Thursday, June 10, 2021

The Problem with a ‘Woke’ Military; Pentagon Defends Diversity and Inclusion Efforts: ‘No Apologies Whatsoever’, and related stories

Specialist Hubert D. Delany III/US Army
The Problem with a ‘Woke’ Military:
A push for progressive policies in the military bureaucracy threatens the unity and meritocracy that make our armed forces effective.
I used to belong to a war-fighting organization, where we were taught a shared set of Army values. We were taught mission accomplishment before all else, enforced by “mission first and people always.” Within the Department of Defense (DoD) Diversity and Inclusion Strategic Plan we are told that “diversity is a strategic imperative — critical to mission readiness and accomplishment.” We are also told, by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, that it must be a priority for the military “to look like America and not only in the ranks, but our leadership should look like America.” On the surface, this sounds okay. But it flips what had long been a soldier’s commitment to the Army and mission: The new priority turns the Army into a social experiment at the cost of mission readiness. The new push within the DoD for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) goes well beyond measures to ensure equal opportunity and instead looks to create preferences that have nothing to do with merit. Our military will suffer if it does not change course.
Believing that the Army should be and has been the best example of a meritocracy in the history of the world has become a forbidden position. The only acceptable position now is full acceptance of all elements of DEI. Examples abound, from the more benign recent recruiting messages depicting cartoon stories — one of an “activist” soldier — all the way to creating a new permanent DEI infrastructure to push policies in line with critical race theory. That I am not allowed to openly hold the position that war-fighting and combat readiness should be the Army’s top priority, while being force-fed a radical DEI agenda, demonstrates the open erosion of mission-first principles within the military.
This is a real and serious change, and politician veterans such as Senator Tom Cotton and Representative Dan Crenshaw are right to be worried about it. The Army used to be a values-based organization focused on mission accomplishment above all else. These values were drilled into every soldier during initial entry training and reinforced at unit level. This was done through two long-standing Army traditions, an inability to spell and the overwhelming need to make everything an acronym. So we settled on LDRSHIP (pronounced “leadership”): loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity, and personal courage. These values were all pitched toward the idea of leaving your past behind, as you had become part of an organization with a larger purpose. Diversity is not our strength; our shared values and singularity of purpose toward mission accomplishment is our strength. In fact, to “fight and win our nation’s wars,” we need conformity toward the mission-first mindset. We were taught that what came before the Army did not matter. All that matters was how you form a team to accomplish a wide range of demanding mission sets. --->READ MORE HERE
AP Photo/Andrew Harnik
Pentagon Defends Diversity and Inclusion Efforts: ‘No Apologies Whatsoever’:
he Pentagon on Tuesday defended the department’s diversity and inclusion efforts rolled out during the Biden administration, characterizing it as a matter of defending the nation.
Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby said during a press briefing Tuesday that what the department is “really focused on” is defending the nation.
“That means putting in place the right resources, the right strategies, the right operational concepts to do that around the world,” he said. “Now, in order to do that, you need good people.” He added:
The secretary has been very clear and fairly unapologetic about the fact that we want to get all the best talent that we can available from the American people. If you meet the standards and you’re qualified to be in the military and you’re willing to raise your hand and serve this country, we want you to be able to do it. And we want you to be able to do it free of hate and fear and discrimination. We owe you that if you’re going to raise your right hand and volunteer to serve your country.
“That’s the very least we can do. And there’s no apologies for that — no apologies whatsoever for wanting to create that kind of a working environment,” he said. --->READ MORE HERE
Follow links below to related stories:

The Woke Purge Is Coming For The Military

Pentagon says diversity training essential in ‘defending the nation’

Crenshaw and Cotton Launch Whistleblower Page to Combat ‘Woke Ideology’ in Military

Woke Takeover of US Military Endangers Us All

Pentagon argues US military's 'woke' diversity programs are essential for 'defending the nation' and recruiting the right people after GOP lawmakers urge whistleblowers to report them

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