DOW • STARRS Authors • Woke Agenda

”What do you want your military to be?”

8 April 2026

By Lt Colonel Robert “Buzz” Patterson, USAF ret
STARRS Board of Advisors

“There are ways in which a ruler can bring misfortune upon his army: by attempting to govern an army in the same way as he administers a kingdom, being ignorant of the conditions which obtain in an army.”
—Sun Tzu

Our nation’s military has a single core mission – to win wars and defend our homeland. And we’ve been developing and honing its proud culture for 250 years. We’re a beacon of strength and unity around the world and one that our allies rely on, in some cases ALL they rely on (see NATO).

But there has been a storm in our military threatening to render the greatest military history has ever known to a playground for every radical cause important to the American left. Regardless of the cost in effectiveness or American lives.

I was privileged to serve our nation as an Air Force pilot for 20 years, seeing service in 70 countries. I’ve commanded on two occasions. Anyone who has ever served can testify to the absolute necessity of trust, loyalty, unity, and cohesion in a military unit.

Steadily over the last 30 years, however, the tried and true foundations have been chipped away by forces who couldn’t care less about America’s lethality nor the prospect of winning wars.

Their goal is political power.

The American military is (or was) the epitome of a meritocracy. You are selected, promoted, and rewarded based on your abilities (or you should be).

The Pentagon, though, has chosen to erode the meritocratic system that has been the backbone of the US military forever. The international shift to identity rather than ability resulted in us promoting people based on factors other than their skills and achievements.

As a former commander, I can personally attest that shift in philosophy not only undermines our merit-based culture but breeds resentment among those who are passed over for less qualified personnel based solely on their demographics.

In my years in uniform, I never witnessed a single racial or gender incident. As for your bedroom, we didn’t ask, we didn’t tell, and we didn’t care. Turns out, nobody cares about your race, ethnicity, or bedroom preferences when bullets are flying.

Another core military requirement that is under attack is the concept of unit cohesion. It’s the glue that binds soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines when in high-stress situations, adversity, or flying bullets.

Democrat initiatives, over the years have done great damage to the essence of that cohesion. DEI introduced divisions among the ranks as soldiers begin to see themselves as a particular identity, a particular cause, a different group, rather than members of a cohesive fighting unit all dedicated to supporting one another through thick and thin.

It’s why we all wear uniforms proudly displaying our service and our unit. The bonds among brothers and sisters are now being fragmented for absolutely no reason other than promoting the progressive agenda, and this only serves to compromise our warfighting abilities.

Then there’s the impact on public trust. The US Armed Forces has long enjoyed the trust and backing of the American people. Not anymore.

Introducing DEI into our military ranks has eroded this cherished trust as the public sees declining readiness, failed recruiting goals, and military “leaders” more focused on social engineering than they are the primary military missions of killing bad guys and breaking their sh*t.

We’re just now recovering under President Trump and Pete Hegseth.

Recent obvious examples of progressives who destroyed this trust are Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and General Mark Milley.

This loss of trust and confidence has real-life implications in cockpits, ships, and armored vehicles around the world as the once-great American military struggles to garner political support at home, respect from rogue nations, and adequately man its ranks.

The result of these progressive and radical changes to our core military mission have been early exits for our most trained and skilled professionals (we call it voting with our feet).

Pilots and special operators were headed for greener, more traditional pastures. Submariners, battalion commander, and space professionals were too. The services were forced to offer huge enlistment bonuses and still couldn’t meet the numbers needed to replace them.

Turns out Americans who are considering serving our nation don’t want to work for idiots like Biden, Schumer, AOC, Austin, and Milley.

Our nation is great because we were founded on good. We were born of moral principles established in our Judeo-Christian ethic.

Today, we face perilous times across the world and at home. Our return to greatness has been due to the leadership of Donald Trump and Pete Hegseth. And just in time!

We’ve survived a collision between radical progressive ideas and the martial world necessary for combat. We have reclaimed the magnitude and awe of the greatest military the world has ever seen.

Yet the persistent drumbeat of progressives and Democrat politicians is only getting louder.

I ask you…”What do you want your military to be?”

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Lt Colonel Robert “Buzz” Patterson, USAF (Ret.) served 20 years as a pilot on active duty in the United States Air Force and saw tours of duty world-wide including combat operations in Grenada, Somalia, Rwanda, Haiti, and Bosnia. From 1996 to 1998, Colonel Patterson was the Senior Military Aide to President Bill Clinton. During that time he was responsible for the President’s Emergency Satchel, otherwise known as the “Nuclear Football,” the black bag with the nation’s nuclear capability that accompanies the president at all times. In addition, Colonel Patterson was operational commander for all military units assigned to the White House, which included Air Force One, Marine One, Camp David, White House Transportation Agency and White House Mess. Among his many military commendations, Patterson received the Defense Superior Service Medal for accomplishments while at the White House and was awarded the Air Force Air Medal for flying fifteen combat support missions into then-besieged Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1994. He retired in 2001 to pursue a career as a commercial airline pilot, writer and conservative speaker, and is the author of two New York Times bestselling books. He is a Distinguished Graduate from the Air Command and Staff College; he has his Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from Virginia Tech University and a Master’s in Business Administration from Webster University in St. Louis, Missouri.  Follow him @BuzzPatterson

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