Ted Martens

Proud dad. Retired Army officer. Fan of Illini, Packers, Red Sox. Golfer. Be Better Everyday. Be a Goldfish.

[Ted Martens @armyillini]

Just posted a photo https://t.co/i88EPX0d0P

[Dan Lamothe @DanLamothe]

Lots on this app over the last day about what Gen. Chris Donahue did and did not do during the evacuation of Afghanistan. A lot of it is unmoored from the facts.

A few truths:

1) Secretary Hegseth is free to choose the commanders he wants, by statute and tradition.

2) Donahue's contributions to the U.S. military and nation are significant, whether Hegseth chooses him for another assignment or not.

3) Donahue was deployed to Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul -- not Bagram Airfield -- only *after* Afghanistan fell to the Taliban. The Taliban seized power Aug. 15, 2021. He learned he was deploying on the 16th and arrived on the 18th with the airfield still in disarray.

4) Have attached some passages from his interview with military investigators that October. Donahue said then that what he saw when he arrived in Kabul was "all very unacceptable to me" and that he was "jacking people up" trying to get order.

He also recalled threatening Taliban officials that if they fought American troops during the evacuation "we would be able to kill more of them than they could ever hope to kill of us."

Donahue added: "The first 3 days we did not really sleep. I told our surgeon that we needed to prepare for a mass casualty event."

The assessment of many informed people was that the troops on the ground were thrust into an untenable situation and scrambled to get control. The Afghan government and the Biden administration lost control of the situation and the U.S. military scrambled to restore order.

[VoteVets @votevets]

.@GunnySpeaksOut has a message for Donald Trump: monuments are supposed to honor principles, sacrifice, and service. NOT a single politician. The "Arc De Trump" is a slap in the face to all veterans and military families. It's time to speak out against this would-be monstrosity before it's too late.

[Illinois Men's Basketball @IlliniMBB]

Once an Illini, now heading to the @LAClippers.

[Jennifer Erin Valent 🇺🇸🇺🇦 @JenniferEValent]

Trump is a terrible person. I knew that a long time ago. What has shocked me most is that so many people would willingly sacrifice all dignity and self respect to fete one of the most profanely ignorant men to ever walk the earth. That may be the most disturbing thing of all.

[Matt Smethurst @MattSmethurst]

40% of fatherhood is walking around the house, turning off lights.

[Jason Sobel @JasonSobelGolf]

Might not sound like much, but the fact that NBC producer Tommy Roy shows at least one shot from all 156 competitors each year is a hell of a tradition.

[Ted Martens @armyillini]

@birdzDirty007 @AdamCrafton_ @TheAthleticFC @David_Ornstein Top 10 worst post of the month brought to you by a narrow-minded racist incel maga pos. Is this Stephen Miller? Had we done this right, the US would have made billions in revenue but nope, lets destroy an opportunity to broadcast how great America is. Dumb fucks

[Brian Hiatt @hiattb]

21-freaking-12

[SteveAustinWI @SteveAustinWI]

This brought a tear to my eye. My god she’s good.

[SteveAustinWI @SteveAustinWI]

This tweet went viral so a clarification. No one is comparing her to Neil. But those fills were a special moment in time. It was three very incredible musicians playing with joy and emotion last night and doing justice to songs that are the life soundtrack for many of us. ❤️

[Men's Humor @MensHumor]

The shopping cart return rule is the only moral compass I care about.

[The AZ - abc15 - Data Guru @Garrett_Archer]

This made me snort in the toy aisle of target.

[Ted Martens @armyillini]

So my choices are eating a shit nugget or listening to Bill Mahar. Spotify is great and Mahar's shift changing spinelsess is for public display. Mahar + Pence are the worst of the worst. Fuck both of them

[Terry Moran 🇺🇸 @TerryMoran]

We’re all supposed to pretend this isn’t happening a lot?

How does this make us look to the rest of the world?

[Ted Martens @armyillini]

But but but Joe Biden was too old. Do we have 1 standard or nah?

I know the answer.

[Headquarters @HQNewsNow]

Trump appears to be completely passed out asleep during his 3pm Oval Office announcement

[Ted Martens @armyillini]

@AMAZlNGNATURE Fuck that scorpion. Fuck every scorpion ever. Scorpions suck. Fuck every last one to the depths of hell.

Signed 5x sting victim.

[Ted Martens @armyillini]

Ya'll just dont get it, man. 22.5 yr vet, 3+ yrs deployed. Diversity IS a strength. The bonds formed by getting to know teammates, going thru shit times together, learning about their beliefs and perspectives makes a team stronger. This macho man BS will make them weaker.

[Sean Parnell @SeanParnellASW]

.@SECWAR nailed it when he said:

“The battlefield does not grade on a curve, and you can’t throw your pronouns at the enemy.

Combat is the ultimate test, and our best Americans must ace it.”

The mission comes first. Merit matters. Readiness wins.

[Ted Martens @armyillini]

@JustinThomas34 @Mike_kim714 Ouch

[WCIA 3 Sports @WCIA3sports]

BREAKING: Andrej Stojakovic is coming back to Illinois for his senior season, withdrawing his name from the NBA Draft.
https://t.co/ta5T4isqtc

[Ted Martens @armyillini]

@Pasghetti45 "It felt to be out of the rain"

- Mr. ED. (1962)