The United States Army, Re-education, and 'Woke' Standards

“I am disciplined, physically and mentally tough, trained and proficient in my warrior tasks and drills. I always maintain my arms, my equipment and myself. I am an expert and I am a professional. I stand ready to deploy, engage, and destroy, the enemies of the United States of America in close combat.” - The United States Army Creed

The Army Mission remains constant: to deploy, fight and win our nation’s wars by providing ready, prompt, and sustained land dominance by Army forces across the full spectrum of conflict as part of the Joint Force. There are Seven Core Army Values: Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Honor, Integrity, and Personal Courage.

What comes to mind when you think about the military in general. I think most of us will agree that it is uniformed men and women of courage and fortitude who will make the ultimate sacrifice for the safety and security of their nation and countrymen, and women; warriors who will face the enemy, and death, to achieve victory for the good.

Judging by the quality of the young men and woman in the military that I have encountered; the creed, mission, and core values are being upheld by members, and hold fast and true. However, over the last couple of decades something else has been introduced, which it appears is another element alongside a ready and well-equipped fighting force.  

According to Spurgeon Moore, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army, there is another mission that maintains, the “Army as a model of diversity by providing a culture that values diversity and inclusion, and an environment free from unlawful discrimination and prohibited behaviors, to maximize the readiness potential of every soldier, civilian, and family member, through policy development, practice, workforce analysis, and outreach.” There are key responsibilities that this mission advances to promulgate policy on all matters covering diversity and inclusion, civil rights, equal employment opportunity, and military equal opportunity.

The Secretary and the Chief of Staff of the Army recently announced a new initiative. “Project Inclusion” seeks to improve diversity, equity, and inclusion across the force and build cohesive teams, through a series of worldwide listening sessions with soldiers and civilians, an examination of possible racial disparity in military justice cases, and the removing of photos from officer promotion bulletin boards beginning August of 2020. In other words, it is best that a person's color is not revealed at first.

The Secretary of the Army Ryan McCarthy has stated: “The Army is taking substantive actions to ensure that promotion and election boards are as fair and impartial as possible, and that we’ll be initiating listening sessions to encourage the open dialogue that is critical to helping understand and support each other.”

In a statement General James McConville, Army Chief of Staff, “The Army must continue to put people first by fostering a culture of trust that accepts the experiences of every soldier and civilian. Our diverse workforce is at a competitive advantage, and the Army must continue to offer fair treatment, access, and opportunity across the force. Project Inclusions” reforms will complement ongoing efforts to modernize our talent-management processes, and ensure equitable treatment for every member of our formation.”

It has been reported that the Army has already taken steps to increase awareness of ‘Unconscious Bias,” a theoretical progressive invention that assumes white people are born with inert bias in their genetic makeup that they are unaware of. Accordingly, the Army seeks to mitigate its impacts, such as updating diversity and inclusion training across the ranks. Army senior leaders will continue to identify and eliminate institutional historic practices that inadvertently disadvantage any of our people due to immutable characteristics.

The U.S. Army Equity and Inclusion Agency, in another effort to inject into the Army’s mission another progressive far-left agenda that says in effect, if you support enforcing immigration law, or refer to terms such as “all lives matter,’ you’re a “white supremacist.” Upon learning of this, GOP Congressman Mo Brooks has called for an immediate investigation into “Army personnel illegally using federal government resources to distribute racist and partisan political propaganda in direct violation of federal law and regulations.” This radical progressive agenda was introduced at seminars to “re-educate” all uniformed and civilian personnel at Redstone Arsenal in Alabama.

“Diversity, Inclusion, Equity, Unconscious Bias”; it would appear that any man or woman, of any race, color, ethnicity, or gender, but most especially white people, entering the Army had better be prepared and primed for these new, I believe” radical progressive standards of military readiness. I challenge all this virtue signaling, and these social and political standards and policies. Will they create obstacles, perhaps restrictions, in the way of soldiers focusing on and completing the mission?

Will the Army have a group of men and women who as part of their mission will require “safe spaces” should they feel intimidated or offended. And what if a ‘soldier’ thinks an order from a commanding officer is not worthy of following, it does not meet with his or her woke standards; will they be brought up on charges of insubordination?

Hopefully, this radical progressive effort to racially sensitize the men and women in the military, and create a climate where the Caucasian soldier is forced to face, engage, and renounce their white privilege and supremacy under orders from the military, will be challenged by the administration and Republicans.

No one is saying that fairness and equality in the military, or for that matter, any of life’s venues is unnecessary, but what is going on today, is I believe a concerted and calculated effort to transform the Army, and perhaps eventually other branches of the military, into a emasculated force of 'woke,' virtue-signaling acolytes.