Exclusive: An Ohio Marine colonel who has publicly spoken out against the Afghanistan withdrawal will lead visiting members of the Senate next week in support of defense nominee Pete Hegseth.
Stuart Sherrer, who was imprisoned in Jacksonville, North Carolina, in Brig. He said he is organizing men and women who have enlisted.
Scherer emphasized that the participating service members are not prominent associates of think tanks or government or related authorities.
“Pete has made public comments that he wants to move to meritocracy and he believes we need more courage in our ranks. [if he was secretary]Scherer said.
McCall: Unfortunately, Biden lacks accountability, ironically what the Marines had in Lejeune's Brig.
“I think there's probably some retribution that needs to happen, but it's going to be across the board.
“The difference is that if Pete had been Secretary of Defense, the rank and file officers would have been held accountable as well. [for the botched withdrawal]and I would have had to go to the lengths I had to go to draw attention to the situation. ”
Scherer said that in the past decade or two, the U.S. military “doesn't win anything. We need to turn it into a winning organization.”
Scherer said Hegseth plans to keep Pentagon leadership accountable, which in the lieutenant colonel's words has become “stagnant.”
Scherer's lawyer rips 'punitive' general
pete hegseth (AP Photo/j. Scott Applewhite)
He also emphasized that Hegseth is the first Pentagon nominee in decades who is not from the executive corps or a defense contractor.
Outgoing Lloyd Austin III is a retired Centcom general, but he also comes from Raytheon's board of directors.
“40 years to be a four-star general really takes you out of the military,” Scherer said overall of several past Officer Corps secretary selections.
“Pete's Middle Management – Major. I mean, he's like the perfect guy…and he was talking to veterans when he was developing his book and understanding their pulse and heartbeat. So that book that he wrote probably prepared him more in terms of the current culture and emotions and frustrations than any other secretary of defense.
As for Hill's plans for next week, Scherer said he and his fellow service members are focusing on those who may appear to be on the fence about Hegs.
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pentagon (Daniel Slim/AFP via Getty Images)
“I'm looking for more [of] “The right people over the total amount,” he said.
Scherer will also release a video announcing the mission Wednesday.
“[Hegseth] A combat veteran of our generation, he is not a puppet of the military industrial complex. He’s not going to end up on one of their boards like all the general officers of our generation,” Scherer says in the video.
“I will be in Washington, D.C., walking the halls of the U.S. Senate and speaking to every U.S. senator and advocating for peace.”
