Some staff members at a local Department of Veterans Affairs office in Georgia announced that they were troubled after one staffer put up poster on his door that featured the image of Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis with the slogan “Make Killing Great Again.” One Employee at the department in Dekalb County told a local news reporter that she was “truly afraid” by the presence of the poster.
The image on the door was a print-out of a poster made by the Facebook page Awesome Sh*t My Drill Sergeant Says that produces a line of military-themed merchandise called ASMDSS Gear.
The poster created by ASMDSS Gear.
American Military News spoke to Dan Caddy, the founder of Awesome Sh*t My Drill Sergeant Said, who said he finds the situation both funny and sad.
“I find it simultaneously both hilarious and extremely sad that staff at an organization solely dedicated to serving veterans cannot see obvious veteran humor for what it is,” Caddy told American Military News. “This is not ‘hate speech,’ it is humor. Those tasked with closing with and engaging the enemy naturally have a darker sense of humor than most and find ways to make light of otherwise depressing situations. I guarantee you that any combat veteran that saw this poster on that employee’s door thought to himself: ‘This guy gets us. I want to talk to HIM’.”
“I’m afraid. I’m truly afraid,” a staffer at the V.A. who wished to remain anonymous told Channel 2 Investigative reporter Aaron Diamant.
“I thought that he would come in there any day and at any time and start shooting the office up,” the employee continued, adding that she believed that she believes the one that put up the poster should receive a mental evaluation.
The woman alerted her union about the matter and the poster was subsequently taken down.
“You need to be sending him to a fitness of duty to see what his mindset is,” she said. “Something needs to be done.”
She also added that if he was a person of color, she believes he would have been taken out of the building in handcuffs.
“I really feel like if was black or if was from Middle East, they would have took him out of the building in handcuffs,” she said.
Dan Caddy argued that while some employees were bothered by the poster at the V.A. and found the language threatening, “Make Killing Great Again” is actually a positive message that brings hope to those that have served.
“The perception of the rank and file has been that previous Secretaries of Defense have focused more on politics and social issues as opposed to focusing on being a highly trained and lethal force of rough men and women,” Caddy told American Military News. “When it was announced that Chaos Actual himself was being appointed as Secretary of Defense, the troops went wild. ‘Make Killing Great Again’ may sound off-putting to some, but to most it sums up the hope of a return to a focus on lethality and killing the enemies of the United States.”
V.A. whistleblower Scott Davis told Channel 2 that the employee responsible putting up the poster is still employed at the facility.
“No action was taken by any management official until I notified them the day after they were already notified by VA employees,” Davis said.
“The appropriate action for VA is to at least put the employee on administrative leave until an investigation is completed,” he added.
With the employee who posted the poster still being employed, the unnamed coworker says she is upset that nothing more has been done.
“To be told if you see something say something and you say something and nothing happens, and he’s still allowed to come in the building and put all our lives at risk, then I have a problem with that,” she said.
[revad2]
