Part 1 laid the groundwork for why Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin (General, US ARMY Ret) should resign or be fired at this point. Putting aside all the incompetence he has demonstrated and overseen, I think the most egregious performance issues will come in the future as recruiting continues to tank and combat readiness suffers as it slides down the priority scale in favor of social justice issues. In previous articles I’ve detailed to a fare thee well how this so talented-only person who could apparently do the job-that he was waivered of the retirement clause by congress that was intended to abide by the American tradition of civilian control of the military-has made a hash of the job across the board on nearly any metric one care to consider.
Now the good news since I wrote part 1 is that the Army already reconsidered and rescinded the initiative to forego the requirement for high school completion or GED equivalent prior to enlisting: so sanity prevailed there. The bad news is the Army Secretary has no other alternatives other than to back away from recruiting goals and potentially ratchet down future force numbers. The 2022 recruiting goals are being missed by ~ 25%: it’s not Maxwell Smart’s “this much.” This Daily Caller article tells the tale of the fail, in that the Army leadership does not seem to get what is causing the problem or potentially is exacerbating a potential issue into a dilemma. From the piece:
Investigations into extremism in the ranks, diversity quotas, rigid vaccination mandates and other “woke” policies have undermined military recruitment by alienating families, the military’s largest recruiting market, according to Center for Military Readiness founder Elaine Donnelly. The Pentagon’s insistence on social justice over meritocracy, lowering of standards and “anti-recruiting messages” pushes away potential recruits, Donnelly told the Daily Caller News Foundation.
“Secretary Wormuth is ignoring the ‘check engine’ light on her dashboard. She keeps driving on, failing to notice how the administration’s policies are making the recruiting crisis worse,” said Donnelly.
Army Gen. Joseph Martin, vice chief of staff for the Army, testifying before the House Armed Services Committee seems to be in denial of how Defense and Army leadership have setup and then walked into this self-induced ambush: “To compete for talent, the Army must provide a workplace environment free of harmful behaviors, to include sexual assault, sexual harassment, racism, extremism, and the risk factors which lead to death by suicide,” he said at a hearing of the House Armed Services Committee on Tuesday.
The implication is the Army is not doing the above-his comments speak to an aspiration. Why would the Army be having difficulty meeting recruitment objectives with such a positive message??? This American Thinker article explains the problem: What parent in their right mind is going to encourage service by their children in an organization that is striving-but apparently failing-to maintain the workplace free from these problems?
Recruiting and manning the force are the twin, self-inflicted problems that our most talented, waivered into position SECDEF has just about single handedly been responsible for undermining in our armed services. The focused combination on racism, foolhardiness, social justice policy and COVID idjiotcy has placed our nation in jeopardy as force projections tank for the coming year. This American Thinker article calls for the same remedy and has a good discussion of one of the aspects degrading recruitment-the hypocritical COVID vaccine policy, which likely not only constitutes an unlawful order, but also has not accommodated religious exclusions or natural immunity in a population that is at minimal risk to COIVD. The concluding paragraph is instructive:
Secretary of defense Austin, the service secretaries, and the service chiefs should be impeached for their illegal orders and unethical conduct, misrepresenting unapproved EUA vaccines as the biological equivalent of an FDA-approved vaccine and coercing the troops to get the jab. They violated the whole concept of voluntary informed consent for political purposes. At Nuremberg in 1946, this would have been a war crime.
This Heritage Institute article outlines a number of issues challenging recruitment efforts, but as noted in Part 1, there is a lot of the “get woke, go broke” evidence out there when it comes to military service and particularly the influence veterans have on this issue. I haven’t seen a poll on veteran’s sentiments recently, but it has become increasingly difficult to recommend military service, given the climate Austin has overseen during his time as SECDEF. He has not only asserted that the services have an extremism problem rooted in white supremacy-an assertion that just about every senior combatant commander has disavowed-but his staff have been spending time playing “equity buzz-word bingo,” employing ill-defined terminology and jargon as a cudgel in nearly every activity the department undertakes.
Even the Coast Guard is struggling mightily to meet recruitment goals. This Federal News Network article quotes the Commandant: “Talent management is critically important for the Coast Guard today, as it is for all organizations,” she said. “Our current personnel system has not changed significantly in 75 years. People serving in the military today have different expectations for their professional lives, and we must adjust the way we recruit, train, and retain our people to continue to be an employer of choice.”
Given these recruitment problems with all the services, it seems insanity incarnate for the Biden administration to be pushing a COVID vaccine policy that is exacerbating the problem across the board, but particularly in critical skillsets like pilots. This Senator Roger Wicker, Missouri Weekly Report details the problematic COVID ramifications across the services where skilled positions are being hit the hardest. The long and short of it is these positions take time to produce trained operators and the delay in replacing qualified service members who are being let go because of a dogmatic policy that is nonsensical for the target audience, is going to reduce combat readiness, strain already overstretched resources that have seen non-stop overseas deployments in the 21st century, and disincentivize those inclined to volunteer from serving.
The services track metrics as closely as any endeavor or corporation. But unlike a for profit company with accountability to shareholders and the public, the military is these days unduly influenced by politics of the social justice variety and leadership of the sycophantic tendency. So these type headlines don’t help and they tell the story of an undercurrent of an almost deliberate sabotage of our armed forces under Austin and the Biden administration:
Exclusive: Army Training Says Soldiers Must Shower with Transgender Persons of Opposite Sex (Breitbart News.)
Anchors away…or should I say, ‘Pronouns away’? – American Thinker from the piece: Several weeks ago, the secretary of the Navy identified climate change as an “existential threat” to the U.S. Navy and the nation and proudly proclaimed that climate change is the “focal point” for his tenure. Now, according to the Daily Signal and other news outlets, the Navy has created a short training video to teach our warriors how to correctly use “‘pronouns’ and ‘inclusive language’ to create ‘safe spaces’ in the service.”
So a recruit must be prepared to sacrifice their roots, face worldwide deployments, forego the normal standards of life and perhaps a better paying job, but can be proud of their service because it will mean taking on the enemy of mankind, the scourge of combating climate change (there I was…)
US NAVY SAYS IT’LL PUNISH SAILORS WHO MISUSE GENDER PRONOUNS INTENTIONALLY Of course they will.
EXCLUSIVE: House Republicans Slam Defense Secretary For Focusing On Pride Month, ‘Woke LGBTQ Agenda’
Feel like signing up for any of these outfits yet? I’ll close with a personal experience of someone passed through the grape vine that just really punctuates why it is that Austin needs to go, but more importantly how low our military leadership sunk within a few short years. Although those paying attention during the Obama years will not be surprised to see attacks on the culture of the military renewed during the Biden administration.
“Upon entering the commissary onboard MCAS Miramar yesterday afternoon, I was directed by a commissary attendant at the entrance to put on a face mask.
At first I was furious. And still am.
I asked to speak with a commissary manager.
I was informed this new policy was directed by the MCAS Miramar commanding officer.
Minutes later I met him in person at the MCAS Miramar Commissioned Officers Club, at the monthly “Happy Hour”, sponsored by the Tailhook Association.
I’ll withhold his name at this time.
Upon in-person investigation I am stunned at the blind ignorance of one United States Marine Corps full colonel.
I did not hesitate to challenge him, standing next to another senior marine, and the colonel’s wife.
The base C.O. responded without hesitation that wearing masks was saving lives of Marines under his command. He cited, generically, that since wearing face masks all respiratory illnesses, including COVID-19, were remarkably decreased (my word).
I was astonished.
When I pressed the source of such information, he immediately replied it came directly from the Secretary of Defense, Mr. Lloyd Austin.”
Lloyd Austin-he who reigned over the re-establishment of the ISIS Caliphate during his watch as United States Central Command Commander, where his intel shop insisted their intelligence analysis was being watered down by leadership. The IG found no wrongdoing, but that Junior Varsity ISIS team had its way until the Bad Orange Man took over. Who can forget the shock of Afghanistan leadership falling within some eleven days-after both Austin and JCS Chair Milley sung the praises of the 300K strong Afghan security force that we trained, equipped and falsely relied upon when we decided to precipitously withdraw in the dead of night? And who can forget the same duo reportedly advising congress that if Russia invades Ukraine, it will be over within 72 hours-over 5 months ago.
I don’t hold great-or any hope-which is not a plan, anyway-that Austin will get his just rewards anytime soon. Is it possible to be fired under the Biden administration? The bar is apparently so low you have to dig to find it. Which is why DHS Secretary Mayorkas can make a ridiculous claim about the border being secured and go on about his business as if it were true.
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I wouldn’t encourage my children or grandchildren to sign up. The Military is no longer a place where Service to Country is job #1 and one can thrive by the merit of their work. Woke Culture has ruined the Military (and everything else it touches).
Thanks for reading. I hear you-We can’t walk away or abandon critical institutions to the security of America to morons, leftists and idjiots: this too shall pass. I would have continued blissfully serving if Clinton hadn’t come up with voluntary early retirement provisions (VSSI/SSB with the threat of ending selective continuation to retirement for those of us over 18 but less than 20.) Best thing that ever happened to me…But we survived Ford, Carter, Clinton during my time-even the career anti-military SECDEF Les Aspin. My son already served (2xtours Iraq)-while my grandkids-we’re educating and if they decide to serve it will be with eyes wide open and an education and appreciation for the constitution and what the oath they take really means. Fighting from the “inside” is as difficult in the military as it was in the government-I’ve done both, there is a great amount of personal satisfaction in pursuing righteous positions. It is the only option to keep our elected officials-our government-accountable. Its not for everybody but holding people accountable for their actions-what they say, ramifications for what they do and pointing out where they blissfully get on the dumb train is its own reward! But Its not for everybody!