By Tracey Meck, Colonel, USAF (Ret),
USAFA ’87
Newsletter Editor and Chief
Recently the senior enlisted leaders from each military service testified to the House Military Personnel Subcommittee that implementing Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Critical Race Theory and other neo-Marxist ideologies are not having an impact on military readiness or retention.
Rather, they cited other factors, such as lack of interest, a small percentage of the population eligible to meet accession standards, and low employment rates as contributing to the current struggles.
On 23 March, the subcommittee held another hearing on DEI and its effects on recruiting and retention. The Ranking Member indicated support for DEI was bipartisan and stated the hearing was about how the DEI effort benefitted the DoD.
USD Gilbert Cisneros stated DEI efforts are about supporting military people and are essential to unit cohesion and trust. He stated that the department is not immune from bias, so DEI is a priority.
Mrs. Agnes Schaefer, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Manpower & Reserve Affairs, stated that quality of life includes the “prevention of harmful behaviors” and that the Army needs to create a culture “that enables people to thrive and want to expand their careers in the Army.”
Apparently DoD leaders who have testified during these hearings have not been listening to the service members they serve.
STARRS has collected 36 pages of quotes from service members, veterans and parents regarding the negative impact this ideology is having on moral, cohesiveness, recruiting, retention and readiness. The assembled product can be found on the STARRS website.
Other examples have been published in the Boots On The Ground Perspectives section of previous newsletters.
Here’s a handful of examples that give you an understanding on how service members and veterans actually feel about CRT and the DEI focus:
From a minority USAFA cadet: ”I see so many bright young cadets here who know what is going on is wrong, but at the same time are too scared to speak up. The fear we feel, not being able to address our concerns, only makes the lack of courage issue worse. However, I have a lot of hope that Cadets will start to speak up.”
STARRS obtained a copy of a course critique for “Foundations for Personal Leadership” written by a USAFA cadet. In the critique the cadet complained the course was politicized and that the instructor’s (a military officer) political views were blatant throughout. One day the officer was angry about something in the news and stated he could not believe there were still people with a certain political view. The cadet acknowledged that it is important to understand known and unknown biases, but felt it was not appropriate for the instructor to tell him he “undoubtedly had certain biases.” He said the words “leaders” and “leadership” were used about 10 times during the course. Instead of emphasizing integrity and other tried and true leadership traits, they were taught the most important thing for a leader is to be experts in race, gender and other personal characteristics. The cadet stated the classmates he had talked to felt the same.
The parent of a USAFA upperclass cadet told STARRS the cadet was counseled “by her cadet supervisor for using the expression “Asian squat” during a training session. I should say this is an expression commonly used by her Hula instructor and in fitness videos on social media for people who squat in more of a relaxed position instead of exhausting the upper legs. But one freshman went all the way to the squadron commander to complain instead of dealing with the perceived inappropriate expression at the lowest level. Maybe the expression is insensitive, but I do fear for how thin skinned the cadets have become. Tattling on cadets to superiors on misspeak is a dangerous thing.”
USMA cadets have a nickname for their American History class. They call it their “I hate America class.”
“I don’t know a single person that got out in the last 15 years that recommends joining right now.”
“I was a U.S. Marine, and I can tell you that a lot of guys decided not to re-enlist because of this woke foolishness.”
“My kid came out after six years, finished up his engineering degree, and told anyone who would listen to never enlist.”
A veteran of 25 years now working as Army civilian: “This army is way more concerned with social issues and equity than warfighting. Discipline is lax and I sometimes think the commanders from company to brigade are concerned about not doing anything to get relieved, much more than training for war.”
“It’s no longer the apolitical military the American people can count on. I’m done when I hit my retirement a year from now.”
According to STARRS President Ron Scott, Congress will need to address these developments in light of the Administration’s February Executive Order that established “equity teams” across the federal government, reporting to the White House Domestic Policy Advisor.
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This article is from the April 2023 STARRS SITREP Newsletter
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