Our military started to go woke during the administration of Barack Obama, but that process went into overdrive when Joe Biden was in office.
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has now openly challenged military leadership to get on board with his plan or get out of his way.
He did so with a very direct message that clearly hit a nerve.
Former Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, in my opinion, was a complete and utter disaster in his role.
The shame of it all is that before he was named secretary of Defense, he had a rather impressive military career, including earning a Silver Star for valor. To be blunt, you cannot question this man’s bravery, but his term as Defense secretary was not about his military accomplishments, but rather about his need to implement Biden’s woke agenda.
As a man who led his troops in battle from the front lines, one would think that Austin would have known that woke policies would only hurt the military, but he embraced them anyway because that is likely what Biden required for him to secure the position.
For example, he embraced Pride Month as the secretary of Defense, a move that did not sit well with a lot of conservatives. This issue was a political hot potato at the time, and his comments on the issue were more akin to a political speech than those of a true military leader.
The Heritage Foundation published an extensive report on how the “woke” agenda has been seeping into our military for years.
For instance, during the Obama administration, the Foundation reported, “In 2015, then Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus rejected out-of-hand a Marine Corps study concluding that gender-integrated combat formations did not move as quickly or shoot as accurately, and that women were twice as likely as men to suffer combat injuries. He rejected it because it did not comport with the Obama administration’s political agenda."
So, think about that… there was clear evidence that in battle conditions, this new experiment was not working, yet it was not rejected on the merits, but continued solely for political reasons.
Fitness standards have also slowly been lowered to allow more women to be approved for combat, cited as “leveling the playing field,” but should we really be lowering standards just so we can check some boxes? Should it not be the battle of the fittest to see combat?
Last week, it was announced that Hegseth had called hundreds of flag and general officers to Quantico for a meeting. There was a big mystery as to the subject of the gathering, and for good reason. When Hegseth revealed why they were there, the media and the left erupted.
The main topic was readying our troops for war and battle fitness, which included general and flag officers not having a gut hanging over their beltline.
Hegseth then told the commanding generals and admirals, "If the words I’m speaking today are making your heart sink, then you should do the honorable thing and resign. We would thank you for your service. But I suspect the overwhelming majority of you feel the opposite. These words make your hearts full."
I have never hidden the fact that I do not approve of Hegseth's selection to serve as secretary of War, but on this issue, I think he hit a home run. There should be one standard for everyone, including officers, and if they don’t meet it, then send them packing. As Hegseth noted, "If women can make it, excellent. If not, it is what it is. Weak men won’t qualify either. We’re not playing games." I don’t know about you, but I am perfectly fine with that.
