STARRS Vice Chairman MG Joe Arbuckle has been in contact with an active-duty Army field grade officer who has provided the below insights based on his experience and opinions.
—Morale at the lower levels is overall positive, but pride in the uniform and in the greater Army is weak due to the “woke culture” being propagated at the top levels.
—Readiness has declined; the view from troops is senior leaders are “going for a 5th star” or getting positioned for a high paying job after retirement so they support wokeness.
—Too much time/attention on DEI and sex orientation; warfighting emphasis is lowered.
—Biggest problem with DEI is not the actual time dedicated to mandatory classes, etc.; the problem is the 2d and 3d order effects it has on attitudes, morale, distrust in the ranks—example: some minorities are not sure if they got promoted/selected due to race or merit, and some whites have the same doubts about minority selections, etc.
—Standards have been going down for years. In 2013 the first females introduced into combat arms often did not volunteer. At West Point this “forced branching” is still practiced to this day and most females inducted into combat arms at graduation happens regardless of their branch preferences. Some women are considering not to stay in past the first two years at the Academy to avoid the disenfranchisement they have witnessed amongst their contemporaries.
—There is a problem with new soldiers breaking hips and other fractures during routine training. Even with lower PT/physical standards it is happening due to poor bone density. Many/most are not active physically at a young age before coming into the Army so their bones have not developed resulting in being injured easily.
—Gen (R) Milley as a Field Grade and early General was good. But he changed and is not the same guy as a 4-star.
—Double standards have existed at W. Point, e.g., minorities treated different than whites with discipline; woke culture influences.
—Commanders had to give troops a mandatory ppt briefing on “Violent Extremist Organizations” which highlighted “white extremist” males.
—Mandatory sex orientation and gender dysphoria ppt briefings had to be given to units.
—He is aware of an investigation concerning the death of a Soldier who had been vax’d a few days prior. The investigating officer received significant kickback from all Army doctors when he asked if the death was vax related; the death was not reported in VAERS, hospital commander and staff refused to report it. 6 months later the autopsy said the soldier died due to vax.
—He witnessed a speech from BG Ty Seidule’s and felt embarrassed. His speech was full of woke culture that errored on the side of being anti-Caucasian and anti-male. His philosophy builds up one group by tearing down another.
These findings match what we’ve found in our now 113-page document of comments from military service members, veterans and families showing why the military’s CRT/DEI/Woke agenda push is hurting recruitment and retention.
STARRS Board of Advisors Scott Sturman, USAFA ’72 commented:
Rufo posted an article about the preeminence of culture in establishing the mores and motivations of society.
With this in mind, American culture before the Left’s ascendance that began in the 1960s was conducive to sacrifice, service, and insistence on the moral high ground. It was a perfect environment to prepare youth for service in the armed forces, and the results speak for themselves.
Nowadays, the armed forces selects from an application pool where these essential traits are far less common. The breeding grounds for these character traits, church, Boy Scouts, and a public education system steeped in civics and American exceptionalism have been torn asunder.
Poor physical fitness, emotional lability, and a propensity to lay blame on others do not provide a solid foundation for those who are sworn to protect and defend the Constitution.
It’s encouraging that young soldiers respond to quality leadership despite the Army doing all that it can to minimize its importance.
There’s a warning here. Historically, when military organizations become corrupt, soldiers gravitate to charismatic leaders whose lust for power leads to contempt for civilian rule and domestic unrest.
Gen. Arbuckle’s comment:
All your points are validated by the fact that only ~23% of the eligible population ages 17-24 can qualify to meet the minimum standards to enlist and of that 23%, only ~9% show an interest in signing up. (less than 1% of the U.S. population now serve in the military) The culture you mentioned Scott has indeed changed.
This means it is critical to keep the family tradition of joining the military alive. The Heritage Panel study Rod was on reported 79% of those serving had a connection with some family member who had served in the military.
But due to politicization of the military (woke), 68% of those serving said they have reservations about recommending any family member join.
Add to that the SECARMY said about 2 months ago she was concerned the Army was becoming a “caste” system due to family connections! Her solution is to change the recruiting target away from family connections and focus more on other demographics (imagine that means minorities for DEI purposes).
I read this as an attempt to move away from the traditional patriotic white male family connections. Exactly the wrong thing to do—no surprise.
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