Challenges are Mounting for Our Woke Military

The United States armed forces is facing its biggest recruiting challenge since the military draft ended in July of 1973. For the next twenty years, the all-volunteer military was easily able to manage the country’s conflicts, such as the Persian Gulf war of 1991.

However, in the post-9/11 “War on Terror,” the all-volunteer force was inadequate. It was heavily supplemented by reservists and members of the National Guard. In fact, part-time military forces comprised approximately 45% of the total forces who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as 18% of the casualties.

Today, recruitment throughout all branches of the military, and especially among the National Guard, is not meeting quotas. With new recruits dropping and retirements increasing, the National Guard lost an overall total of 7,500 service members this past year.

This will impact the various missions of the National Guard including military deployment overseas as well as emergency response to natural disasters domestically.

According to Major General Rich Baldwin, the Army National Guard’s Chief of Staff, the recruiting woes are the “worst” he has experienced in the last two decades. There are numerous reasons why recruiting and reenlistments are declining. Since the 9/11 attacks were 21 years ago, there is no longer an urgent “call to service.” In addition, the war in Afghanistan, the nation’s longest armed conflict, finally ended in 2021. With no ongoing war, some Americans are not compelled to serve in the military.

Another major factor is the needless requirement that all service members become vaccinated against COVID-19. Instead of following the advice of President Joe Biden who declared that “the pandemic is over,” our armed forces are maintaining the COVID-19 vaccine requirement.

Studies show that millions of Americans do not believe the vaccine is effective or beneficial, as approximately 32% of the country are not fully vaccinated. In this environment, a vaccine mandate is a powerful disincentive for many potential new recruits. It could also serve as a major reason current service members are not re-enlisting.

There are 14,000 current National Guard members who are either refusing to take the vaccine or are seeking some type of exemption. Their final status is uncertain, as it has not been decided by U.S. Army leadership. If no exemptions are granted, the loss to the National Guard would be significant.

The best way to improve the situation is to eliminate the vaccine mandate and stop pursuing “woke” military objectives. Our military should not be promoting Critical Race Theory (CRT) and teaching about the dangers of white racism. In addition, the emphasis on the use of proper pronouns and hosting shows with drag queens is completely inappropriate.

The situation is so problematic that U.S. Representative Glenn Grothman (R-WI) has introduced a bill in Congress to prevent the Defense Department from “organizing, promoting, or hosting drag shows as a means of diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.”

According to the Defense Department, the mission of our military forces is “to deter war and ensure our nation’s security.” These goals are not accomplished by teaching controversial racial theories or promoting the correct type of pronoun usage or by featuring drag queens on military bases.

Grothman believes that “there is an overall effort being made to make the military more woke…and I think a woke military is probably a less productive military.” The Congressman is correct, except it is not “probably” detrimental - it is unquestionably harming our military.

Certainly, our foremost adversary, the communist Chinese, are not allowing their military officials to waste time training their soldiers on correct pronoun usage, CRT, or exposing them to drag queen shows.

It has become so ridiculous that in June, a drag queen event was planned at the Ramstein Air Base in Germany to promote “Gay Pride Month.” The drag queens were scheduled to read stories to the children of military service members in the library of the base. After much criticism, the ill-advised event was canceled.

All these activities upset Grothman, who said he will “keep on the military to make sure they don’t degenerate into some politically correct, woke institution. If we had $100 million left over with nothing to do, we still shouldn’t spend it on this garbage because it weakens the military.”

Instead of focusing on important military goals, the current Defense Department leadership seems more intent on satisfying Democratic Party activists. On Thursday, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced that nine U.S. Army bases will be renamed because of ties to the confederacy. Other assets will be removed, such as a portrait of General Robert E. Lee that is hanging at West Point Academy.

These moves will cost $62.5 million and will not make our country any safer or solve the pressing recruitment crisis facing our military. It will only please the progressives who are steering our country in an extremely dangerous direction.