The mission of the Department of Defense is to defend the nation. The pride of the American military is its history of not getting involved in domestic politics.
Its vital role of discouraging enemies from attacking the U.S. has been fulfilled so far, despite budget challenges. However, many both within and close to the military correctly perceive the armed forces as being focused on and distracted by issues and programs unrelated to its mission.
The issue arose to prominence during the Obama and Biden Administrations. A 2013 Investors article noted that Obama cleansed the military of any officer suspected of “disloyalty to or disagreement with the administration on matters… An important example includes relieving General Carter Ham, who was dismissed as head of U.S. Africa Command after only a year and a half because he disagreed with orders not to mount a rescue mission in response to the Sept. 11, 2012, attack in Benghazi. In addition, Rear Adm. Chuck Gaouette, commander of the John C. Stennis Carrier Strike Group, was relieved in October 2012 for disobeying orders when he sent his group on Sept. 11 to ‘assist and provide intelligence for’military forces ordered into action by Gen. Ham. Other removals include the sacking of two nuclear commanders in a single week — Maj. Gen. Michael Carey, head of the 20th Air Force, responsible for the three wings that maintain control of the 450 intercontinental ballistic missiles, and Vice Adm. Tim Giardina, the No. 2 officer at U.S. Strategic Command.”
Breitbart listed at least 197 officers relieved of duty by President Obama “for a laundry list of reasons and sometimes with no reason given….” According to Retired U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Paul Vallely, who stated that “He’s (Obama) [is] intentionally weakening and gutting our military, [the] Pentagon and reducing us as a superpower, and anyone in the ranks who disagrees or speaks out is being purged’.”
The controversy continues under the Biden Administration, with a focus on distracting the services from their core defense mission with unrelated priorities.
Almost immediately after taking office, President Biden focused on emphasizing DEI in the military.
In January 2021, President Biden signed multiple Executive Orders (E.O.) to advance equity across multiple focus areas:
• E.O. 13985, Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government, January 20, 2021, calls on Federal and DoD agencies to advance equity through identifying and addressing barriers to equal opportunity that underserved communities may face.
• E.O. 13988, Preventing and Combating Discrimination on the Basis of Gender – Identity or Sexual Orientation, January 20, 2021, which emphasizes the need to prevent and combat discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation and fully enforce Title VII and other laws that prohibit discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation.
• E.O. 14004, Enabling All Qualified Americans to Serve Their Country in Uniform, January 25, 2021, advances policy that all transgender individuals who wish to serve in the U.S. military and who meet the appropriate standards shall be able to do so openly and free from discrimination.
On June 25, 2021, President Biden issued E.O. 14035 (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility in the Federal Workforce), which promotes “the vital role DEIA plays in cultivating a workforce needed to mitigate the threats of tomorrow. Consistent with the government-wide priority for each agency to provide DEIA leadership at the senior-most level, DoD appointed the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness as the Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer (CDIO) who will provide cohesive oversight and integration for DEIA efforts. Increased cohesion and integration allows the Department to strategically approach DEIA beyond the traditional focal areas of demographic representation to better achieve DoD’s broader mission of providing the forces necessary to secure the nation.”
The article concludes tomorrow
Photo: Dept. of Defense