GET WOKE, GO BROKE
The United States Military is in real peril, which means we as a country are in peril. I do not make that statement flippantly or provocatively. When our Military gets Woke, our Country will go broke. I joined the Army in 1988, and for almost 25 years, I lived as a Warrior/Soldier and leader of men. After four combat tours and over a dozen deployments, you could say, “I have skin in the game.” Service to my Country and Army is very personal for me and my family.
What do we mean by the saying “get woke, go broke”, here are a few examples. Bud Light lost more than $5 billion of Anheuser-Busch’s market value after their condescending sponsorship of trans-influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
Nike (already reeling from the blowback after sponsoring the race-baiter Colin Kaepernick) received more criticism and calls to boycott for hiring a trans man to model women’s bras.
Target, Disney, and even ESPN have felt the monetary wrath of the anti-woke majority of U.S. citizens, who chose not to follow the WOKE. I.N.C. down their rabbit hole. Now the woke have set their sights on our Nation’s Military, and the effects are devastating.
In this week’s newsletter, we will look at the postmodern woke agenda and the negative effect of the new D.E.I. programs on our warfighters, our military, and our country. We will suggest what can be done to bring us back from the brink of destruction as a Military and as a Country.
HAPPY PRIDE
June is pride month, and you do not need me to tell you that. LGBTQIA+ (and whatever other letter they are presently adding) affirmations to remind you are everywhere. During June, countless professional sports jerseys/shirts are changed from hometown colors to the colors of the rainbow and then forced (to be worn) upon your favorite athletes. There are a multitude of pride parades all across America.
And, of course, the White House hosted the biggest-ever pride month celebration, complete with a trans male exposing himself at the official event (moments after meeting the sitting President). Trans social influencer Rose Montoya exposed his bare prosthetic breasts to those in attendance and the news cameras broadcasting the event—a real moment of pride for our Nation and the trans community.
What you may not know (and what is certainly not recognized by the woke/unhinged White House) is that June is also PTSD Awareness Month. A month is set aside to raise awareness for, reduce the stigma of, and help those suffering from the wounds of war (senate res. 541, 2014). Named in honor of a national guardsman who took his life after returning home from his 2nd combat tour in Iraq (2007). Also, this month is the Army’s 248th Birthday and our National Flag Day 14JUN23 (no White House party for you).
OUR MILITARY IS FAILING US.
The U.S. Military was once considered the gold standard of Militaries worldwide; our military won the Cold War without firing a shot. We won the Cold War due mainly to the fact that the U.S. Military was better trained, developed better combat leaders, and had the best and latest equipment in the world, while the Russian military could not keep up.
Fast forward to 2022, and the Army has missed its recruitment goal by 15,000 bodies and is projected to miss FY 23’s goal by at least 10,000. The Airforce is also expected to miss their goal for F.Y. 2023 by 10,000 recruits, and they are short more than 200 combat pilots; the Navy expects to be short 6,000 recruits for F.Y. 2023. This type of personnel shortfall is a national security crisis and the worst recruiting stats in the history of our All-Volunteer Force (50 years).
Recruitment is only part of the story; retainment is a genuine concern for our Nation’s Military. There has been a mass exodus of young (mid-level) officers and the senior enlisted of our Armed Forces. The U.S. Military has suffered a staggering 7% decrease in military size in just two years. 7% is a huge number of mature, experienced, valuable service members to lose in 24 months. This exodus of Veterans leaves a vacuum of leadership, which the newly woke/unhinged military brass was waiting to fill. Losing this much talent has severely handicapped our military’s character and mission readiness. But more concerning is that almost 81% of enlistees have a family member in the service; it’s the family business, or at least it used to be.
The disgrace of the Afghanistan withdrawal debacle was made worse by the total lack of accountability for the mission’s failure. This lack of accountability is a first for me; I have never seen a mission fail so utterly, and not one Commander was relieved of their position. Even after 84 Generals signed a letter requesting the resignation of the Secretary of Defense and Joint Chief of Staff (which was totally ignored because, in the woke/unhinged view, accountability for one’s actions is racist). This lack of accountability has left Veterans, Service Members, their families, our allies, and the majority of our countrymen cynical about the abilities of our military.
Get woke, go broke. Another problem for our military is the excessive number of munitions sent to support the Ukraine War, which has negatively affected our military’s ability to train for and sustain its war-fighting mission (Michael Hirsh, Politico 09 Jun 23).
But the absolute failure comes from the Military Strategic Leadership, which (in a desire for acceptance) embraced doctrine they knew to be false. Over the past two decades, the woke/unhinged Military Leadership has expended excessive time, resources, and money on (non-combat multiplying) woke/unhinged initiatives, such as C.R.T. training, white privilege, and toxic masculinity. Politicians do not know the Military, duty, personal courage, and selfless service are foreign concepts to them. Moreover, only 6.4% of Americans have ever served in the U.S. Military; of that, less than 1% of Americans have fought in a war to preserve the American way of life. The military top brass (educated in the same Ivy League schools) DO know politics and engage in them very effectively, hence their politicized government position.
This new social-justice woke ideas and policies fuel an ever-expanding disconnect between strategic leadership (Colonels, Generals) and the “boots on the ground” Service Member.
How is the military failing us? There has never been a time when our adversaries would have dared to be so bold. While the U.S. Military was learning which pronouns are acceptable, China had a police force stationed in an N.Y. city neighborhood, a spy balloon flying over our Military Compounds gathering untold information. After initially denying it, the White House has admitted that China has established military spy outposts in Cuba, and there is still no reprisal for the U.S. (The Wall Street Journal, 09 Jun 23).
WHEN OUR MILITARY FAILS, OUR COUNTRY FAILS.
When our Military gets Woke our Country goes broke.
Historically civilizations, cultures, and empires have repeatedly risen and fallen. The study of humankind’s history is the study of how one after another, civilizations rose to prominence, ruled their empires for a time, then experienced a decline in cultural identity and social structures before total collapse. If this decline is not averted, societal or civilizational collapse occurs. Get woke, go broke. This collapse is characterized by a loss of cultural identity, proper social systems, and a breakdown of the government institutions which ensure the society’s functioning, in this case, the U.S. Military. As one of the last bastions of American exceptionalism and tradition, the U.S. Military has found itself in the crosshairs of the woke/unhinged.
THE POISONING OF OUR WARFIGHTERS
Get woke ,go broke. Progressives are attempting to do to the military what they have already done to some of our once great cities like N.Y.C., Chicago, LA, or San Francisco, and other American institutions. They want to poison it with hyperbolic social justice policies, rip it down, and replace it with socialistic equity programs. Before they experienced a civilizational collapse, those former civilizations had one common characteristic: their militaries were infiltrated, compromised, and then collapsed in defeat.
Another sign of social decay is the recruitment pool that we do have; only one in five Americans meet the minimum service requirements (mentally/emotionally/physically/legally) to serve in the military. The Army’s Vice Chief of Staff, Gen Randy George, referred to a Dept. of Defense survey on the “propensity to serve” in the military when explaining that over the last four decades, male service propensity dropped from 24-27% to today’s 11-13% range.
WHY IS OUR MILITARY FAILING
LEADERSHIP, leadership, leadership, or the lack thereof (principled leadership). Why is our military readiness being handicapped by inferior leadership? Our Military men and women are experiencing the ramifications of a new type of military leader, the “politicized, social-justice, woke” leader.
The woke/unhinged agenda has infiltrated the highest levels of our military. And our Strategic Leadership have bowed to their political overlords and embraced the new religion of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Almost as payment for their obedience, our Strategic Leaders are now promoted not for their military prowess but for their political correctness (Gen. Jim “Mad Dog” Mattis vs. Lloyd “Where is my spine” Austin, Gen. Tommy “Mission first” Franks vs. Mark “White quilt” Miley or Gen. Stan “The Man” McCrystal vs. Adm. Rachel “living MY truth” Levine).
CREATING IMAGINARY ENEMIES
In a case of the tail wagging the dog, woke/unhinged politicians and top military brass are creating imaginary foes and ignoring “the enemy at our gates” (China/Iran/Russia). Less than 1.6% of the U.S. population identifies as nonbinary/trans man/woman (Pew Research Center, 07 Jun 22). Fewer still are the slightly less than 1. % of trans/nonbinary who presently serve in the 1.5 million (+ personnel) U.S. Military (www.whitehouse.gov).
No former service Member is surprised at these dismal recruiting and retainment statistics. As the former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo stated, “How can we ask young men and women who have decided to risk their lives for America to affirm that our country is inherently racist?” -“Is anyone surprised that potential recruits (many of whom come from rural or poor areas of the country) don’t want to be lectured about white privilege?” Pompeo wrote in a Sept. 2022 opinion column for FOX News.
According to DoD records, less than 100 members (active duty and reserve) OF THE ENTIRE US MILITARY (1.5 + million) have engaged in prohibited extremist activity. That is less than 0.005% of the military that could be labeled a zealot/extremist/bigot.
.005% though not perfect, and understanding that even one act is unacceptable, this is a stat that any other government or private institute would love to be able to claim.
HOW TO MAKE OUR MILITARY GREAT AGAIN.
If getting woke is going broke, what are we to do?
The military should never be used as a social experimental project for the latest White House crusade. As a Military, we must throw off this woke agenda and embrace the U.S. Military’s meritocracy, unity, and acceptance culture. Instead of embracing the socialistic ideology of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (D.E.I.), the military must continue to live by its principles of (M.U.A.) Meritocracy, Unity, and Acceptance. Teamwork, not “living one’s truth,” builds a strong Military and wins our Nation’s wars.
M.U.A. NOT D.E.I.
The strategic leadership of the military must put the military’s well-being before their own and fervently embrace the Army’s Values. “LDRSHIP” Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Honor, Integrity, and Personal Courage. It should be Meritocracy, Unity, and Acceptance, not D.E.I.
Loyalty- To bear true faith and allegiance is the belief in (the American way of life) and devotion to (Country/Unit/Fellow Service Members), something more important than yourself.
Duty- To fulfill your obligations to accomplish a task as part of a team.
Respect- To treat others as you would have yourself treated.
Selfless Service- To put the welfare of and do what is best for the Nation, the Military, and all other service members before yourself.
Honor- To live these values wholeheartedly with every choice you make.
Integrity- To do the right thing no matter who is or is not present.
Personal Courage- To confidently and honorably move through whatever danger, fear, and/or adversity (physically/mentally/emotionally) you face daily.
CALL TO ACTION / CONCLUSION
As we have shown, the new D.E.I. policies are promoting a culture of division within the military and creating division between the Military and Civilian populations. They do this by focusing on skin color, gender, and victimization, and it is destroying a military reliant upon teamwork, mission-focused unity, trust, and faith in fellow service members, to survive the demanding lifestyle required to serve honorably.
The new woke/unhinged policies forced upon our military members undermine cohesiveness within our services. These policies do this by undermining our military’s leadership authority by inserting doubt about promotions being based on merit and not quota requirements (ref. our Vice President, the former (criminally charged) Assistant Secretary in the Office of Nuclear Energy, the Secretary of Transportation or the current White House Press Secretary). None of them were selected to their position for the character or competency that their office requires. But again, accountability for one’s actions has never been the woke/unhinged strong suit.
Getting woke is going broke. The U.S. Military was never intended to reflect our American Society. The U.S. Military’s purpose for existing; is to win wars. To win those wars, you have to have selfless men and women. These are the men and women who put the country’s welfare before their welfare, the concerns of the Unit before concerns for themselves. This cannot be accomplished without pride in one’s self and pride in one’s country. That’s why almost 81% of enlistees have other family members in the Armed Service. As I said earlier, the military, for some, is the family business. The U.S. Military reflects the pride the Service Member has (in service) and their commitment (to country), and their training and maturation that inevitably comes with investing your energies into the service to your country selflessly.
Contrary to what the woke/unhinged would have you believe, we still have patriotic Americans who believe in the American Idea/Promise. The truth is today’s military is more racially diverse and more culturally inclusive than ever before. Minorities are overly represented in the Army compared to their % of the American population.
The military has regulations and a legal code to address illegal acts and improprieties. And according to the statistics, those military rules and regulations are working. We cannot afford for our Nation’s Military to be run into the ground, just as this woke D.E.I. has polluted every other institute it has been enacted in. Our education system, mental health system, legal system, the V.A., and other state and federal agencies have all instituted these woke policies that negatively affect productivity and retention.
Get woke, go broke.
Your Brother in Arms
Vincent