By Doug Truax, USMA ’92
On Veterans Day, we pause from our busy lives to salute the courage of those who fought in the mud of Belleau Wood, the beaches of Normandy, the jungles of Vietnam, and the sands of Fallujah.
These patriots didn’t ask what was in it for them. They asked what they could give. And many gave everything.
Our veterans served out of love for God and country, not political ideology – and certainly not the anti-merit, anti-American kind we’ve grown so used to over the past three decades.
When I graduated from West Point in 1992 and attended Ranger School to begin my active-duty service, I could never have imagined the rot quietly infesting our military’s leadership.
Happily, War Secretary Pete Hegseth has done an outstanding job shining a light on the sinister infiltration of DEI and Critical Race Theory into every branch of the Armed Forces.
What few realize is the infection took root with Bill Clinton, festered under Barack Obama, and metastasized into a national crisis with Joe Biden.
In place of merit, we had Marxist struggle sessions.
West Point cadets sat through lectures on “white rage.”
The Pentagon was more interested in social engineering than combat effectiveness.
None of this is to criticize the many committed soldiers, sailors, Marines, airmen, and guardians who’ve remained true to our country’s founding principles.
They know that under fickle leadership, the military’s culture surrendered its most prized qualities – lethality and morality – becoming too much like a corporate HR department clad in camo.
Fighting readiness declined even as China threatens the world.
Morale tanked.
Nearly every branch routinely missed recruitment quotas, even though test-taking and physical fitness standards dropped to all-time lows.
Veterans – particularly those who fought in Iraq and Afghanistan – looked on with disbelief, asking, “Is this the same military I once served?”
All that changed last November, when the American people handed President Donald Trump a historic mandate to de-woke the country, beginning with the U.S. military.
Under Secretary Hegseth, a bona fide combat veteran, we’re witnessing an unprecedented restoration of the warrior ethos as America rediscovers pride in itself and humility before God.
Hegseth said it best: “To ensure peace, we must prepare for war.”
His plan centers on repairing the dividing line between true warriors and everyone else. We need the men who will go “down range” at a moment’s notice to take charge, because no one else – civilians and warrior support alike – can.
The Trump administration has already canceled the Marxist courses infecting West Point, Annapolis, and the other three service academies.
The next step to de-woking the military is removing the officers responsible for embedding those anti-American policies in the first place.
At the organization I founded, Restore the Military, we’ve identified over 110 officers and War Department employees who must be held accountable for corrupting military integrity. Nearly three dozen have already been fired, resigned, or been held back from promotion – and we’re just getting started.
Next, we must promote the good guys who share our love of God and country, men like Army Gen. Chris Donahue, the “21st-Century Patton.” With them, we’ll cement America First principles into every aspect of the military.
We’ve already submitted letters laying out all the changes that leadership at West Point, the Naval Academy, and the Air Force Academy must make to save their institutions. The oversight boards know we’re watching and following up should they fail to provide genuine oversight.
These efforts have already borne fruit. When the West Point dean tried to hire a leftist who led Joe Biden’s “misinformation” campaign, Army Secretary Dan Driscoll moved swiftly to block the appointment and bar outside groups from selecting academy employees, and he ordered an “immediate top-down review” of West Point’s hiring practices.
We’re also targeting the DEI czars embedded in the War Department and offering bold policies for both Congress and the Trump administration to swiftly act upon. Much of this centers on the National Defense Authorization Act, Congress’ annual blueprint for laying out Pentagon priorities.
As a Christian organization, we’re doing all of this with transparency, fidelity, and an unwavering commitment to righteousness. We know that America’s greatness flows from her goodness. God will not bless a disobedient nation with victory.
This Veterans Day, let us do more than say, “Thank you for your service.” Let us defend that service with truth and boldness.
We must restore the military and make it worthy of the veterans who have served our nation with honor.
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