Chapotraphouse

Salting the military is a legit strategy that's occasionally useful. It was done during the Korean (or Vietnam?) war iirc.

I'm doubtful it would be useful right now but at some point if the downward slope of the US intersects with the upward slope of leftist organizing, it may be. Especially if a draft is reinstated.

A communist party cannot seize power without some sort of military strength. In order to grow military strength, there has to be some mechanism by which its structure is produced and reproduced. You need logistics and production that can contend with the state in some way. Coopting a national military kills two birds with one stone.

Decolonial contexts have historically proven to be the strongest due to the common interest of national liberation. But within the imperial core the military is fundamentally reactionary, so salting probably couldn't accomplish much other than sabotage.

Without the national military, then, we're left with paramilitary/guerrilla, which is impractical in the US, or coopting/forming some other organization, perhaps local police or private security. The silver lining of the fact that there are hundreds upon hundreds of military/quasi-military entities that exist in the US (on every level-- national, state, city, and private) is that there are a lot more places to find weaknesses.

Of course, this all requires a well-organized party.