The military’s embrace of faddish politics may make activists happy, but it’s driving away recruits

Is the U.S. prepared for battle? By one measure, military recruitment, the answer appears to be no. Nearly every branch has struggled to meet its recruitment goals for 2022, with some falling as short as 40%. Worse yet, only about a quarter of America’s youth meet current eligibility standards—and recent surveys show only 9% are even interested.

Military leadership primarily blames this slump on two causes: teen obesity rates and the tight labor market. But data for both claims can’t paint the full picture. Teen obesity did increase during the pandemic, to 22% from 19%. But that jump likely can’t account for the sudden and widespread collapse in recruitment. Neither can the labor market. The unemployment rate today sits at 3.6%—roughly the same as in 2019. Yet in 2019 the Army exceeded its recruiting goals. It’s falling perilously short today and will be understrength by 28,000 troops by the end of 2023. The military’s benefits—including child care, housing allowances, medical coverage and large bonuses, up to $50,000—should also help insulate it from the pitfalls of hiring young recruits in a tight labor market.

What, then, explains the shift? Perhaps one answer lies in the Pentagon’s wholesale embrace of woke politics.

On his first day in office, President Biden rescinded a Trump-era executive order banning critical-race-theory training in the military. The changes made by senior commanders were nearly immediate. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin mandated that every military unit conduct a “stand-down” to confront “extremism in the ranks.” The chief of naval operations, Adm. Mike Gilday, added Ibram X. Kendi’s “How to Be an Antiracist” to his professional reading list for sailors—never mind the book’s endorsement of racial discrimination and its charges that the institutions troops swear to protect are systemically racist.



Added to the mix has been divisive gender activism. The Navy has mandated gender-sensitivity training, and released a video encouraging sailors to closely police the use of pronouns as well as everyday language, declaring that those who fail to comply aren’t “allies” of their fellow sailors. Not only have such measures affected unit morale, according to some service members, they’ve also amounted to a form of antirecruitment for prospective enlistees. The Pentagon is appealing to activists at the expense of those most likely to serve.

The military has historically drawn an outsize proportion of recruits from conservative Southern states. During the height of Operation Iraqi Freedom, nearly 40% of its enlistees were from the South. That’s still true. South Carolina, Florida, Alabama and Georgia each contribute more than 30%—some as high as 50%—of their share of America’s 18- to 24-year-old population to military service. Unsurprisingly, military members privately skew conservative. In the 2018 midterm elections, nearly 45% of service members surveyed indicated they would back Republican candidates, versus 28% who favored Democrats. Support for Republicans among veterans was similarly strong in 2020.

Military recruitment relies on another factor: family tradition. As of 2017, one in four military recruits had a parent who had served, and almost 80% who had at least one family member presently enlisted. The military’s sudden shift is functioning as a repellent here, too. Families with rich traditions of military service are increasingly not encouraging their sons and daughters to follow in their footsteps. Why? For some, the military’s support for these divisive policies has harmed their view of the profession.

Recent polls lend support to the idea that disaffection with the military is growing among conservatives. The 2021 Reagan Institute National Defense Survey found that since 2019 those who have “a great deal” of confidence in the military fell from 70% to 45%, with the largest decline—34 points—occurring among Republicans. The most common reason offered by respondents was concern about “political leadership.” In a separate poll this month, Gallup found that conservatives’ trust in the military fell by 10 points over the past year. A similar trend held for independents, whose confidence in the military fell by 8 points.

One of the reasons the military has been among the most trusted institutions in America in recent decades is that it stands apart from the rest of society. It is governed by values such as selflessness, courage, patriotism and sacrifice—not racial discrimination or activist politics. A military that appears to abandon its apolitical role will have a harder time attracting large numbers of warriors and patriots to its ranks. Welcoming woke policies under a warped idea of inclusion may serve to exclude those who are traditionally more likely to serve.

Young Americans of all stripes who crave adventure, challenge and discipline and who are inspired by the idea of serving their country are who the military needs. They shouldn’t be told that they’re part of the problem. Pentagon leaders need to welcome these groups, refrain from divisive political and social causes and stop pushing political agendas that may ultimately hurt our ability to recruit, fight and win.

Mr. Byrn is a student at Yale Law School, a former U.S. Army armor officer and a board member of Vets on Duty, an advocacy organization.

link; https://www.wsj.com/articles/w..._opin_pos_3#cxrecs_s

I cant help but wonder if watching 13 of our troops lose their lives during the botched Afghan withdrawal doesnt factor in, too.

Both my parents were in the USAF. My sister was in the USAF. My brother was in the Army. My best friend was in the USAF. So I joined the USAF. I was the only one of my family who retired from it. My buddy was medically retired at 19 years.

I used to always say that I thought everyone should do at least one stint in the military for the experience, discipline, training, etc. Nowadays I’m not so sure I would still suggest it. But reality is that we still need young American men and women to volunteer to serve their country; with the Left and their PR firm the mainstream media telling the pool of recruits what a terrible country this is, should we wonder why it’s so hard to fill recruitment goals?

I’m damn proud of my military career but it is getting harder these days to recommend it to young people.

Edited to correct a typo (stupid autocorrect)

I was in the military, a combat engineer. Three of my brothers were also combat arms. A close cousin was killed in Iraq in 2006. Nobody, NOBODY, in this group wants any children in the current military.

I have an 18yo son who showed a little interest in the USMC. I think he’d be a great Marine. He’s lean and mean, and both mentally and physically tough. He’s one of those kids that always needs stitches whenever we go camping, but would stand there bleeding without mentioning it until somebody else says to get it looked at.

I have told him that I wouldn’t want to be a part of an organization where the upper leadership, for political gain, would imprison you for doing your job, or enforce woke policies with the authority of the UCMJ to back it up. In civilian life, if you don’t like your company’s policies, you can leave. Not while enlisted in the military. You only need to see the handling of the Covid vaccine mandate to see my point.

So I’ve told him to pursue other interests. Cis males aren’t the type of person the current military wants.

There is a world war coming. Just wait a couple of years and we will all get to see it.

We are already too woke. I’m certain if we found ourselves in an existential war, we would suffer great losses. We have a hard shell but are soft inside. However, the general public is armed to the teeth so were there combat on our land, we’d see insurgents galore. There’d be a rifle behind every keg of beer.

quote:

Originally posted by sigcrazy7:
You only need to see the handling of the Covid vaccine mandate to see my point.

Needs repeating.

quote:

Originally posted by gw3971:
There is a world war coming. Just wait a couple of years and we will all get to see it.

I hope you’re wrong, but I suspect you’re right.

Both myself and wife were active US Army veterans.. I gave 9 1/2 yrs and wife gave 8 1/2 yrs during late 1960"s thru late 1970"s... granddaughter was considering the military about 5 years ago but we were able to advise against joining.... In todays climate I can understand the lack of people willing to volunteer for any of the military branches... Until major drastic changes are made then things will not be getting better any time soon................ drill sgt.

Sailor by day, performer by night — meet the Navy’s drag queen, ‘Harpy Daniels’

https://www.navytimes.com/off-...queen-harpy-daniels/

[IMG]https://www.navytimes.com/resizer/pKMj_0P8IMv5Dczjqhs1hDc9OWg=/1024x0/filters:format(jpg):quality(70)/arc-anglerfish-arc2-prod-mco.s3.amazonaws.com/public/G6IQOFDFNZBNZHFKP3UTBYRR5A.jpg[/IMG]
Joshua Kelley, a 24-year-old yeoman 3rd class, performs as 'Harpy Daniels' for sailors aboard the carrier Reagan. (MC3 Charles J. Scudella III/Navy)

Years before he became a yeoman 3rd class in the United States Navy, Joshua Kelley was entertaining exuberant crowds under his drag name, “Harpy Daniels.”

The 24-year-old Berwick, Pennsylvania native, who currently serves as an administrative supervisor aboard the forward-deployed aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan, brought Harpy along for the ride when he decided to join the Navy in February 2016, a choice he said was heavily inspired by his father.

“I’ve heard many stories of the Navy from my father," Kelley told Navy Times. “He’s a 24-year senior chief Navy counselor, so it was something I always had insight on. I grew up with the service, so knowing the benefits of it made it an easy path to take.”

One of those benefits was financial stability, something Kelley was struggling to maintain while pursuing drag.

“With drag being my number one passion, it quickly became costly,” he said. "On top of just struggling to make ends meet and then pay college loans, the Navy became a great option to get myself situated in life.“

Now, despite the furious operational tempo the Navy demands of its personnel, Kelley manages to find time to perform as Harpy Daniels on ship during MWR-sanctioned events designed to boost morale and provide sailors a much-needed break from daily burdens. He even took home a $1,000 Navy Exchange card for a second place finish in a recent lip sync competition.

Boosting morale and spreading joy through performance has appealed to Kelley since he was a youth, he said.

“I walked out of my mom doing death drops and splits,” he joked with NBC News about his knack for performance.

“I’ve always been an entertainer at heart,” he said. “It’s something you just feel and the vibes you bring with you when the spotlights are on. As a performer, your greatest joy is bringing smiles and laughter to those around you.”

And it turns out Kelley has an equally impressive knack for life as a sailor.

Within his first year in the Navy, Kelley was voted to be the president of Strike Fighter Squadron 115′s Coalition of Sailors Against Destructive Decisions, became the public affairs officer for the carrier Reagan’s Gay, Lesbian and Supporting Sailors association, was named VFA-115′s Blue Jacket of the Year and earned his first Navy-Marine Corps Achievement Medal, a Navy release said.

“Kelley has performed his demanding duties in an exemplary and highly professional manner and demonstrated tremendous initiative and attention to detail,” the former commanding officer of VFA-115, Cmdr. Samuel Gray, wrote in the release. “He was instrumental in his administrative duties and he reinvigorated CSADD program participation, creating social and volunteer opportunities for junior Sailors."

[IMG]https://www.navytimes.com/resizer/92daeZMYpdwfa18agS7_iblMnos=/1440x0/filters:format(png):quality(70)/arc-anglerfish-arc2-prod-mco.s3.amazonaws.com/public/JCIXUM75DNAWHDU6ORUU6STZMQ.png[/IMG]
YN3 Joshua Kelley performs for sailors as 'Harpy Daniels' aboard the carrier Ronald Reagan in 2017. (MC3 Tyler D. John/Navy)

The “exemplary” sailor’s interest in drag first developed when, as a 16-year-old, he began watching the popular reality show, “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” Next came his first in-person drag experience in 2013, when his then-boyfriend took him to a show at Pennsylvania’s Bloomsburg University.

“I never knew a man could embrace his femininity in a creative and entertaining way like that and I knew it’s what I wanted to do,” he said in the release. “Doing drag allows me to embrace my feminine side and allows me to bring my diversity and creativity out. When I put on a face, it’s a face of art and creativity, not just a face of make-up. To hear people cheer, laugh or cry, or even join in with you during a performance is an absolute thrill.”

The thrill, unfortunately, was not always mutual for his family.

“My parents did not understand what a drag queen really was," Kelley said, “so they were confused and quite concerned for what I do.”

Despite the fog of skepticism, Kelley told Navy Times that his father’s concern lifted the first time he saw his son perform as Harpy Daniels at Bloomsburg University.

“After the night was over, he was in tears of joy and overwhelmed with inspiration from his son,” Kelley said. “He told me, ‘I never knew you had so much talent, or what this all really was.’ That day my father saw me perform, he finally understood that it’s more than a ‘gay thing.' It’s simply a way to entertain and inspire others by being bold and beautiful.”

Kelley, who was named the pageant queen in 2015′s Miss Gay Harrisburg, continues to find joy in performing drag and as a sailor aboard the Reagan. And despite the differences between the professions from an outsider’s perspective, he says his dedication to performing has only helped his efficiency as a sailor.

“Competing in Miss Gay Harrisburg was similar to boarding for Blue Jacket of the Year,” Kelley said in the Navy release. “They both required a board-styled interview, including questions of history and current world events in their respective social setting and inspections on professionalism and grooming standards.”

Those similarities didn’t seem possible when he first enlisted, he said. The thought of being around so many different sailors who shared none of his flamboyance made him nervous, a fear that was quickly quelled when he was warmly welcomed by his peers.

“I’ve been accepted everywhere I go,” he told Navy Times. “Those outside my command don’t know I’m the drag queen who slayed on the ship. To most sailors, I’m just YN2 Kelley. Once they find out I’m Harpy Daniels, I’m praised as an inspiration and see so much joy in their reactions for simply being who I am. My command alone has given me the most support. I can’t thank the ‘Eagles’ (VFA-115) enough for being not only outstanding sailors and leaders, but a family who takes care of each other.”

While he’s not exactly certain what the future holds, Kelley anticipates that he’ll head to the East Coast once his tour in Japan is up. There, he expects to reenlist for at least another three years to finish what he started as a sailor, he said.

“I’ll just keep following my gut and stay on this path, because right now, everything is feeling just right,” he said.

Part of that feeling for Kelley is his hope that this positive experience as part of VFA-115 will serve as an inspiration for others who may feel ostracized.

“I’ve inspired many by being who I am today,” he said. “I want to show people that anything is possible and that acceptance is there. No matter where you come from, who you are or what you do, never be afraid to take a risk, have fun and be yourself. At the end of the day, we live for ourselves and should never be afraid to do what makes us happy."



https://www.dailywire.com/news...-festival-at-langley

Air Force Includes Drag Show In Woke ‘Diversity’ Festival At Langley


The U.S. military is hosting a drag show at a family-friendly festival at Joint Base Langley-Eustis (JBLE) at the end of July.

JBLE is hosting its first ever “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Summer Festival” on July 30, featuring a series of performances and speeches, including a poem on “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion” and a drag show by Joshua Kelley, who performs under the moniker Harpy Daniels.

The festival was first proposed by the JBLE Breaking Barriers Alliance, a committee comprised of volunteer service members under the base’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion. At least one top base official, Colonel Gregory Beaulieu, the installation commander, signed off on the event and approved the use of military resources, a JBLE spokesman told The Daily Wire.

The festival is advertised as a family-friendly event, including “bouncy houses and face painting for the children,” according to an event description. The event, which will feature performances by several cultural groups, is billed under the theme “Celebrating Differences.”

Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives have gained ground in the military in recent years, a development that critics say is gutting the unity, meritocracy, and mission readiness of the U.S. military. Rep. Mike Ghallager (R-WI), the ranking member of the House Subcommittee on Military Personnel, said in a February speech that DEI initiatives are undermining the military’s strength.

“Diversity may be a strength for America, but it cannot be an organizing principle for the Pentagon. Actual strength — physical strength, mental strength, and overall end strength — is our strength,” he said. “DEI initiatives risk sapping this strength. By co-opting the Woke Left’s obsession with racial and gender diversity, the Pentagon’s DEI evangelists are ironically stifling the very type of diversity that might improve military performance: intellectual diversity.”

The U.S. Air Force created an Office of Diversity and Inclusion in January last year. In February of this year, Bishop Garrison, a senior advisor to the secretary of defense, called DEI in the military a “force multiplier.” Garrison argued that DEI programs aid the military in recruiting candidates from diverse backgrounds with skill sets that the military can take advantage of.

“It’s not just something that has to be done because of some type of cultural ideology or culture wars that are going on — that’s not the case at all. It is, again, not diversity for diversity’s sake,” Garrison said.

more at link

This message has been edited. Last edited by: wcb6092,

Retired Army here and in today's climate I would not recommend anyone to join. Our military leadership is too self-serving and politically motivated not to mention completely out of touch with the people they command to be trusted with the lives of those who have to go in harm's way. Was rewatching Paths of Glory the other night and couldn't help noticing the similarity between the senior officers on the screen and a lot of what we have now...soldiers' lives mean nothing to them and are willing to throw them away for nothing.

The Pentagon Owns Its Recruiting Crisis

https://brownstone.org/article...s-recruiting-crisis/

Replenishing the military ranks with qualified personnel is a perennial challenge. It’s no secret, though, that this year our armed forces are fighting uphill to recruit and retain talent.

Most of the services are well behind their quotas. But the Army, our largest service, is having the hardest time enticing young Americans. That service will fall short, nearly 20,000 troops from its original target end strength of 485,000 for FY ’22, and next year could be worse.

To manage, Army officials have slashed end strength and enlistment goals, while recruiters are offering fat stacks of cash and generous service terms as inducements.

So far, nothing is working.

The Army’s Chief of Staff, General James McConville, blames the shortfall on competition with the private sector. Others blame upwardly mobile families who would rather their children attend college than wear a uniform.

Both are old saws. And this year, they ring hollow.

Some civilian jobs do pay more. But for an 18-year-old with only a high school diploma, military compensation is nothing to sneeze at. Indeed, recruits most often cite generous pay and benefits as the reason for signing papers.

Meanwhile, undergraduate enrollments are down over 600,000 from last year. So, it appears our missing recruits aren’t trading rifles for books, either.

Instead of blaming their competition, the Pentagon brass might dwell on their tarnished image as the reason fewer young Americans want to join up.

Public trust in the military institution has plunged steeply since 2018, according to one poll. Respondents cite politicized leaders, scandals, and the bungled withdrawal from Afghanistan for their loss in confidence.

We might add to that list suicides, sexual assaults, social justice indoctrination, and Covid vaccination policies as dulling the shine of military service.

Of the lot, the Pentagon’s vaccine mandate may prove its deepest self-inflicted wound.

While the service chiefs are begging Congress to fund more generous recruiting incentives, they have forcibly discharged thousands of vaccine dissenters – including most of those objecting on religious grounds. A similar fate awaits tens of thousands more of the unjabbed in the National Guard and Reserve. Never mind that our military increasingly relies on these part-time troops for routine mission support.

And the Pentagon has doubled down. Submission to the vaccine is now a condition of enlistment, despite evidence the therapy is at best ineffective, and at worst dangerous for younger, healthier people.

It’s a policy gravely alienating to the families of Middle America whose children disproportionately serve in our all-volunteer force.

Before going further, consider that fewer than one quarter of Americans in the prime recruitment age of 17-24 years can meet our military’s physical, moral, or educational entry requirements, and that figure continues to decline.

Of those, only about 9% of young Americans have any desire to serve. Perhaps only 1% ever do.

High standards have produced something of an embarrassment of riches. Our service members are amongst the healthiest, most disciplined, and best educated of their cohort nationally. But to maintain this quality, recruiters have come to count on solidly middle-class families inhabiting our Mid-American towns, suburbs, and rural counties to fill their quotas.

Recruiters bank on small-town America because for a variety of reasons our populous cities produce few qualified volunteers. Even the New Yorkers and Californians in the ranks are more likely to hail from upstate or inland counties. In fact, a once-reliable third of all new recruits enter from just five southern states: Texas, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and Virginia.

The prepossessed term for these rich recruiting grounds is ‘flyover country.’

Instead, we might think of them as communities celebrating life on a smaller and more intimate scale, and where patriotism, faith, family, and public service remain in fashion.

And yet their young people are not signing up like they used to.

The belief by some that vaccine mandates are meant to purge conservative Christians from the armed forces may be one reason recruiting offices are empty. After all, young people living in these prime recruitment areas are somewhat more religious and tend to be more conservative in outlook than many Americans.

They also are less likely to be vaccinated against Covid.

A more charitable account, though, is that the brass authored their own Catch-22 in the rush to prove their obedience to President Biden. As such, they have taken a position purported to improve readiness that has done quite the opposite. And now that they’ve become so thoroughly entrenched, they cannot easily retreat.

No matter. It should trouble the Pentagon more that their reluctant recruits are most likely military legacies.

Like many professions, the military is a family business. Roughly 80% of recruits either grew up in a military family or have a close relative who served. General McConville’s own clan is actually something of a poster family in career following, with three children and a son-in-law in uniform. Even the general’s wife once served.

Career following in military families is nothing new. It’s been going on since our country’s founding. The children of veterans, like those of bankers or physicians, often emulate their parents’ professional ethos early on. For soldiers, this includes a respect for duty and honorable, selfless service. The generational transmission of such virtues has played a critical role not only in reproducing our service cultures, but by extension our national values.

But it’s also a fragile chain.

While research indicates that military children are 5 times more likely to follow a parent into the service, only 1 in 4 do. And their desire to serve drops sharply every year over the age of 18.

In short, the Pentagon’s stubborn adherence to its Covid protocol is breaking faith with its once loyal base. And the longer they dig in, the smaller that base will become.

It’s a high price our nation may pay for unimaginative leadership.

My opinion - As posted in this thread by others, their recent shenanigans coupled with idiotic decisions and policies are souring veterans to the services. And what do veterans have? Kids. While trying to "appeal" to the younger generations, they are alienating the older generations, and those older generations are discouraging their children, grandchildren, friends children, and other youth they may know, from joining. So not only does the dumb shit they've been doing to appeal to some of the youth not work on all of the youth, it's also wholesale driving away older generations of service members from being supportive of newer ones joining.

The Military is getting everything they asked for.
I have stated this before in another thread, but last week I met with Retention and a SFC class from the Inspector Generals Office who was shadowing our small Company. Both told me that recruiting/retention is down 60-70%.

It is not just older troops who are leaving but the young service members who are doing 1 hitch and are done.

It pisses me off that they said I was over weight and over the body fat limit. I have never missed tape in 12 years. Then they threaten me. I said fine take my rank, schools etc.. because I am going straight to Combat Arms in the National Guard.

Yet the The Army is giving new recruits who exceed body fat standards or failed academic entrance standards a chance to serve as the service faces a daunting recruiting crisis.

In August, the Army is set to launch two pilot programs at Fort Jackson, South Carolina: one for recruits who are slightly too overweight to serve and another for those who did not score high enough on the SAT-style exam required to enlist.

New enlistees who exceed body fat standards by as much as 6% will be placed into a training program for up to 90 days that includes exercise and dietary training. Every three weeks, the recruit may have their body fat measured and, if they can get to only 2% over the Army's limit, they will be allowed to move on to basic training.

I guess they have already transferred at least 500 basic trainee soldiers from Fort jackson to Fort Sill to make room for these trial recruits.


When this happened after the 1st Gulf war is was to shrink the services and budget cuts. Even though they cut man power, the old ways of training was still there.

I think in the last three years all I have done is go to tranny training, suicide, SHARP, dip shit training, and sit around. Even the young soldiers are saying this is stupid and are hitting the door.

Hell, the Inspector General representative was there and the troops played cards. They did not even fake being busy.

It is pathetic. You don't want to take the PT test: Fine, Cannot qualify: fine.. But you dam sure better have your power points briefings completed.

I suspect those that might be inclined to enlist are discouraged by what they see at the top of the command structure, starting at the White House.
Hopefully that will change after the next Presidential election and then we'll see. Let's also hope nothing happens in the mean time.

The military is depending on a smaller and smaller pool of enlistees. I drive from Northwest Indiana to Detroit on a regular basis on I94 and there is exactly one Marine Corps recruiting billboard and it espouses Hispanic values are MC values. On a recent trip out west there were many many Marine Corps billboards. I found that particularly odd when you consider the amount of traffic between Chicago and Detroit and that amount of traffic on I90 between Rapid City, SD and Sheridan Wy. Victor Hansen has a podcast that discusses this very thing. I think it would be very difficult to put yourself into harms way for a country who’s majority hold you in contempt.

Guy that cut my hair for years, before he died of aids once said that if Gays were let in the military we might not win anymore wars but would have some really good parades.

I think one of the biggest mistakes America ever made was to eliminate the draft. The idea that every able-bodied person has a duty to serve country died with it. We have a large portion of society now who have no concept of duty, honor, country.

Many in my generation of Boomers have failed to instill a sense of duty and patriotism in our children. We have allowed a liberal education system and the arts to denigrate American values. Race hucksters and perverts have propelled us more toward tribalism, rather than a single national identity. We are tearing down monuments and trampling the memory of the founding fathers in the name of some fantasy of racial equity, two and a half centuries after the fact. Critical thinking is a lost art. People who know better are nodding their heads when told men are women and women are men and it's OK to transition children.

I was taught, and I strongly believe, the military is a reflection of society as a whole. The problems we see in the military are not just in the military-they are society wide.

I served 31 years active and reserve with some wonderful people. I have a son who was a Marine, another son who just retired from Special Warfare as an E9 with 25 years, and a daughter who is a career field grade officer in Special Warfare. My wife's father and stepmom, and brother-in-law all served 25 years or more. I have had the privilege of meeting and associating with many who are currently serving who are patriots who will readily go in harm's way on a moment's notice, and I am so proud of them. Thank God for the core of professional warriors who are there, and hopefully will be there in time of crisis. But they are growing weary of the nonsense and failures of leadership. As with policing, when you remove the incentive for the sheep dog to protect the flock, eventually the sheepdog will stop protecting the flock. Sometimes I think the only thing that can turn us around is an all-out world war. Perhaps some of the veterans who have made their way into the Congress will begin to set the ship right.

What I'm hearing from people just out of high school is they have no faith in military leadership or the military system. They see how military members at many levels are used as political fall guys. Politics and WOKE views trump basic ideas of honor and duty. The way it handled vaccines and Afghanistan seems to have finalized views observed for many years.

I served for 8 years in the Army. Three years in an airborne unit at Bragg, DLI for Russian, I got a lot out of it. I loved my time in the Army and wouldn’t trade it for anything, but I would not serve now. This administration would throw soldiers under the bus for anything. I also couldn’t hold back on the woke crap and would probably get in trouble for mouthing off.

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