Identity in the Trenches: The Fatal Impact of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion on U.S. Military Readiness
September 12, 2024
Will Thibeau
Director, American Military Project
Summary: The military is often perceived by well-meaning Americans as the last stronghold against the progressive march through America’s institutions. But this is no longer simply the case. Our Armed Forces were once the envy of the world, in large part because we selected based on merit, and instilled in our fighting men an unshakeable military ethos. Both the ethos and the selection, however, have been in steady decline as the Department of Defense succumbs to a dangerous ideology: selection and promotion based on racial and gender identity. This has already led to major problems and may well lead us down the path of disaster.
In August 2021, the world watched as American forces scrambled to evacuate Afghanistan as the Taliban reclaimed power. The panicked withdrawal reached a tragic climax on August 26, when 13 American service members (and more than 100 Afghan civilians) were killed by a suicide bomber in the Kabul airport, where security was a U.S. responsibility. Four days later, when the last military planes took off from that same airport, hundreds of American citizens were left behind. A month later still, when the Secretary of Defense, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), and the CENTCOM commanding general were called before Congress to account for the failure, they neither offered explanations nor accepted responsibility. The message was clear: Incompetence would be the new norm for the U.S. military — a predictably lethal status quo.
The Afghanistan debacle was dramatic, but it was only one small part of a much larger picture. The United States Armed Forces were once the envy of the world, in large part because we selected the best of the best, and instilled in our fighting men an unshakeable military ethos. Both the ethos and the selection, however, have been in steady decline as the Department of Defense succumbs to a dangerous ideology: that of group quotas, or forced outcome equality for identity groups based on race and sex.
https://dc.claremont.org/identity-in-the-trenches-the-fatal-impact-of-diversity-equity-and-inclusion-on-u-s-military-readiness/?_hsenc=p2ANqtz--GonnM7Ev2PpWCG_gJAyouNgRCh3NEPLDB_qt8I01dmK-iUtRIgeyo3vdfBkSGLZ3L-CqN2IWIN3b0Edle-zaNIFfy1s699HxkJcowFFnEAWVcWuQ&_hsmi=324373832
