Why is Dana Perino on RallyPoint?

CW3 Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 07 May 2015 13:37:41 -0400

I just saw that Dana Perino, White House Press Secretary under the 2nd President Bush, is now on RallyPoint. Why? She has never served, and the open-ended question format is for other avenues. This was sold to me as a military site, and it just seems wrong. I'm also tagging an admin in the hopes of admin response.

Response by PV2 Private RallyPoint Member made May 7 at 2015 1:43 PM

PV2 Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 07 May 2015 13:43:57 -0400

Offically as an admin I'm not equipped to give an answer, but I wondered the same thing myself CW3 Private RallyPoint Member She's never served so what's the objective?

Response by Nick Petros made May 7 at 2015 2:05 PM

Nick Petros — Thu, 07 May 2015 14:05:04 -0400

RallyPoint is and will remain exclusive to those who served. Part of our mission is to connect service members and veterans with those who have and can influence their lives. This could mean other service members, veterans, employers, educational institutions, government organizations, and many more. Dana Perino was in the White House while many of our members were over seas. She is as close to our former commander and chief (someone who influenced all of our lives) as we could get for our first question and answer session. There will be more. The next has an impressive military background. I hope members get the chance to take advantage of these opportunities to speak with people who would be inaccessible otherwise.

Response by Capt Richard I P. made May 7 at 2015 2:45 PM

Capt Richard I P. — Thu, 07 May 2015 14:45:54 -0400

I get the question, and the intent behind it. I myself was a little concerned by some of the security implications of this under this location: https://www.rallypoint.com/answers/what-is-your-opinion-on-civilians-on-rallypoint

I will also point out that I can provide one anecdote of a benefit beyond the obvious to this live Q&A. A Major that I respect just today said he saw the announcement of Dana Perrino's Q&A on RP in an add on FB and it convinced him to join RP. He has yet to verify, but if the intent is to raise the profile of the platform, this is one specific instance of it working.

So Nick Petros and Kanika Misra and LTC Yinon Weiss among the rest of the RallyPoint team may be glad to hear that.

What is your opinion on Civilians on RallyPoint? | RallyPoint

What is your opinion on Civilians on Rally Point that have no military affiliation? I noticed today, a few civilians that had commented on a post were civilians. Now if their input contributes to the conversation it can be pertinent but do civilians understand or have the applicable experience to intelligently add to the conversations without military experience? Will this lead to an overrun by military spouses? I'm even seeing civilians now...

Response by PO3 Michael James made May 7 at 2015 9:55 PM

PO3 Michael James — Thu, 07 May 2015 21:55:38 -0400

Gee you think that she will have a better idea of the suffering, the neglect, the abuse that the VA shows to many of its Veterans.. and maybe she will go back to Washington and light a match under the bottoms of our elected officials and get them to fulfill the promises made to our military ?? Just maybe cut into the pay and the benefits of Congress, and Support those of us who have EARNED IT !!!

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made May 8 at 2015 4:04 AM

MAJ Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 08 May 2015 04:04:48 -0400

CW3 Private RallyPoint Member I had the same exact reaction--but then I looked and RallyPoint has something like 20,000 civilian members who have never served in the military but are in some civilian capacity related to the military. This also confused me, and doesn't really answer why Dana Perino is here. I think RP made a mistake on this one.

Response by CW5 Private RallyPoint Member made May 8 at 2015 6:36 AM

CW5 Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 08 May 2015 06:36:05 -0400

The RallyPoint staff answered this question, so that is that. And MAJ Private RallyPoint Member noted that there are many civilians on RallyPoint. The Civilian Supporter group has over 9,000 members. Most are not verified. In fact, the verified civilian (who can see everything other verified members can see) is the exception. Even Dana Perino is not verified. Note the gray "C" in her profile.

Since my wife is one of the many civilians on this site - also not verified, but she is, indeed, a civilian supporter - I'm not complaining about that policy. I'm glad it's in place.

And my "vote" on bringing on Dana Perino is a big thumbs up. I like the idea. Kudos to the RP staff for making this happen!

Response by CPL Jay Freeman made May 8 at 2015 9:11 AM

CPL Jay Freeman — Fri, 08 May 2015 09:11:00 -0400

I'm ok with civilians reading and making polite comments and see how what they are doing is or is not messing up our military one subject that I have issue with is the ability to be able to pray in formation or even in uniform I think to each there own. Our commander had us in formation and at the end he said if you choose not to pray you may fall out of formation the rest may stay we had a few guys leave that was fine the chaplain asked us to prepare to pray in our customary manner and the proceeded to pray and that was that no big issue and not one person was offended

Response by CPT Ahmed Faried made May 8 at 2015 9:31 AM

CPT Ahmed Faried — Fri, 08 May 2015 09:31:13 -0400

Here is my take on that. If Robert Gibbs would be afforded the same opportunity and shown the same level of respect Mrs. Perino received then I have no issue with her not being military. What i think is this, the admins would see no issue in having a former Press Secretary under a Democratic President, but the questions he would receive would be vitriolic and it'd turn into a chance for much of the audience here to attack the President by proxy, much unlike what was experienced by Dana Perino even among people that disagreed with her former boss. I don't think, however that she necessarily has to be military or former military to be allowed on here. She has access to important people, perhaps she might be able to browse this forum and mention some of our grievances to those who wield some power.

Response by SFC Christopher Perry made May 8 at 2015 11:11 AM

SFC Christopher Perry — Fri, 08 May 2015 11:11:31 -0400

I have mixed feelings on this one. I don't want your standard run of the mill covilian on here. However, a past or present member of an administration who simply cares enough about service members to continue an open dialog might make for a pretty good exception to this rule. Just my two cents, take it for exactly what it is worth.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made May 8 at 2015 12:22 PM

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 08 May 2015 12:22:39 -0400

I'm sorry, but I do see some that might just be hating because she is a Fox News Rep.
Just being honest here. There's other things that we could all focus on instead of this drama. Because that's all it really is.

Response by SGT Jeremiah B. made May 8 at 2015 2:20 PM

SGT Jeremiah B. — Fri, 08 May 2015 14:20:22 -0400

I have absolutely no problem with civilians in relevant positions being invited to this kind of event. If it adds value, it should be a go. From what I've seen, most members really enjoyed it so I would be totally open to similar events in the future.

That said, anyone surprised that a former press secretary favored softball questions and avoided hard ones needs to watch more press conferences. haha

Response by Capt Jeff S. made May 8 at 2015 3:46 PM

Capt Jeff S. — Fri, 08 May 2015 15:46:56 -0400

Dana Perino served as the Commander-in-Chief's Press Secretary. She is as qualified to speak on military issues as any GS employee on this site. She was sought out by the RP staff and asked to participate in the discussion AND if you read her answers, she has a lot of unique experience and good advice to share with the RP community.

Response by Nick Petros made May 8 at 2015 6:00 PM

Nick Petros — Fri, 08 May 2015 18:00:02 -0400

If you are interested in participating in a more military focused Q and A, we are currently planning to feature General McChrystal late next Tuesday afternoon. His Q and A session will be set up on Monday morning for you to make sure your questions are present if you are unable to attend the live event. More details to come!

Response by SGT Joe Sabedra made May 8 at 2015 7:24 PM

SGT Joe Sabedra — Fri, 08 May 2015 19:24:03 -0400

It's a non issue to me.
I don't care what civilians think of me.
That she is on a conservative military supporting venue is good.

I am here at the Grace of RP.

I will leave the decisions to Command and just do my normal stuff.

Response by SPC Nate Lamphier made May 8 at 2015 11:48 PM

SPC Nate Lamphier — Fri, 08 May 2015 23:48:45 -0400

I really don't have anything to add to all the bickering here.....BUT......I did bring beer!

Response by COL Charles Williams made May 9 at 2015 12:09 AM

COL Charles Williams — Sat, 09 May 2015 00:09:02 -0400

Good question CW3 Private RallyPoint Member . I thought this was a closed site? But, it appears Nick Petros explained this pretty clearly.

Response by CW3 Private RallyPoint Member made May 11 at 2015 4:32 PM

CW3 Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 11 May 2015 16:32:14 -0400

And now General McChrystal is here. He's retired, so technically a civilian. He's also highly conservative. Am I objecting to his presence? HELL NO! Why? Because he served. He's one of us. Politics is irrelevant to the point of my original discussion. Call me a liar all you want, it doesn't make it true, it just makes you someone who's looking to start shit for no good reason.

And anyone that has an issue with that is cordially invited to PM me for the phone number of MAJ Willie McCallister so you can call him to complain about me. Who's that? Oh, just my commanding officer.

*drops mic, exits, stage left*

Response by CPL P Scott made May 11 at 2015 7:52 PM

CPL P Scott — Mon, 11 May 2015 19:52:49 -0400

If you take the time to listen to the interview and keep in mind that she is an avid supporter of our military AND served under a wartime commander in chief, then I'd say she gets a pass...

Response by TSgt Scott C. Brammer made Jan 3 at 2016 6:32 AM

TSgt Scott C. Brammer — Sun, 03 Jan 2016 06:32:59 -0500

I have often wondered why any of these "Civilian Supporter" type people are on Rallypoint. When a servicemember first joins the site they make such a "big deal" about getting verified after so much time and if you don't do it you just get cut off of the site completely with no access at all until you do get verified. I wonder how any of these "civilian supporter" and "potential recruit" types get on with no verification? As far as Dana Perino goes, I'd be willing to give her a pass. Dana, along with Fox News, does a lot for veterans with their Wounded Warrior Project.

Response by A1C Tom Cosner made Jan 8 at 2016 4:50 PM

A1C Tom Cosner — Fri, 08 Jan 2016 16:50:48 -0500

Although Ms. Perino is currently an on air personality on Fox News, she served as President George W. Bush's Press Secretary from September 2007 to January 2009.

Response by SCPO Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 12 at 2016 11:45 AM

SCPO Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 12 Jan 2016 11:45:00 -0500

Though I greatly admire Dana and her former boss, I'll try to make my reply as unbiased as I can. It was Dana who mentioned RallyPoint on The Five, or I probably would never have learned of its existence, otherwise. That said, in my eight months or so of membership and interactions on a variety of discussion posts, I have witnessed an incredibly vast array of certifiable idiots on this site. And they belong to our military!!! Members have complained on this specific discussion post that this site should be solely for those whom have served in the military. Yes, I tend to agree. But there are numerous "outsiders" who can bring a wealth of insightful offerings to the discussion table. Dana is one such person. She has seen more, heard more, and participated in more "Oval Office" (then) classified briefings on the military we all served in than all of us combined. And, she, like her boss, LOVES the military, and promotes it at every opportunity on her TV show.

Response by SFC George Smith made Nov 26 at 2016 11:58 PM

SFC George Smith — Sat, 26 Nov 2016 23:58:28 -0500

passing on information and answering Questions... Providing Insight to whats going on ...