By US Senator Steve Daines
Social “equity” warriors believe America is infected with systemic racism and social inequity and are working relentlessly to impose their radical, woke agenda on every aspect of society, including the military.
Their use of the Biden administration and Democrats in Congress to enact their agenda through legislative and regulatory action is having dire consequences that are on full display for the entire country to see.
The administration’s disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan cost the lives of 13 of our servicemen and women. The Chinese spy balloon that lingered over Montana’s nuclear missile sites before traversing the rest of the country collected intelligence from some of our most sensitive sites.
In addition, the Army was 25% short of its recruiting goal last year and projections indicate this year will be even worse for all branches.
Public confidence in our armed forces is trending downward, and sexual assault within the ranks is on the rise.
It is particularly disturbing for me to see evidence of the left’s agenda at work at Montana’s own Malmstrom Air Force Base in Great Falls. The 341st Missile Wing at Malmstrom controls 150 ICBMs, the most powerful nuclear weapons known to mankind.
In June 2021 the base hosted — and promoted on official media — a “Drag Story Time” for children followed by a drag show.
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Alarmingly, this was not an isolated event — several other similar events happened on our military bases across the country, including Joint Base Langley-Eustis in Virginia and Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada.
Reaction from Pentagon leadership to these events is alarming.
When asked about the drag show at Malmstrom during a congressional hearing in March, General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said he was unaware of such events occurring and said they “should not be happening.”
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said drag shows are not something that the Department of Defense funds.
Yet in a formal response to my pointed questions, the Pentagon said, “Event spaces on the installation are made available to military-affiliated individuals and installation-recognized private organizations to host events with a variety of themes.”
The response also claimed that “no taxpayer funds were spent to host or facilitate the event.”
It’s very difficult to reconcile the claim that any event held on a U.S. military installation and shared on the base’s official social media channels did not use any taxpayer resources.
It also raises the question of just who is in charge.
Sadly, not even our military academies are immune to the left’s influence as they are encouraging students to study the tenets of critical race theory.
The Air Force Academy is policing the everyday language of cadets, going as far as to discourage the use of “offensive” terms like “mom” and “dad.”
This could partially explain why applications for service academy appointments from my office have decreased every year since President Joe Biden took office.
In addition, at a department-sanctioned “Extremism Stand Down Day,” the Navy distributed training materials to sailors that explicitly state, “conservative,” “religious” views of “marriage, abortion, and LGBTQ rights” are “not considered mainstream.”
These and other misguided actions suggest Pentagon leadership is looking the other way in order to appease the left’s agenda.
In fact, the Pentagon says Austin is concerned about the public’s perception of the armed forces, but he has done nothing to stop the left’s agenda.
It’s past time for Congress to flex its Article 1 power and hold the administration accountable through the power of the purse and when drafting the next National Defense Authorization Act.
In addition, I am introducing legislation to prohibit the funding of “adult cabaret performances” on military bases.
Our country’s original motto, “E Pluribus Unum” or “Out of Many, One,” reflects the extraordinary strength and power of a diverse American people that’s unified in purpose and core values.
But in true irony, radical activists and their allies in the Biden administration seek to stifle viewpoints that run contrary to their own — regardless of the cost.
They seem to define diversity as everybody looking very different, but forced to sing from the same woke hymnal.
Their actions are actually extremely disrespectful toward Americans who volunteer to serve their country.
The government’s top priority is to protect U.S. citizens and provide for our national defense.
Nothing is worth putting our national security on the line, especially not ideological pandering that distracts from core military objectives and keeps some of our finest men and women out of our armed services altogether.
Ultimately, the American people will have their say at the ballot box in 2024.
My hope is that they hold the Biden administration and its enablers in Congress responsible.
The security of our nation depends on it.
Republican Steve Daines represents Montana in the United States Senate. Before being elected to Congress, Daines worked for 28 years in the private sector. Daines serves on the U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations.
See: Biden’s Military: Air Force Base in Montana Holds Drag Show, Drag Storytime for Kids (The Western Journal, 7 JUL 21)
GOP senators move to ban drag shows from military bases: ‘Gross misuse of taxpayer funds (Fox News, 9 MAY 23)
Republican senators on Tuesday introduced legislation that would ban taxpayer-funded drag queen events on military bases, following reports that Malmstrom Air Force Base in Great Falls, Montana hosted a drag queen story hour for children on base in 2021.
The bill, led by Sena. Steve Daines, R-Mont., says that no funds “appropriated or otherwise made available for the Department of Defense and no facilities owned or operated by Department of Defense may be used to host, advertise, or otherwise support an adult cabaret performance.”
The bill defines “adult cabaret” as a performance that features topless dancers, go-go dancers, exotic dances, strippers, or male or female impersonators who provide entertainment that appeals to prurient interest.
“Our military’s mission is clear: to provide the military forces needed to deter and win wars and to protect the security of our country and our allies,” Daines said in a statement.
“Allowing the DOD to become a branch of far-Left helping to promote their radical gender ideology by hosting and promoting drag queen performances is a threat to our national security and gross misuse of taxpayer funds. This must be stopped immediately,” he said.
The bill is co-sponsored by Sens. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., Ted Budd, R -N.C., and Marco Rubio, R-Fla.
Daines also sent a letter Tuesday to DOD Secretary Lloyd Austin for clarity on Austin’s comments in congressional testimony in March that he was unaware the event was happening and claimed that drag shows are not supported or funded by the department.
Daines says Austin later confirmed the event in an April letter, in which he said that the “Department of the Air Force ‘values an inclusive and supportive environment’ because it ‘enables Service members to focus on mission and being part of a high performing team.’” . . . .(read more)
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