Joan Esposito is joined by Army Maj. Gen. Randy Manner (Ret.), former acting vice chair of the National Guard Bureau, and member of National Security Leaders for America (NSL4A). Manner offered his assessment of U.S. military readiness, civilian leadership, and the war with Iran.

Here is a summary of the conversation:
- Manner said Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth will eventually become the fall guy for military problems, though not imminently.
- He described munitions as significantly depleted and criticized the administration's decision to dismantling a 600-soldier drone battalion while moving an armored corps headquarters from Europe to North America.
- He attributed these decisions to political and financial influence.
- Manner criticized recent firings of Stars and Stripes editorial staff and CENTCOM civilian-casualty investigators
- He said the administration’s actions could lead to international war-crimes indictments and urged listeners to vote.
- Manner also addressed rust and maintenance conditions on the USS Abraham Lincoln, U.S. relations with NATO, South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan.

Catch "Joan Esposito: Live, Local and Progressive" weekdays from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. Central on WCPT (heartlandsignal.com/programs/live-local-progressive).

Follow us:

Website: https://heartlandsignal.com

WCPT Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WCPT820

Heartland Signal Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HeartlandSignal

Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@heartlandsignal 

Heartland Signal X: https://x.com/HeartlandSignal

WCPT 820 X: https://x.com/WCPT820

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heartlandsignal

Threads: threads.com/@heartlandsignal

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heartlandsignal