurt readiness

BY ZACK BUDRYK - 04/04/19 11:40 AM EDT

... In the documents, Neller describes unplanned service spending bills, including for the border deployment, forcing him to cancel or scale back planned training exercises, including the Integrated Training Exercise (ITX) for II Marine Expeditionary Force, which was canceled outright, and Exercises Northern Edge, a joint exercise between the Marines and allied partners aimed at preparing for conflict in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region, which was “significantly reduced” ...

“The combat readiness of II Marine Expeditionary Force—1/3 the combat power of the Marine Corps—is degraded and will continue to degrade given current conditions,” Neller wrote in the memos.

The letter leaked to NBC also describes the slow pace of funding for repairs to Camp Lejeune, which was affected by Hurricane Florence last year. Neller told Navy Secretary Richard Spencer the total damage to the base was estimated at $3.5 billion, including $1.3 billion in building repairs and $1.7 billion in building replacements, with the remaining $500 million for operations and maintenance costs ...

Last week, the Pentagon moved ahead with plans to transfer $1 billion from its accounts toward construction of a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border. The transfer followed a letter by Rep. Pete Visclosky (D-Ind.), chair of the House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee, denying the transfer ...

https://thehill.com/policy/defense/marine-corps/437363-marine-general-let-emails-leak-to-demonstrate-border-deployment

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

2. K&R