2023 Marine Corps Scholars Program to Study…..Gender and National Security

2023 Marine Corps Scholars Program to Study…..Gender and National Security

We have been covering the infiltration of gender and transgender issues in the military for some time now. See:

• Pentagon Burdens Warfighting Commanders with New Transgender Policies for Military Personnel
• Space Force Three-Star General Sacrifices National Security on Transgender Altar

And, of course, there was this bit a hilarity: Air Force Academy Superintendent Stumped on Transgender Labels – “I’m not really sure”

Now, come to find out, this year’s U.S. Marine Corps “Reynolds Scholars,” who held their first meeting earlier this week, will be participating in “a yearlong exploration of gender and security”:

Yesterday we were able to host the 1st meeting of the AY24 Reynolds Scholars. This is one of two rooms. The program is a yearlong exploration of gender and security named after LtGen Lori Reynolds, USMC (Ret). #USMC #TeamKrulak #WPS pic.twitter.com/TNKKIDwQSQ

— The Krulak Center (@TheKrulakCenter) August 29, 2023

The Marine Corps’ “Brute Krulak Center for Innovation and Future Warfare,” in classic Pentagon 1984-speak, “enables an interdisciplinary approach to complex problem solving, fosters an environment that enhances our collective warfighting capability, and facilitates and encourages novel solutions to current and future warfighting challenges in order to expand the Corps’ competitive edge and improve our warfighting effectiveness.”

We’ll get to the gender issue in a minute, but first, who is this Krulak person? Well, now-deceased Marine Corps Lieutenant General Victor H. “Brute” Krulak was, in short, a war hero:

Victor Harold Krulak was born in Denver, Colorado, 7 January 1913, and was commissioned a Marine second lieutenant upon graduation from the U.S. Naval Academy, 31 May 1934.

Major Krulak moved with the staff of the Amphibious Corps to San Diego in September 1942 and continued as Aide to the Commanding General and as Assistant G-4 until January 1943, when he volunteered for parachute training. He completed training and was designated a parachutist on 15 February 1943. The following month he sailed for the Pacific area and at New Caledonia took command of the 2d Parachute Battalion, 1st Marine Amphibious Corps. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel in April 1943, and went into action that September at Vella, Lavella with the Second New Zealand Brigade.

That October, Lieutenant Colonel Krulak commanded the diversionary landing on Choiseul to cover the Bougainville invasion, during which action he earned the Navy Cross for extraordinary heroism and the Purple Heart for wounds received in combat.

[Next], Lieutenant Colonel Krulak joined the newly-formed 6th Marine Division as Assistant Chief of Staff, G-3 (Operations). For outstanding service in the planning and execution of the Okinawa campaign, he was awarded the Legion of Merit with Combat “V.” He also received the Bronze Star Medal at the war’s end for his part in negotiating the surrender of Japanese forces in the Tsingtao, China area.

Ordered to Pearl Harbor in June 1950, Colonel Krulak was serving as Assistant Chief of Staff, G-3, Fleet Marine Force, Pacific, when the Korean conflict began. In the ensuing year, his duties took him many times to the battlefront, and during the latter half of 1951, he remained in Korea as Chief of Staff of the 1st Marine Division. He earned a second Legion of Merit with Combat “V” in that capacity, and was awarded the Air Medal for reconnaissance and other flights in Korea between August 1950 and July 1951.

General Krulak assumed command of Fleet Marine Force, Pacific, with the rank of lieutenant general, at Camp H.M. Smith, Hawaii, 1 March 1964, and served in this capacity until he retired from active duty 31 May 1968.

General Krulak passed away at Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla, California, on 29 December 2008 at the age of 95. He was buried at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery in San Diego, California.

So it is fitting that the Marine Corps would name an educational center for Marines in honor of Krulak, who got the name “brute,” despite his small stature, as a wrestler while at the Naval Academy.

The Krulak Center’s mission is a bit murky, but, as a part of the “Marine Corps University,” it seems to be an educational center that holds Marine Corps war games and training sessions, sort of like the Navy’s Naval War College, which I had the pleasure of attending for over a year and where I studied military history, joint military operations, and the future of warfare.

And the Krulak Center’s “Reynolds Scholars are a group of dedicated MCU faculty and students who wish to conduct a year-long exploration of gender and security issues relevant to the armed services. Named after Lieutenant General, USMC (ret.), Lori Reynolds, a primary objective of this program is to advance the Women, Peace & Security (WPS) effort.”

Lieutenant General Lori Reynolds, for her part, is now-retired 1986 graduate of the Naval Academy who became the third female Marine three-star general, and who formerly commanded the Marine Corps Recruit Depot at Parris Island and commanded Marines in Iraq and Afghanistan.

So, no problem so far from my perspective except for the emphasis on “gender and security issues,” which is a major red flag. But what exactly is this “Women, Peace & Security (WPS) effort”? Well, “WPS is the first official international acknowledgement that women account for the majority of individuals adversely affected by today’s armed conflicts, and it affirms the critical role women play in the prevention and resolution of conflicts and in peace-building (UN Security Council, 2000). Within the United States (US) Department of Defense (DOD), WPS [a] advocates for the recognition of diverse perspectives that increase military effectiveness, and [b] supports the empowerment of half the world’s population as equal partners in preventing and managing conflict.”

Good lord…”diverse perspectives that increase military effectiveness”? “women account for the majority of individuals adversely affected by today’s armed conflicts”?

And, let’s dive into some of the Reynolds Scholars’ program “themes,” including:

2. Gendering War
What is gender, and how is it different from biological sex? How are war narratives constructed through gendered discourse? How can we imagine non-violent masculinities and the role they might play in conflict?

3. Gender Integration and Citizenship
How does WPS contribute to increased military effectiveness? How do operations on the ground change when gender is a consideration? What effect (if any) does gender have on readiness? What are the broader implications on society, politics and the concept of service for gender integration?

There’s more, but you get the picture. So did a former Marine who viewed the Krulak Center’s tweet about the Reynolds Scholars program:

Brute would not approve

— ShawnMarine #Veterans#Marines#MAGA (@ShawnmarineFb) August 29, 2023

This predictably led to the Krulak Center asking for clarification and said clarification being provided:

Woke BS

— ShawnMarine #Veterans#Marines#MAGA (@ShawnmarineFb) August 30, 2023

This sent whoever was publishing the tweets for the Krulak Center into a tizzy, who published a now-deleted tweet basically disparaging old-school Marines and calling it “your” Marine Corps, which caused another fun comeback by the former Marine:

THE Corps.

— ShawnMarine #Veterans#Marines#MAGA (@ShawnmarineFb) August 31, 2023

That did it for Krulak Center tweeter person, who published a now-deleted unhinged rant. Unfortunately (lesson learned) I didn’t archive the tweets because it didn’t occur to me that there was actually a mature person in charge who was horrified by the tweets and would order their takedown.

But, fortunately, Breitbart news captured the verbiage from the 3-part rant-fest:

If you agree with this person, then I have a request. Please just unlike, unsubscribe, and unfollow. Attitudes like this are part of the problem and have zero place in today’s Marine Corps. They had no place in the Corps of the past either, but there wasn’t a safe place to say such things back then.

We are better for the Marines that we have today. We will be even better in the future for each person we have, that has earned the title of Marine, regardless of their age, color, gender, race, religion, or national origin.

Don’t agree? Go be a clown somewhere else. You stain your legacy as a Marine, you discredit the Marines of today who work hard to answer the Nation’s call, and it is not keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Marine Corps and the United States Naval Service.

The responses to this crazed rant were mostly awesome:

Considering the American "Diversity is our strength" military was just humiliated by the "Toxic Masculinity" Taliban army, I wouldn't be bragging about how great DEI is about now.

— Bolt Vanderhuge (@GenghisKhet) August 31, 2023

I would rather die than my sons join you.

— Vanessa (@Dilectus_Dei) August 31, 2023

How is the LGBTQIALMNOPLGHDTV4K gonna help you win wars?

— Javi (@javisaidathing) August 31, 2023

Are the ChiComs/PLA studying gender or are they busy preparing to break things and kill people?

— Jay (@jayhup) August 31, 2023

Shit like this is why I don't recommend the military to young men anymore. It used to be a noble and honest way to start your adult life, now it's just bullshit puppet play for virtue signaling and social justice fuckery.

— Shhhhh Tyrant (@Come_Get_Quiet) August 31, 2023

Lastly, a fittingly sarcastic tweet from Army Colonel (Ret.) Kurt Schlichter, who wrote the amazing People’s Republic, a post-red/blue breakup story of America, where a former Army special forces guy has to penetrate deep into blue territory to recover a high-value person of interest, definitely worth a read:

This is one of those times that I just feel like I should observe that we haven’t unequivocally won a war in 30 years.

But now that we’re focusing on gender identity issues, that will all change. https://t.co/sGXpFFYhwP

— Kurt Schlichter (@KurtSchlichter) August 31, 2023

And, somehow, Congressional Representative Chip Roy (R-TX) got wind of the “gender and security” program and has promised to cancel funding for it. From Breitbart News:

Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) introduced a bill on Thursday that would defund a center at the Marine Corps University after it announced on social media it was hosting a “yearlong exploration of gender and security” as part of a program named after a female Marine general, Breitbart News has learned exclusively.

Representative Roy said this to Breitbart News:

Putting aside the fact that a federally funded military education program is outright calling for censorship of free discussion, this type of thing is exactly what is rotting our military from the inside.

Our military should be focused on killing people and blowing stuff up – not wasting time discussing ‘non-violent masculinities’ and other gender theory garbage.

I am working on legislation to defund this program, but we shouldn’t stop there. Congressional Republicans have no business passing a defense authorization or funding bill that doesn’t end every single instance of woke propaganda like this.

Roy also said that “he would introduce his bill to defund the Reynolds Scholar Program as an amendment to the House’s Department of Defense appropriations bill.”

Godspeed Congressman Roy.

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