Statement to DACODAI by Lt. Colonel Allen West, US Army ret, former Member of Congress
Greetings to the members of the Defense Committee on Diversity and Inclusion, I am retired US Army Lieutenant Colonel and former Member of Congress Allen B. West.
I am writing to you as one who comes from a family of men who have served this Country in uniform, all in combat.
The West Family service to this Nation began in World War II with my Dad, US Army Corporal Herman West Sr, who is laid to rest at the Marietta National Cemetery. My older brother, US Marine Lance Corporal Herman West Jr., served in the Vietnam War and was severely wounded at Khe Sanh. I served for 22 years after being commissioned via Army ROTC at the University of Tennessee.
Currently, my nephew is serving and is a Lieutenant Colonel. My Father-in-Law, US Army Master Sergeant (Ret) Ronald Keith Graham served two combat tours in the Vietnam War as an infantryman, and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery. And in four months, my youngest Son-in-Law Jadavion Bernard Durton, will be commissioned as an Army Second Lieutenant from the ROTC program at the University of North Texas.
I say all this as an introduction to understanding how much our family has sacrificed and committed to the uniformed service of our Nation. As well, during my tenure in Congress, I served on the House Armed Services Committee.
I have grave concerns about the ideological lurch of our military away from its merit based focus to a cultural Marxist design focusing on individual victimization.
Our military has been quite diverse since its inception in the year 1775 when the Army, Navy, and Marine Corps were established.
There was diversity of backgrounds but only one focus, the motto of the US Army captures it, “This We’ll Defend”.
The military fought through segregation and integrated long before civilian society, but it was always based upon one’s merit, capability.
This new diversity theme is based upon returning to a different type of segregation, one of pitting those deemed “oppressors” against those deemed “oppressed”…cultural Marxism. You cannot have an effective fighting force if you have a policy of denigrating one group over another.
As well, equity has no place in our military as its definition of equality of outcomes is anathema to our foundational values.
When I attended US Army Jumpmaster school, I had only (5) jumps and was a recent graduate of Airborne School. I had to pass Jumpmaster school in order to be assigned to my first duty station with the 4/325 Airborne Battalion Combat Team (ABCT) in Vicenza Italy.
Yes, I was the only Black soldier in the class, that did not matter, the standard was the standard. I graduated while others with far more jumps did not…that is equality of opportunity, that is “Be All You CAN Be”.
Lastly, inclusion, the US military is a discriminatory organization because we do not measure our P&L statements on paper with numbers. We measure our gains and losses in American lives, the most precious resource of this Republic.
And it is not a right to serve in our military, it is a privilege, one that not all can measure up to, and we MUST never relegate ourselves to the absurd principle of equity, because that does not win on the battlefield.
Not everyone can be a US Navy SEAL, Army Green Beret, Air Force PJ, or US Marine Raider…heck, not everyone is meant to be a Soldier, Sailor, Airman, Marine, or Guardian.
Inclusion comes when you meet the standard, and we do not lower the standard for the sake of inclusion.
My Dad taught me a lesson early on…”Find what the standard is and exceed it”. I never sought out inclusion due to external characteristics. I fought to be included because of the content of my character.
Hopefully you will consider these words as you meet, and ponder as to why our military is not meeting recruiting and retention goals.
Young Americans want to be a cut above, and not be part of a military that is just like the same cancerous rot they see in our society.
If you have any questions about my statement feel free to contact me.
Steadfast and Loyal, Duty First, Airborne!
Lieutenant Colonel Allen B. West (US Army, Retired)
1982-2004 Member, 112th US Congress (2011-2013)
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