Instapundit highlights more reports of military unhappiness with the removal of Secretary Rumsfeld, including this post from Out of the Race.

Blogger ExRat makes the following observation:

When all is said and done in connection with the Pentagon management shakeup, the Baker commission report and the Dems actively taking control of the legislative branch, I for one will be watching the reenlistment rate among the troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. I suspect many troops will opt to return to civilian life if they feel that they no longer have support from the policymakers, rather than be jerked around by people who think like John Kerry. And if the re-up rate goes down, original enlistments will probably decrease, too. Nobody wants to fight in a war that the movers and shakers don't want to win. That was true in Korea and Vietnam, and it's true now.
Any new trends should be apparent by March or so, if they are to happen. I guarantee you that any such change will be spun by the lamestream media as Bush's fault, probably accompanied by NYT and WaPo opinion pieces bemoaning what a dumb thing it was to get rid of Rumsfeld.

I agree with him, all except for that last bit. The NYT and WAPO will have comments about Rumsfeld alright, but along the lines of “too little, too late,” and how the former SecDef “demoralized” the troops.

I always check myself after I say it, because I really think I’ll continue to serve, but I have threatened to retire should the Democrats initiate any kind of impeachment hearings or action. My wife always looks at me with concern, when I say it.

The American people may indeed get the government they deserve, but I don’t think the military very often deserves either its government, or its people. Those who sacrifice most, will sacrifice often, and when the hard times come, many will come a’knockin’ for them, again.

If those of us who care about our country and the threats against it, really feel we must abandon those who abandon us, so be it.

But we ought to find every way possible to make sure the American people understand exactly who dishonored our trust, and the many ways they dishonored it. Else, we will add to the further destruction of the country we love.

Me, I’m seriously thinking about taking on a certain New York Congressman that ran virtually unopposed, and serves a Conservative district as a Democrat. I figure I have two years to prepare, which gives me a two year edge on him.