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‘Tequila-drinking Navy SEAL’ in the running to oversee elite troops
By WESLEY MORGAN 09/08/2019 06:59 AM EDT
The Pentagon is considering recommending a brash former Navy SEAL who has bragged about his tequila drinking for the top civilian post overseeing special operations forces — eliciting concerns about whether he has the mindset to rein in a pattern of misconduct among the elite troops
Lou Bremer is the leading contender to be assistant secretary of Defense for special operations and low-intensity conflict, according to two current and former defense officials. Besides being an eight-year SEAL veteran, Bremer is a private equity investor with ties to the Trump administration through his boss, billionaire Stephen Feinberg.
But word of his candidacy has alarmed some former special operations troops, Pentagon officials and experts in irregular warfare who worry that Bremer’s persona as a self-styled rebel would send the wrong message amid the spate of allegations involving homicides, sexual assaults and illegal drug and alcohol use among the SEALs and other commando forces. More broadly, they expressed doubts that a former SEAL with deep allegiance to the exclusive band of warriors would aggressively confront their systemic problems.
“If you want to clean house, it’s always best to go outside the organization, in terms of both optics and practicality,” said Frank Sobchak, a retired Green Beret colonel, referring to the SEALs. “It would give me pause to pick someone who came from within the organization to try to reform something as deeply ingrained as its culture. You risk the perception that it’s going be a whitewash.”
“I wouldn’t put a SEAL in that job right now,” added a former Navy special operations officer who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive internal deliberations. “If you’re on the inside and you see this happen, you’re going to roll your eyes and say ‘This is business as usual — everything that’s happening here is lip service and it’s just because some guys got caught.’”
Bremer and his employer, Cerberus Capital Management, did not respond to requests for comment. Defense Department spokesman Jonathan Hoffman said he had no personnel moves to announce.
Bremer, who also served as a homeland security aide in President George W. Bush’s White House, described himself on his private Instagram profile as a “Harley riding, tequila-drinking Navy SEAL and White House Fellow who buys companies on occasion." He replaced the tequila reference with the phrase “USA-loving” last week after POLITICO began asking questions about his potential nomination.
The Pentagon has struggled to find a nominee for the assistant secretary role, which oversees elite units such as the SEALs, Marine Raiders, Army Rangers, Green Berets and Delta Force. The last person to hold the job permanently, Marine combat veteran Owen West, cited personal reasons when he stepped down in June.
One candidate for the post has already turned it down, according to another former official, who also requested anonymity.
“Anybody who comes into that position has got a difficult task ahead of them,” said Dick Couch, a retired SEAL captain who led frogmen in Vietnam and has advised top SEAL leaders on the problem. “There are deep-seated cultural issues that have to be addressed” in the SEAL community, he added.
more:
http://www.politico.com/story/2019/09/08/navy-seal-lou-bremer-assistant-secretary-defense-1686744
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