The Daily Signal reports that “[i]n October, The Heritage Foundation launched the National Independent Panel on Military Service and Readiness in response to what it called ‘all-time low recruitment in 2022,’ announcing that the panel would ‘examine what, if any, impact the progressive social and environmental agenda has had on U.S. military readiness.'”
The panel was made up of numerous defense professionals and national security heavy-hitters, including Lieutenant General H.R. McMaster, U.S. Army (ret.), a West Point grad with a PhD in Military History, who is the Fouad and Michelle Ajami Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University; Rebeccah L. Heinrichs, senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, specializing in U.S. national defense policy with a focus on strategic deterrence, adjunct professor at the Institute of World Politics where she teaches nuclear deterrence theory, and staff member of the Defense and Strategic Studies Program at Missouri State University; Chairman of the Board of Stand Together Against Racism and Radicalism in the Services (STARRS) Lieutenant General Rod Bishop, U.S. Air Force (ret.); and others, including Congressman and panel Chairman Mike Waltz (R-Fla.), the first Green Beret to be elected to Congress, who currently serves as a Colonel in the Florida Army National Guard and is a former White House and Pentagon policy advisor.
That panel filed its final report on March 30, and the results are alarming, to say the least. A downloadable copy of the panel’s 48-page report can be found here.
The same day, at a Heritage military readiness event aptly entitled “Restoring the Military’s Focus on Warfighting,” heralding the panel’s report, Congressman Waltz had this to say:
“Over the last couple of years, we have seen a fundamental shift in our military culture, in the military itself, and in the Defense Department’s priorities. And to underscore that: Bottom line is rather than focusing on military readiness, on warfighting, and preparing our soldiers to hopefully deter the next war, but if necessary, fight and win it, the Defense Department … has drastically shifted off course.”
As specifically regards military recruiting:
“The Army, in particular, is losing divisions’ worth of soldiers that they’re not bringing in, and that trend wasn’t just a one-year COVID-related episode like we’re being told is the case. It’s continuing this year.””That means it will likely continue to the next [year], because these are cumulative effects and if we don’t arrest this downward trend, I believe the volunteer military could become in the coming years at risk. And that would have all kinds of follow-on consequences.”
As regards warfighting readiness by active military forces, Congressman Waltz said this:
“[O]ur military has become hyperfocused, to its detriment in my view, on climate initiatives and on other initiatives such as preferred pronouns and eco-friendly tanks, rather than lethality, rather than putting bullets and bombs on enemy soldiers and making them believe that we have the full capability [and] intent to do so,” Waltz said. “That demonstration of strength is how we keep the peace.”
The report makes the following recommendations to improve recruiting and retention, as well as warfighting readiness:
—Eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) from the Defense Department.—Redirect politicized efforts to combat extremism toward improving readiness.—Establish standards for the Defense Department and the various services based on readiness.—Prioritize security and defense over combating climate change.
Here is a small snippet of Congressman Waltz’s remarks at the “Restoring the Military’s Focus on Warfighting” event:
Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts said in a written statement:
“The world is becoming an increasingly dangerous place, and defense leaders need to remember that at its core the United States armed forces have one mission: to protect our nation from foreign enemies.””While the Biden administration pursues a politicized ‘diversity, equity, and inclusion’ experiment, the National Independent Panel on Military Service and Readiness has focused on recommending actionable steps to solve our government-created military recruitment and readiness crises. Now is the time for patriots to step up and restore our military’s warrior ethos and readiness, not to be distracted by the political agenda of bureaucratic elites.”
DOD did not respond to a request for comment from the Daily Signal, a spokesman saying instead: “I would refer you to recent congressional testimony provided by senior Department of Defense leaders on these topics. We have no additional information or response to provide.”
The report itself is chock full of shocking nuggets. Here are some that I, as a 31-year military veteran, found particularly concerning:
– “DOD’s own Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility Strategic Plan contains a litany of goals related to identity politics rather than warfighting. For example, the list of individual characteristics that must be protected according to the plan include parental or caregiver status; gender identity or sexual identity, to include lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, intersex, asexual, and all others (LGBTQIA+); pregnancy; disability, including people with hidden disabilities and the neurodiverse population; members of religious minorities; persons who live in rural areas; and persons otherwise adversely affected by persistent poverty or inequality.”- “An Air Force Academy slide presentation titled, ‘Diversity & Inclusion: What it is, why we care, & what we can do,’ advises cadets to use gender-neutral language and avoid terms such as mom and dad. Shockingly, it included an admonition to avoid using the term colorblind and instead be ‘color conscious.'”- “The [Air Force A]cademy has also encouraged cadets to apply to the Brooke Owens Fellowship program—a nine-week paid internship for cadets interested in aerospace. The program, however, excludes ‘cisgender men,’ as it is reserved for women and ‘non-binary, agender, bigender, two-spirit, demigender, genderfluid, genderqueer, or another form of gender minority.'”- “The military has promoted ‘Pride’ events on military bases and official Twitter pages. Some bases have featured ‘family friendly’ drag queen performances and story hours at base libraries.”- “Standards to join the military have also been lowered by the modification of military entrance criteria to allow enlistment of transgender individuals suffering from gender dysphoria. At the start of the Biden Administration, the President quickly removed any enlistment restrictions on transgender individuals who suffer from gender dysphoria. Allowing individuals suffering from gender dysphoria—proven to be medically pre-disposed to severe anxiety and who attempt suicide at rates 10 times the general population—to enter service with no regard for consequences was reckless. It may have satisfied a campaign promise but at the expense of reduced military readiness. In a break from centuries of military entrance policy, the Administration also permitted enlistment of these individuals with full knowledge that they may require appropriated funds and extensive paid time off for gender reassignment surgery and hormone therapy.”- “During the humiliating retreat from Afghanistan…the Pentagon was busy developing a climate strategy in response to the President’s guidance to ‘prioritize climate change considerations.'”
There’s lots more. Read the whole thing here.
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