'Texas calls back National Guard members after some heavyset troops face viral mockery'

[sop]

"Social media users appear to have bullied Texas into pulling some members of the Texas National Guard deployed to aid Trump’s Chicago crackdown...After a viral photo sparked mockery online, the Texas Military Department benched some National Guard troops who had been tapped last week for President Donald Trump’s authoritarian crackdown in Chicago."

"Trump’s deployment of 200 Texas National Guard members to Chicago is basically a made-for-TV intimidation tactic to strike fear in his critics, particularly liberals, whom he’s vowed to vanquish using their own government’s military. A federal judge attested to this last week, when she ruled there was no 'danger of rebellion' in Chicago and barred Trump from deploying troops for two weeks...And now it looks like this stunt is due for a recast."

"Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said he was sending the 'elite Texas National Guard' to Chicago, but over the weekend the Texas Military Department confirmed to the defense-focused news outlet Task & Purpose that some guard members were called home for what it described vaguely as noncompliance. The personnel change came after a now-viral ABC News photo, posted to X, showed several heavyset Guard troops arriving in Chicago, which elicited insults mocking their weight and appearance. Some also noted they appeared at odds with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s recent denunciation of 'fat troops.' "

https://www.msnbc.com/top-stories/latest/texas-national-guard-fitness-troops-chicago-rcna237618

[wcmagumba]

1. Poor widdle Texas Toughies were fat shamed...

As a fatty myself this was probably not right but if you gonna be "The Man" you better look the part...

[slightlv]

3. I agree with you, wcm...

I was fat all my life until I hit 65. Every year I spent in the Air Force, I was on the weigh-control roster. Some of our bodies are just meant to be one way, no matter how hard we try, how many sacrifices we make, how hard we exercise and/or what we eat. It was a never ending battle. My hubby at the time (also AF) was the same way. He retired a few years ago, and even that last retirement year, he was STILL on the weight control roster! Imagine living your life with someone examining every aspect of your life at all times because your body wants to carry more weight than their charts say it should. It's soul crushing, and one of the reasons I didn't make the military my career. (There were a few other disagreements we had, too, tho!)

[mwmisses4289]

2. What people were mocking was hegseths

hyped up hollywood like focus on how troops should look, not how they really are. Especially since hegseth himself ain't no buff he-man looker who probably could not manage any of the gear even the overweight guys were carrying.

[Silent Type]

4. Seeing those out of shape warriors cracked me up. If they were expecting those doughboys to strike fear

they failed.

[Paladin]

5. I think those big-guy National Guardsmen are due promotions.

Making trump, Hegseth and Abbott look that bad is probably the most valuable achievement of their lives in the service.