Comments by "A.J. Hart" (@cobbler88) on "Jesse Ventura calls JD Vance's criticism of Walz's military record ‘despicable’" video.

I mean, Ventura was wrong about WMDs, the NG serving overseas being a Bush creation, and never corrected the interviewer regarding his service, so I'm not sure he's my go-to for truth. But some people - when they hear something presented a certain way - are more than willing to buy everything that is said to them.
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It might surprise you to know that members of the NG and Reserve are not actually considered veterans unless they're called to duty by the POTUS. And as active duty people, you and I know all too well that there IS a difference between military professionals and weekend/two weeks folks. It's just a different animal. They can absolutely serve with distinction, but it's not just out-of-hand ridiculous to question aspects of someone's service record, especially if they choose to wear it around like a brand new shirt for everyone to see.
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@candynickel It's adorable that you're making up reasons to be upset, given that I've fairly clearly outlined what I wanted to say. There's no actual red meat there because I'm actually fairly thoughtful in my responses, so you have to fabricate something you imagine MUST be the case. .🤣 Sadly, too many folks do not seem to believe it is possible to discuss any issue or argument based solely on its merit. I would say that at least 1/4 of the time I make a critical comment it's because someone's conclusion I agree with is being based on a ridiculously moronic argument. I don't really care about conclusions, for the most part, but I'm kind of a stickler for cogent arguments. And over time it's been born out that I happen to be lucky enough to have been born a more sophisticated consumer of information than most. That's served me well in the communications/media landscape for decades. Tell me something that sounds patently ridiculous, then show me what was ACTUALLY said or done, and I can tell you how you're f*cking up your digestion of that information. Take care.
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@UnsilencedOutspokenTikTok There's a vast difference between being expected to show up every day for years of duty, and maybe being asked to step up a couple of times in your career. Many of us have not forgotten the tantrums NG members threw when they were first actually expected to earn their benefits when the first Gulf War came about. There's also a difference in how one digests boot camp, knowing that after 8 weeks you're washing your hands of the military until that first Guard weekend rolls around, as opposed to sitting there wondering where you were going to be sent after AIT. None of this is to say that service isn't worth acknowledging. But service as reservist is rarely comparable. Take care.
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Let's see ... 1) Ventura was not a Navy SEAL. I know a lot of people are going to say that he's "considered a SEAL" by this or that group, or that this or that department retroactively has him as a SEAL. There were SEALs long before his service. Ventura went to a kick-ass school that feeds into two tracts: one for SEALs and an alternative. Ventura chose the alternative. That's no small potatoes. It's still beyond the ability of at least 95% of people currently serving and would likely have been beyond mine when I served. It should be respected. But the fact of the matter is that - while you can serve WITH SEAL teams - that doesn't make you a SEAL. You can't be an actual SEAL if you don't go to SEAL school. It's very simple. Even if they lump old units together and say he's considered one retroactively, he was never a SEAL while he served. Top his credit, he never raised much of a fuss about this in the past and usually just lets people in interviews say what they say. But I do know that usually in the past HE never made the SEAL claim. That always came from someone else. Again, credit to him. I think all the Kyle stuff kind of rattled things around a bit for Ventura. 2) Ventura was never deployed to Vietnam. I think he was in the Philippines. To my knowledge, that wasn't his doing and you sort of go where higher-ups decide you're needed. Again, where someone chooses to send him shouldn't be held against him or what I believe is still a distinguished service record. 3) Contrary to what Ventura seems to claim, the National Guard being mobilized to fight abroad was not invented by President Bush. The NG has served in foreign wars since World War 1, often with units left in tact, rather than being absorbed into Army units. It's also worth noting that even if this wasn't the case, we have to acknowledge that there is a difference between the conscription eras and the post-draft era. And something that most are likely unaware of is that NG and Reserve members aren't technically considered veterans UNLESS they've been federalized at some point. Look it up. Kind of shocked me as well. 4) This one is somewhat up to memory and interpretation (and doesn't really have to do with the irrelevant things Ventura was rambling about at this time in the vid), but very early on in the Gulf War, we DID find WMDs. Rather, we found the components needed to build them buried in the sand in Iraq. Everyone seems to have completely forgotten this. I don't believe huge stockpiles were ever found, but claiming that no WMDs were discovered is kind of like saying that if my M16A2 is sitting on the table, disassembled, that I don't have a weapon. 5) I'm not sure what military deferments have to do with things. I believe former President Trump had four deferments and President Biden had five. Obviously Harris hasn't served. But as someone who served active duty, there IS usually a considerable difference between military professionals and weekend/two weeks personnel, regardless of how long someone served in the NG. The two services are just completely different animals. It's not necessarily ridiculous to question aspects of someone's service. That's all I was able to get through, really. Ventura just hasn't been that entertaining for at least two decades now.
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I believe Trump had four deferments, which is one less than Biden had. Unless Waltz was deployed in some extended way (I haven't bothered to look deep into his record out of apathy), he actually served about 2.5 years during those 24 years of service.
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@Tahoe10 Kind of like how Ventura may have SERVED with SEAL teams, but he never actually was a SEAL while he served. He didn't go to the school. His service is still to be respected, but after his kick-ass advanced training WITH guys who would become SEALs, the SEALs chose Door A, and Ventura chose Door B.
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@theman0612 It appears it has to do mostly with benefits. The view seems to be that a 24-year veteran of the NG who likely spent less than 3-4 years actually on duty doesn't enjoy the same status as someone whose job it was to put on the uniform every day for almost a quarter of a crntury.
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@Oh-No-Its-Lizzie-Jo I have friends at the VA myself. And NG members are not technically considered "veterans" like full-time military members unless the fulfill a specific set of circumstances. It surprised me, but there it is. I assume "coach" refers to Walz, considering that I've also heard something to the effect that when saying he was a "coach" he often tended to leave out that he was an assistant - not the head coach? It sounds similar to what is being said regarding him puffing up his military service a bit, claiming one status while actually serving as an interim? It kind of establishes a pattern if these things are true. Regarding reservist vs. full-time military, a person should not be put down for being a reservist, but we should also not pretend that NG and active military are the same. They're completely different animals. In 24 years, an active-duty soldier puts in 24 years on duty. A reservist who is never part of a major deployment - which has overwhelmingly been the case for decades despite the foreign wars - is on duty for about 900-1000 days, total, if he serves for a quarter century. And a chunk of that can be inactive where you don't show up at all unless there's a call-up. I have no idea what you're talking about regarding people failing classes. This was all so full of garbage that I was done after a couple of minutes so maybe it was included in the rest of Ventura's ramblings. If so, I wasn't around for that. Take care.
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@Xerou Yeah. Pretty sure I didn't mention anything about that. But both things can actually be true if you have critical thinking skills. Take care.
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@mattboland7063 I feel like we can work "properly relieved" in here somehow. 🤣 Take care.
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@theman0612 And you should probably try being a little more thoughtful before being so quick to respond. Maybe take some time to read what's actually being put out there before offering up irrelevant anecdotal evidence. It's got nothing to do with any "theory." As a former full-time active duty service member, I was as surprised as anyone that reservists are not considered veterans unless they fit a certain set of circumstances, which very few of them actually fit for quite a long time. Your friend can (likely)be considered a veteran because he was federalized, then (I assume) served out that obligation. Whether he earned "combat citations" or a purple heart are irrelevant. Those things are simply often consequences of that duty. It's the duty itself that determines whether you attain veteran status in the eyes of the government.
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I mean, Ventura was not a Navy SEAL when he served, but SOMEONE has to praise the ability to rehydrate and re-heat things, and usually never be seen doing PT until two weeks before the test! 🤣
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Regardless of all of this, I think we CAN respect Walz as a First Nations member, being affiliated with the same tribe as Elizabeth Warren.
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@justinweidenbach3699 I'm not sure which "his" we're talking about here, but there ARE official military records for Ventura and Walz. The records show that Ventura was not a SEAL (which is why it's so staggering that people have to build him up to be one rather than respect what looked to be a kick-ass service record on its own), and apparently Walz has been puffing up his status if not out-and-out lying about it. I haven't burned any calories looking into the exact circumstances around Walz. But at least one thing has to do with claiming rank that he never actually achieved simply because he kept the chair warm while the NG was finding a replacement. Like if a light colonel filled in for a few weeks as battallion commander until they found the next full bird to replace the last one who left. That light colonel doesn't get to tell everyone he was a full bird. Maybe people are too quick to give it a pass since interim coaches in sports often actually take over those positions until the end of the current campaign. Take care.
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I see a lot of people confused by the oft-confused former Gov. Ventura regarding the National Guard serving overseas. I believe this was formalized by a defense act in 1916 and the NG has been serving abroad since at least WWI. Former President Bush did not invent this practice. 🤣 Another thing that might surprise many is that NG and Reserve personnel are not technically considered to be veterans UNLESS they are federalized by a POTUS and serve their obligation. Shocked the heck out of me when I stumbled upon that little nugget as well.
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