I try very hard to avoid politics on this blog and for good
reason. However, from time to time the
politics intrudes on military/Navy matters and must be discussed.
Here’s a quote from a Department of Defense (DoD) tweet, as
noted by Redstate website:
The Biden administration has lost its military way in
pursuit of social objectives. That’s not
a political statement, it’s a simple and dangerous - bordering on treasonous -
fact.
_________________________________
Diversity is a strategic imperative critical to mission readiness and accomplishment.[1]Here is Elon Musk’s reply to that tweet:
Your strategic imperative is defending the United States.[1]Musk sees what the DoD does not. The job of the military is not social equality, diversity, gender sensitivity, ecology, or any of the other social pursuits that plague our country. The job of the military is to protect the United States. We accomplish that by killing the enemy and destroying everything they have. That’s the basic, ugly truth of the matter.
https://redstate.com/brandon_morse/2023/02/20/bidens-department-of-defense-gets-schools-by-elon-musk-on-its-strategic-imperative-n705998
Dividing people is a handy Machiavellian tool to amass political power.
ReplyDeleteBut it does not create a cohesive, united, committed, effective military force.
Lutefisk
What's worse is American politicians and political activists are dividing the wrong people, i.e., THEIR OWN.
DeleteA competent leader divides ENEMIES, to weaken them; he UNITES his own, to strengthen his own position. In dividing the American people, our politicians and political activists are weakening America itself- and now they want to push us into a war against Russia AND China, when these same politicians' antagonistic behavior has united the Russian and Chinese people against us?!
"A competent leader divides ENEMIES, to weaken them; he UNITES his own, to strengthen his own position."
DeleteThat IS what they are doing. They just define 'enemies' differently than you do.
Lutefisk
"The job of the military is not social equality, diversity, gender sensitivity, ecology, or any of the other social pursuits that plague our country. The job of the military is to protect the United States. We accomplish that by killing the enemy and destroying everything they have. That’s the basic, ugly truth of the matter. The Biden administration has lost its military way in pursuit of social objectives. That’s not a political statement, it’s a simple and dangerous - bordering on treasonous - fact."
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely.
And what is the last major decision by the US military that was consistent with that objective?
The military does not reflect society.
ReplyDeleteIt protects society.
Quite disturbing... Diversity, equity, inclusion, and all that have no business in the military. None. If there was only one place where you could have a meritocracy, the military would/should be that place. Defending a nation needs the best, not people chosen because they're "box checkers". Nobody in their right mind would pick their airline pilot or brain surgeon, or even auto mechanic based on anything other than their skills and qualifications. So how in the heck is OUR military any different??? (Its not.)
ReplyDeleteThe DEI clowns have been around for at least a decade and have infiltrated deep. (Disbelief?? Read nearly a decades-worth of "Diversity Thursday" over on CdrSals blog). Only now, with this admins support, theyre able to more easilly, publicly espouse and push their agenda. So to be fair, this hasn't all developed post-Trump. Its just become more blatant and obvious. Elections do have consequences...
"CdrSals blog"
DeleteWho????? You mean there's other blogs out there that you read??? :-)
I think many of us on here read CDR Salamander's and g2mil's. And I also go to WarOnTheRocks and their Warhall chat room.
DeleteBeing the best doesn't mean you are the only.
"Being the best doesn't mean you are the only."
DeleteIf only US military leaders remembered this. Underestimating the enemy will ALWAYS lead to defeat- a lesson we should've learned from Pearl Harbor, Korea, Vietnam, Operation Iraqi Freedom, Afghanistan...
"Who????? You mean there's other blogs out there that you read??? :-)"
DeleteNo disrespect intended CNO!! 😁 But CDR Salamander is the 'other' blog link button on my homescreen... His DiversityThursday postings have been a weekly reason to cry for some time. The amount of DEI nonsense thats been unveiled there, including things happening in the Pentagon and at the USNA are deeply disturbing. Tomcat Tweaker noted below the thought that the military is largely conservative. I always thought that, but recent events suggest that isnt currently the case, and theres a lot of indoctrination going on at the Academy and elsewhere, so any conservative bastions are under attack. To be brutally honest, Im very excited my daughter has joined, but at the same time I question the wisdom of it. With poor leadership (ie; collisions, surrendering to Iranians,etc), and a potential Pacific war looming, Im very concerned for her...
Did something change to where the military used to be apolitical? I don't recall exact numbers, but somewhere around 2/3 of the military held conservative beliefs. 1000% that our military protects our way of life and takes the fight to those who wish to destroy our way of life. I never cared what my superiors, enlisted or officer, came from, their background. I only cared if they could lead us in and out of harms way, they were competent, and held themselves to the very same standards that I had to adhere to. One of the best senior enlisted leaders that I ever had in the Navy was a Senior Chief Airdale who happened to be female. In the Army, I had some great FSNCOs of various ethnicities but there again, they practiced what they preached.
ReplyDeleteWhen concerns and focus shift away from Professionalism, Competence, Discipline, Accountability, Experience to using proper pronouns or changing names of buildings or ships, you are get people injured or killed and severely degrade unit cohesion which ultimately can have a serious impact on completing a mission (s).
Being politically correct was never a facet of the military, especially the Navy. I could chew on this topic forever.
"Did something change to where the military used to be apolitical?"
DeleteThese people think that their beliefs aren't political opinions, they're universal, unquestionable moral truths. "It's called being a decent human, sweety."
Unfortunately. I see all of our top military "Leaders"--except the Marines, falling all over themselves to worship the DEI ignuus fatus.
ReplyDeleteI'm reminded of something a friend told me: the US Army was the most woke and equal institution in America, because everyone got treated the same: like shit.
ReplyDeleteExtending that thought... Not treating everyone like shit, means that some of those people not being treated like shit will be black, female, non-heterosexual and so on. If you treat those people well, you get lambasted for being woke, even if you're handing out the same treatment to the straight white men.
DeleteI'm reminded of the people on the internet angrily lambasting the Navy for rainbow uniforms because they thought the navy was being woke, when color coded uniforms have been a thing on carriers for literal decades now.
DeleteSlightly different tack, but John Conrad focuses on this and the bureaucracy in his latest. Basically Navsea is way too big and it and the whole industry is shoveling paperwork in meaningless jobs. Something I could formerly relate to. https://gcaptain.com/oped-us-navy-shipbuilding-badger-problem/
ReplyDeleteWokeness and diversity aren't the bogymen that partisan Redstate or Newsmax would like to make them out to be. It's not like the DoD is stating the diversity is more important than defending the US. They are saying that diversity is critical to doing that job well.
ReplyDeleteAgree or disagree (I disagree as well), that is not treason. One could make a strong argument that Biden has strengthened the US defensive position since taking over from Trump: reinvigorating NATO (instead of weakening it), committing to defend Taiwan (vs. previous administrations' strategic ambiguity), securing Philippine basing rights, and weakening Russia dramatically. Not too shabby.
Yes, the Afgan withdrawal was a disaster that should be rightfully criticized. Of course, Trump negotiated the withdrawal (we'll free your prisoners unconditionally and hope for the best as we leave) and abandoned the Kurds. And at least Trump is no longer lining up the kiss authoritarian asses around the globe while democracy is increasingly threatened.
I agree that the emphasis on diversity is misplaced, but most young people (recruiting age) don't think it's crazy, and Republicans don't have a lock on the military. I've even read that the officer corp was majority Biden. If diversity was the problem, we would seen a 180 turn around at DoD during Trump. We didn't.
DoD itself has changed very little between administrations, with the fundamental procurement, staffing, training and maintenance problems continuing. That's the heart of the problem, and the inertia seems to be very bipartisan.
I like that this blog normally focuses on this shared American issue. Red or blue, woke or not, we're all in this together.