SUPPORT FOR MILITARY TANKS: The U.S. military woke up this week to news that their public trust and confidence among the U.S. public has dropped from 70 to 48 percent over the past four years, according to a survey conducted by the Ronald Reagan Foundation and Institute. The sharp decline is worse than any other public institution, according to the poll. As bad as the numbers are, a slight silver lining is that they were even worse last year, with the military getting only a 45% positive vote. There is some speculation that those numbers were depressed by the debacle of the withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021. The Washington Post notes that among the factors cited for why the public is not happy with the military, is the perception that uniformed leadership have become too politicized. The Pentagon can’t win for losing. Many Republicans blame them for being too “woke” while many Democrats think there are too many right-wing extremists in uniform. The lack of confidence plays out in the service’s recruiting woes. The survey says only 13 percent of 18-29-year-olds are “highly willing to join the military.” Among the other takeaways from the poll: a majority of Americans are supportive of continuing aid to Ukraine, 60 percent have a favorable view of NATO and three quarters view China as America’s main enemy. If you think that only 48% of the public having high confidence and trust in the military sounds bad, consider this: high trust and confidence numbers for Congress and the media are even worse at only 9 percent.
DISINFORMATION ON PUTIN? We have no idea if this item from the New York Post is true or not but is so detailed and embarrassing that it has the whiff of disinformation. We share it only for what it’s worth. The Post claims that the Russian president fell down the stairs and soiled himself last week at his Moscow residence. Always consider the source, right? The source is a Telegram channel which claims to be the work of a “former Russian spy.” The allegation is that Putin fell down five steps before landing on his coccyx and due to pain, experienced the unfortunate involuntary response – which also was said to be a result of ongoing stomach and bowel cancer. The Post also claims that three bodyguards helped their leader get to a nearby couch and summoned medics. If the incident did happen –apparently it was a short-term matter because Vlad was pictured the next day touring a Moscow laboratory. The whole story has a stench of disinformation to us – except for the fact that the Kremlin felt the need to deny it. Newsweek reports that a Russian spokesperson responded to their question about the alleged incident saying: "Regarding your request, we can say that this is completely untrue."
I SWEAR: Word is thatall over Russia, draft eligible citizens (that being men between 15 and 75 years of age) are trying to get out of the country, but Mother Russia’s rolls of loyal citizens grew by one this week when U.S. born fugitive Edward Snowden reportedly officially became a Russian citizen. As part of the process, Snowden swore an oath of allegiance to his protectors. According to TASS, the naturalization oath says: "I, (surname, name, middle name), swear that, by taking the citizenship of the Russian Federation, I will observe the Constitution and laws of the Russian Federation, and the rights and freedoms of its citizens; that I will fulfill my duties as a citizen of the Russian Federation for the welfare of the state and society; that I will protect the freedom and independence of the Russian Federation; and that I will be loyal to Russia and respect its culture, history and traditions." Insert your own joke here about the “rights and freedoms” of Russian citizens. As part of the process, Snowden also got a Russian passport but we’re guessing it won’t get a lot of use for a while. His Russian lawyer told the Interfax news agency that “(Snowden) is, of course, happy, thanking the Russian Federation for the fact that he received citizenship,” and added “And most importantly, under the Constitution of Russia, he can no longer be extradited to a foreign state.” Maybe he’ll now just travel here on vacation instead?
ONE WAY TO MOTIVATE GOOD LEADERS: Remember those reports about Russia recruiting new soldiers from the ranks of jailed criminals? Well, this may come as a surprise but apparently that doesn’t always work out well for the recruiters or the recruits. Witness a report about a convict named Viktor Sevalnev. Apparently, the mercenaries of the Wagner Group saw leadership potential in Sevalnev and after springing him from prison, placed him as commander of a motorized rifle company. It seems his soldiers did not share Wagner’s evaluation of him, and all of them deserted. We know this because Sevalnev, who had been shot (possibly by his own troops) called his wife from a hospital and said that the Ministry of Defense was going to finish the job and execute him. A few days later, a representative from the Ministry of Defense called her to let her know that sadly her husband had died due to shrapnel wounds and “a powerful blow to the head.” Oh, and Sevalnev’s son was said to have been killed in the same battle that caused his troops to desert.
POCKET LITTER: Dead Droplets and bits and pieces of interesting /weird stuff we discovered:
A DIFFERENT KIND OF USO: Now it can be told. Well, maybe. According to the Daily Star a scientist who was conducting classified experiments about USS Hampton sometime in the 1990s, was shocked to hear an “Unidentified Submerged Object” zip by the nuclear-powered submarine at unheard of speeds. Literally, unheard of speeds, since it was said to be travelling “faster than the speed of sound.” The story stems from a YouTube video and an interview with Bob McGwier who says he was not an assigned crewmember but an intelligence officer doing experiments on the boat. He said nobody reported the incident at the time because they didn’t want to cause problems (which sounds to us like the unlikeliest part of the story.) The report does raise lots of questions for The Dead Drop, such as “how fast is the speed of sound underwater”?
A TWEET THAT WILL LIVE IN INFAMY: Former White House press secretary Sean Spicer is remembered for many things. There was his fierce insistence that that the crowd at Donald Trump’s 2017 inauguration was the largest audience – ever! Period! Or the frilly green shirt he wore on “Dancing with the Stars” before being voted into oblivion. But he found a new way to make a name for himself this week. Spicer tweeted a heartfelt thought on December 7th saying “Today is Dday. It only lives in infamy if we remember and share the story of sacrifice with the next generation #DDay.” Much of the civilized world rose up to remind him that it was Pearl Harbor Day…not D Day. Setting aside that in addition to not knowing history, Spicer also apparently doesn’t know the meaning of the word “infamy.” What makes things worse is that Spicer is a commander in the U.S. Naval Reserve and has a master’s degree from the U.S. Naval War College. We’re guessing he may have done better in some classes than others.
CALLING OFF THE CALL OF DUTY: The highly popular video game “Call of Duty” landed a lucrative marketing partnership with the U.S. Army that is, until the Army got cold feet after Activision Blizzard, the company that publishes the game, was hit with sexual assault and discrimination lawsuits last year. According to Vice’s Motherboard, the plan was for the Army to spend $750,000 sponsoring an Esports tournament – the thinking being that young people who play the game might be game to hear the call of duty from the Army. But joining Activision in the promotion was deemed potentially risky for the Army’s reputation. Make no mistake, these video games are big with the military. Recently, the Space Force won a military-only Call of Duty tournament and then sent their trophy into space. Well, that’s one way to prevent it from gathering dust.
YOUR DUTY IS TO FILL THIS SPACE: With news tips that we can include in the next Earth-based edition of this publication. Send your tips to: TheDeadDrop@theCipherBrief.com
