Lauren C. Moye, FISM News
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Service members in the U.S. military branches are warning that diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies are weakening the institutions as they face recruiting shortfalls and lessening morale.
The current and former service members, who spoke anonymously to Fox News to avoid potential retribution, emphasized a spirit of fear if those policies are challenged.
“I 100% believe the military is woke. I see daily minorities, overweight people, and women not adhering to military standards,” one servicemember told Fox. “Nobody corrects them due to the fear of being fired and labeled a racist or a sexist.”
“Merely questioning the goals or methods used to promote ‘Equity & Diversity’ is punished and that punishment is swift, harsh, and public,” another military stated.
Yesterday, Army Secretary Christine Wormuth pushed back against criticisms that the army is “woke” and defended the Army’s DEI programs as essential for all soldiers to feel included.
“I’m not sure what ‘woke’ means,” Wormuth said in her appearance with other military leaders. “But, first of all, if ‘woke’ means we are not focused on warfighting, we are not focused on readiness, that doesn’t reflect what I see at installations all around the country or overseas when I go and visit.”
These DEI programs include instructing cadets to use gender-neutral language that includes replacing gendered roles like “mom and dad” and “boyfriend or girlfriend” with terms like “parent or caregiver” and “partner,” according to an exclusive Fox News Digital report.
In addition to using LGBT rhetoric, the military branches also suffer from politicization.
“The DOD is absolutely politicized. No matter what party is in power. Generals have basically become politicians, and ‘yes men’ and will conform to whatever party is in power,” one service member said.
The addition of Critical Race Theory to military academy coursework is another example of both this politicization and DEI policies. A whistleblower website created by U.S. Representative and former Navy SEAL Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas) and U.S. Senator Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) has reportedly collected hundreds of complaints on how the implementation of CRT training has negatively impacted the chain of command, changed training material, and contributed to a growing mistrust in the military.
While General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joints Chiefs of Staff, denied that the U.S. military teaches CRT, he defended the principle by saying service members need “to be open-minded and widely read.”
Meanwhile, one academy professor openly admits he teaches CRT to his students to help them deconstruct “oppressive beliefs, policies, and practices to find solutions that will lead to justice.”
This emphasis on CRT and DEI has contributed to plummeting morale. This, in turn, has effected a change in military service passing from one generation to the next.
“Why would I have my kids join an institution who works every day to call them evil and diminish the contributions of their ancestors?” one poignantly expressed to Fox.
That’s a problem when the pool of potential recruits is already slim. Army Chief of Staff James McConville told Congress in May that only 23% of Americans aged 17-24 are qualified to enlist without a waiver.
After struggling to recruit this year despite offering $50,000 in enlistment bonuses, the Army missed its Fiscal Year 2022 goals by roughly 15,000 soldiers. That translates to a 25% shortfall in recruitment.
While the other military branches met their FY22 goals by tapping into their delayed applicant pools, they are expected to struggle to meet goals next year because of this. For example, the Navy usually begins a new fiscal year with half of its recruitment goals met but only has 30% for this year. The Air Force and Navy are starting at 10% instead of their usual 25%.