{"id":1542472,"date":"2022-07-07T07:51:03","date_gmt":"2022-07-07T11:51:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1542472"},"modified":"2022-07-07T07:51:11","modified_gmt":"2022-07-07T11:51:11","slug":"the-militarys-recruiting-crisis-will-continue-until-its-woke-messages-stop","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-militarys-recruiting-crisis-will-continue-until-its-woke-messages-stop\/","title":{"rendered":"The Military\u2019s Recruiting Crisis Will Continue Until Its Woke Messages Stop"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fthe-militarys-recruiting-crisis-will-continue-until-its-woke-messages-stop%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1542472&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/disney-e1657046539366.jpg\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" alt=\"image\" \/><\/div>\n<p>Severe recruiting shortages in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/news\/military\/every-branch-us-military-struggling-meet-2022-recruiting-goals-officia-rcna35078\">all branches of the service<\/a> are too serious to ignore. <a href=\"https:\/\/recruiting.army.mil\/News\/Article\/2897062\/army-offers-up-to-50k-in-enlistment-incentives\/\">Enlisted bonuses<\/a> as high as $50,000 have not helped much. And the Army has met only 40 percent of its 2022 goal, so it <a href=\"https:\/\/www.heritage.org\/defense\/commentary\/military-recruiting-increasingly-awol-can-we-fix-it\">reduced<\/a> end strength by 22,000 soldiers.<\/p>\n<p>Traditional, patriotic families are the prime \u201cmarket\u201d for military recruiting. Pentagon officials and professional marketers, therefore, should objectively consider whether woke Defense Department policies have alienated that core constituency.<\/p>\n<p>Start with President Joe Biden\u2019s Inauguration Day <a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/briefing-room\/presidential-actions\/2021\/01\/20\/executive-order-preventing-and-combating-discrimination-on-basis-of-gender-identity-or-sexual-orientation\/\">executive order<\/a> prohibiting discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation. The order specifically opened doors for transgender men who want \u201caccess to the restroom, the locker room, or school sports\u201d reserved for women.<\/p>\n<p>Under a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.esd.whs.mil\/Portals\/54\/Documents\/DD\/issuances\/dodi\/130028p.pdf\">DoD Instruction<\/a>, all military personnel must embrace the notion that gender is \u201cassigned at birth,\u201d even though human DNA and chromosomes in every cell determine biological sex long before birth. Doctors, nurses, and chaplains must provide or support controversial treatments for gender dysphoria, including life-long hormones or irreversible surgeries, regardless of their own medical ethics or religious convictions.<\/p>\n<p>Reality-denying groupthink also politicizes pronouns. A Navy <a href=\"https:\/\/americanmilitarynews.com\/2022\/06\/video-here-is-the-navys-gender-pronoun-video-for-safe-spaces\/\">video<\/a> demonstrates ways to address transgenders, and anyone \u201cmisusing\u201d designated pronouns could be <a href=\"https:\/\/americanmilitarynews.com\/2022\/06\/us-navy-says-itll-punish-sailors-who-misuse-gender-pronouns-intentionally\/\">punished<\/a> for harassment.<\/p>\n<h2>Pride Month Events and Parental Alienation<\/h2>\n<p>President Biden\u2019s obsequious <a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/briefing-room\/presidential-actions\/2022\/05\/31\/a-proclamation-on-lesbian-gay-bisexual-transgender-queer-and-intersex-pride-month-2022\/\">Proclamation on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Intersex (LGBTQI+) Pride Month<\/a> sparked numerous displays of LGBT activism, including a high-level <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aflcmc.af.mil\/NEWS\/Article-Display\/Article\/3055980\/dod-pays-tribute-to-lgbtq-service-members\/\">Pride Month<\/a> event at the Pentagon.<\/p>\n<p>Marine Corps headquarters tweeted <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/06\/marine-corps-pride-01.jpeg\">an image<\/a> of a helmet sporting six rainbow-colored \u201cbullets.\u201d Air Force Recruiting <a href=\"https:\/\/thepostmillennial.com\/us-military-marches-in-front-of-pride-flag-no-american-flag-in-sight\">posted a picture<\/a> of trainees running with a rainbow striped banner, not the Stars and Stripes, and in Germany, Ramstein Air Force Base sponsored their second \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.airforcetimes.com\/news\/your-air-force\/2022\/05\/27\/ramstein-rethinks-pride-month-events-after-critics-bash-drag-queen-story-time-for-kids\/\">Drag Queen Story Time<\/a>\u201d for children.<\/p>\n<p>In a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rubio.senate.gov\/public\/_cache\/files\/db87ec63-9ccc-40da-8308-3eb32c2e71ae\/0571A782692E478046D24DC40658D6AC.05.26.22-letter-to-kendall-re-drag-queen-story-time.pdf\">public letter<\/a> to Air Force and Ramstein officials, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) demanded cancellation and \u201cappropriate disciplinary action against all involved in placing children in a sexualized environment.\u201d Ramstein cancelled its 2022 event, but a <a href=\"https:\/\/thepostmillennial.com\/us-air-force-base-community-center-hosts-drag-time-story-hour-after-initially-being-cancelled-by-military?utm_campaign=64483\">\u201cfamily friendly\u201d drag queen<\/a> performed at a nearby Army base.<\/p>\n<p>More seriously, transgender activists are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/your-military\/2016\/10\/02\/hope-relief-for-transgender-military-families-in-new-policy\/#:~:text=Hope%2C%20relief%20for%20transgender%20military%20families%20in%20new,Ben%20Finley%2C%20The%20Associated%20Press%20Oct%202%2C%202016\">targeting military dependent children<\/a> for transgender counseling and life-changing hormone treatments and surgeries to \u201caffirm\u201d incongruent gender identities, even though most children outgrow gender confusion on their own.<\/p>\n<p>Military parents seeking competent care that protects children from disastrous treatment choices won\u2019t be informed about a recent <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailysignal.com\/2022\/06\/13\/study-connects-jump-in-youth-suicide-with-transgender-treatments-lack-of-parental-consent\/\">Heritage Foundation study<\/a> presenting evidence that such treatments <em>increase <\/em>risks of suicide. Instead, parents will be denied and accused of \u201chate.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>\u2018Anti-extremism\u2019 and Covid Mandates Send Anti-Recruiting Message<\/h2>\n<p>President Biden also signed an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/briefing-room\/presidential-actions\/2021\/01\/20\/executive-order-advancing-racial-equity-and-support-for-underserved-communities-through-the-federal-government\/\">order<\/a> reinstating divisive critical race theory (CRT) instructions in schools and military academies. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin began his term by ordering worldwide CRT-influenced stand-downs obsessing about <a href=\"https:\/\/americandefensenews.com\/2021\/05\/10\/pentagons-war-on-maga-bidens-mccarthy-like-purge-of-extremists-led-by-leftist-extremist\/\">\u201cextremists\u201d<\/a> in the ranks.<\/p>\n<p>These divisive sessions, which <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2022\/01\/13\/the-pentagons-efforts-to-root-out-political-extremism-almost-entirely-ignore-the-left\/\">primarily focused<\/a> on the right end of the spectrum, not the militant left, cost <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/bidens-woke-agenda-military-6-million-man-hours-republicans\">more than 5 million man-hours and $535,000<\/a>. Investigators reported less than 100 cases of unacceptable extremist activities.<\/p>\n<p>It didn\u2019t help when Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2021\/06\/23\/gen-mark-milley-defends-teaching-critical-race-theory-at-west-point\/\">defended CRT<\/a> instructions at West Point. Instead of averting chaos in Afghanistan weeks later, Gen. Milley defended woke CRT <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/news\/2022\/jun\/20\/west-point-cadets-schooled-whiteness-queer-theory-\/\">slide presentations<\/a> accusing non-minority cadets of \u201cwhite privilege.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, military leaders have dismissed <a href=\"http:\/\/cmrlink.org\/data\/sites\/85\/CMRDocuments\/MilitarySeparationsCovid063022.pdf\">thousands<\/a> of exemplary personnel with medical or religious objections to Covid vaccinations.<\/p>\n<p>Every one of these infuriating stories, including that of Gold Star widow and champion Air Force Academy athletic trainer <a href=\"https:\/\/gazette.com\/sports\/air-force-sports\/air-force-academy-assistant-track-coach-terminated-points-to-covid-19-vaccination-status-afa-refutes\/article_1cb292c8-e831-11ec-b0cf-c731506a121f.html\">Dana Lyon<\/a>, sends an anti-recruiting message: Americans with traditional values are expendable and unwanted in today\u2019s woke military.<\/p>\n<h2>Defense Department Going the Way of Disney<\/h2>\n<p>Amid a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reaganfoundation.org\/media\/358085\/rndf_survey_booklet.pdf\">sharp decline<\/a> in public trust in the military, Pentagon leaders should stop and consider what happened to the Walt Disney Company when it alienated traditional families. Disney decided to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2022\/03\/11\/media\/disney-chapek-apology-florida-lgbtq\/index.html\">aggressively oppose<\/a> Florida Governor Ron DeSantis\u2019 parental rights legislation, taking sides in favor of sexual indoctrination of kindergarten students through third grade.<\/p>\n<p>Many parents felt betrayed, especially when a Disney executive <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2022\/03\/30\/disney-leaked-lgbt-gay-transgender\/\">boasted<\/a> of her plans to inject \u201cqueer\u201d content in Disney programs aimed at children. This <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2022\/03\/30\/disney-executive-wants-more-lgbtqia-minority-character\/\">campaign<\/a> explains LGBTQ characters in the Disney+ cartoon series \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2022\/03\/30\/disney-leaked-lgbt-gay-transgender\/\">Baymax<\/a>\u201d and the gratuitous lesbian kiss in Disney\u2019s latest feature film, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/entertainment\/disney-pixar-lightyear-same-sex-kiss-restored-queer-character\">Lightyear<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Traditional American families who used to count on Disney for wholesome, non-political entertainment are disapproving with their dollars. Since 2021, the value of Disney stock <a href=\"https:\/\/redstate.com\/brandon_morse\/2022\/06\/21\/disney-stock-has-tumbled-nearly-50-percent-as-audiences-turn-away-n581861\">dropped by $50 billion<\/a>, and Disney <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/disney-aborting-approval-already-dropped-40-points-now-offering-pay-abortion-costs\/\">approval ratings <\/a>have plunged 57 percent (77 points down to 33). Unlike popular Pixar films like \u201cToy Story,\u201d Disney\u2019s recent spinoff \u201cLightyear\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2022\/06\/19\/media\/lightyear-box-office-pixar-disney\/index.html\">bombed<\/a> at the box office.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2022\/06\/01\/top-gun-maverick-isnt-just-nostalgia-for-the-80s-its-nostalgia-for-american-greatness\/\">\u201cTop Gun: Maverick,\u201d<\/a> which celebrates meritocracy and excellence in tactical aviation, has been <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/movies\/movie-news\/top-gun-maverick-box-office-billion-tom-cruise-1235172044\/\">shattering records<\/a> for weeks. Juxtaposition of these two films suggests lessons to be learned. The Pentagon is going the way of Disney, but the damage is immeasurably worse.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Disney can fall back on progressive customers who don\u2019t mind exposing their children to LGBTQ cartoon characters or drag queen story hours, but traditional middle-class families are the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.military.com\/join-armed-forces\/whos-joining-military-myth-vs-fact.html\">primary base<\/a> of support for the all-volunteer force.<\/p>\n<p>Moms and Dads who grew up loving Disney movies are the same adult influencers whose support is essential in attracting military recruits. Unless the Pentagon stops alienating that core constituency, the recruiting crisis will get worse.<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\" \/>\n<p>\n  Elaine Donnelly is President of the Center for Military Readiness, an independent public policy organization that reports on and analyzes military and social issues.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Severe recruiting shortages in all branches of the service are too serious to ignore. Enlisted bonuses as high as $50,000 have not helped much. And the Army has met only<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":504,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1542472","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1542472","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/504"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1542472"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1542472\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1542472"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1542472"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1542472"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}