{"id":2208920,"date":"2024-03-29T07:34:07","date_gmt":"2024-03-29T11:34:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/if-diversity-is-our-strength-why-is-our-military-so-weak\/"},"modified":"2024-03-29T07:44:14","modified_gmt":"2024-03-29T11:44:14","slug":"if-diversity-is-our-strength-why-is-our-military-so-weak","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/if-diversity-is-our-strength-why-is-our-military-so-weak\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Does Our Military Lack Strength Despite Embracing Diversity?"},"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\">18<\/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%2Fif-diversity-is-our-strength-why-is-our-military-so-weak%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=2208920&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--><p>The military faces challenges \u2062with chronic recruiting shortages leading to significant cuts\u200b in occupational\u200c positions. The Air Force and Navy propose troop reductions owing to missed recruiting goals. Race-conscious diversity\u200d policies exacerbate personnel\u2062 shortages,\u200b raising concerns about operational strength. Implementing solutions to address these issues is crucial to maintain military readiness\u2063 and effectiveness.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"article-content\">\n<p>Our military is in trouble. Chronic recruiting shortages are forcing the Army to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.armytimes.com\/news\/your-army\/2024\/02\/27\/army-to-slash-thousands-of-jobs-in-major-revamp-for-future-wars\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">cut 16,500 occupational positions<\/a>, most of them vacant. The Air Force has proposed a <a href=\"https:\/\/americanmilitarynews.com\/2024\/03\/air-force-reducing-size-by-8000-troops\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reduction of 8,000 troops<\/a> after <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/navy-to-fall-short-of-recruitment-goal-by-about-7000\/\" title=\"Navy recruitment goal to miss by 7,000.\">missing recruiting goals<\/a> for the first time in over 20 years. The <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2024\/02\/13\/exclusive-a-huge-blow-decline-in-white-recruits-fueling-the-militarys-worst-ever-recruiting-crisis-data-shows\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Navy is short<\/a> 9,000 sailors, forcing longer deployments for others.<\/p>\n<p>Race-conscious \u201cdiversity, equity, and inclusion\u201d (DEI) policies are making personnel shortages worse. Minority recruitment has remained steady or increased, which is fine, but <a href=\"https:\/\/www.military.com\/daily-news\/2024\/01\/10\/army-sees-sharp-decline-white-recruits.html?mc_cid=8f88d8fd90&#038;mc_eid=773ea84c01\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">a steep decline in white recruits<\/a> almost entirely accounts for the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/us-coast-guard-misses-recruiting-target-for-4th-year-in-a-row\/\" title=\"US Coast Guard misses recruiting target for 4th year in a row.\">ongoing recruiting crisis<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2-long d-flex justify-content-center\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; \" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-1012081757\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1379703300879-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-9779b766545c3c98d5f4ef19e23a86dc fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-9779b766545c3c98d5f4ef19e23a86dc\"><\/div>\n<p>According to Military.com, in fiscal year 2018, the Army recruited 44,042 new white recruits \u2014 56 percent of the total. In 2023, that number plummeted to 25,070, or 44 percent. In the Navy, <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2024\/02\/13\/exclusive-a-huge-blow-decline-in-white-recruits-fueling-the-militarys-worst-ever-recruiting-crisis-data-shows\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">white recruit losses<\/a> accounted for an overall drop of about 9,000 new recruits.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Does National Security Depend Upon Incoherent and Irrational Stereotypes?<\/h2>\n<p>So, what are senior military leaders doing to fix this? They keep claiming without evidence that \u201cdiversity is a strategic imperative.\u201d Race-conscious practices, they say, are essential for military readiness and national security.<\/p>\n<p>The argument is absurd, especially since the Supreme Court\u2019s 2023 landmark ruling ending racial preferences in higher education. <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2023\/07\/06\/no-the-supreme-court-did-not-carve-out-a-military-exception-in-race-based-admissions\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The military service academies were not parties<\/a> to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.supremecourt.gov\/opinions\/22pdf\/600us1r53_4g15.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>Students for Fairness in Admissions v. Harvard and the University of N. Carolina<\/em><\/a>, but the\u00a0court ignored the government\u2019s objections when it applied its ruling to the civilian universities\u2019 ROTC programs.<\/p>\n<p>In its <a href=\"https:\/\/cmrlink.org\/data\/sites\/85\/CMRDocuments\/004WhatSCOTUSsaidaboutRacePreferences.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">opinion<\/a>, the court also exposed the flimsy premises behind decades-old racial categories, describing them as \u201cimprecise \u2026 overbroad \u2026 arbitrary \u2026 undefined \u2026 underinclusive \u2026 incoherent \u2026 [and] irrational stereotypes.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-54e208215900a3f9c26d95dfe4e2955e fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-6\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-54e208215900a3f9c26d95dfe4e2955e\"><\/div>\n<p>Justice Neil Gorsuch noted that racial categories such as black, Hispanic, Native American, Pacific Islander, Asian, or white, were devised not by anthropologists or sociologists, but by \u201cbureaucrats.\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The same bureaucrats cautioned in the 1978 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.govinfo.gov\/content\/pkg\/FR-1978-05-04\/pdf\/FR-1978-05-04.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Federal Register<\/a> that their arbitrary racial categories \u201cshould [not] be viewed as determinants of eligibility for participation in any Federal program.\u201d But they are.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Changing the Paradigm of Military Values<\/h2>\n<p>The Department of Defense validated racial preferences when it established the 2011 Military Leadership Diversity Commission (MLDC). By taking the advice of nonmilitary organizations and corporate business consultants favoring DEI racial categories, the MLDC <a href=\"https:\/\/cmrlink.org\/data\/sites\/85\/CMRDocuments\/CMRPolicyAnalysisMarch2024.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">turned military values upside down<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Consultants help private enterprises to please customers, but they know little about military combat operations, such as fighting and destroying an enemy force. Nevertheless, the <a href=\"https:\/\/cmrlink.org\/data\/sites\/85\/CMRDocuments\/MLDC_Final.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">MLDC report<\/a> listened to business \u201cexperts\u201d in writing that \u201calthough good diversity management rests on a foundation of fair treatment, it is not about treating everyone the same.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-4617e0ea9ad90d2ec82a5833012ec370 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-10\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-4617e0ea9ad90d2ec82a5833012ec370\"><\/div>\n<p>The report added, \u201cThis can be a difficult concept to grasp, especially for leaders who grew up with the EO-inspired [equal opportunity] mandate to be both color and gender blind.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This inexplicable shift away from non-discrimination, meritocracy, and \u201ctreating everyone the same\u201d contradicted the oath every <a href=\"https:\/\/www.law.cornell.edu\/uscode\/text\/5\/3331#:~:text=An%20individual%2C%20except%20the%20President,enemies%2C%20foreign%20and%20domestic%3B%20that\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">officer<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.law.cornell.edu\/uscode\/text\/10\/502#:~:text=%E2%80%9CI%2C%20__________%2C%20do%20solemnly,the%20orders%20of%20the%20officers\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">enlisted person<\/a> takes to \u201csupport and defend the Constitution,\u201d which takes a colorblind approach to race upheld in numerous <a href=\"https:\/\/www.supremecourt.gov\/opinions\/22pdf\/600us1r53_4g15.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Supreme Court rulings<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The MLDC report also stated: \u201cCultural assimilation, a key to military effectiveness in the past, will be challenged as inclusion becomes, and needs to become, the norm.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This astonishing proposal disregarded <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Cohesion-Element-William-Darryl-Henderson\/dp\/1410202739?asin=1478268182&#038;revisionId=&#038;format=4&#038;depth=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">military requirements and culture<\/a>, which requires identical treatment of personnel to build cohesion and mutual trust for survival in combat. Instead, the MLDC relied on a 1996 <a href=\"https:\/\/web.mit.edu\/cortiz\/www\/Diversity\/PDFs\/Thomas%20and%20Ely,%201996.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Harvard Business Review article<\/a> advising corporate managers on how to stress differences, not unity.<\/p>\n<p>The MLDC also recommended high-level \u201cchief diversity officers\u201d (CDOs) to ensure compliance with DEI mandates. Servicemembers were put on notice that at every step of their careers \u2014 from recruitment to promotion to three- and four-star rank and service chief levels \u2014 they would be \u201cheld accountable for their performance in diversity management and rewarded for their efforts\u201d (or penalized for lack of them).<\/p>\n<p>Like the Wizard of Oz, an intimidating diversity-industrial complex rules the Pentagon with billowing smoke, noise, and hot air. Unlike the fictional wizard, however, high-level DEI advocates are weakening our military in ways that could cost lives.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">DEI Quotas and Mandates are Weakening Our Military<\/h2>\n<p>In August 2022, Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall and then-Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. co-signed a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.af.mil\/Portals\/1\/documents\/2022SAF\/Officer_Source_of_Commission_Applicant_Pool_Goals_memo.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">memorandum<\/a> calling for a reduction in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/seattle-mayors-office-requests-fewer-white-men-veterans-be-represented-in-police-recruitment\/\" title=\"Seattle Mayor\u2019s Office Seeks More Diversity in Police Recruitment, Encourages Inclusion\">white male officers<\/a> from 64 percent to 43 percent. Many <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/usaf-complains-it-has-too-many-white-pilots-amid-critical-pilot-shortage\/\" title=\"USAF Complains It Has Too Many White Pilots Amid Critical Pilot Shortage\">mid-career officers<\/a>, told <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2023\/02\/21\/air-force-promotions-race-equity-gender\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">they were no longer wanted<\/a>, pleased their families by <a href=\"https:\/\/redstate.com\/streiff\/2022\/09\/18\/unexpectedly-the-usaf-finds-itself-with-a-critical-shortage-of-pilots-while-it-says-it-has-too-many-white-officers-n629231\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">moving to the commercial airlines<\/a>. Now the Air Force has a shortage of experienced pilots.<\/p>\n<p>Military DEI strategic plans lack solid data to support exaggerated claims about race-based diversity categories. The 2021 <a href=\"https:\/\/media.defense.gov\/2021\/Jan\/26\/2002570959\/-1\/-1\/1\/TASK%20FORCE%20ONE%20NAVY%20FINAL%20REPORT.PDF\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Task Force One Navy (TF1N) report<\/a>, for example, published <a href=\"https:\/\/cmrlink.org\/data\/sites\/85\/CMRDocuments\/CMRPolicyAnalysisMarch2024.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">equivocal, misleading quotes<\/a> from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mckinsey.com\/~\/media\/mckinsey\/business%20functions\/organization\/our%20insights\/why%20diversity%20matters\/diversity%20matters.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">civilian sources<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mckinsey.com\/~\/media\/mckinsey\/business%20functions\/organization\/our%20insights\/why%20diversity%20matters\/diversity%20matters.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">handbooks<\/a> that did not include the words \u201cmilitary\u201d or \u201carmed forces\u201d even once.<\/p>\n<p>Thanks to chronic recruiting shortages, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailysignal.com\/2024\/02\/14\/our-military-is-weak-that-should-scare-you\/?utm_source=TDS_Email&#038;utm_medium=email&#038;utm_campaign=MorningBell&#038;mkt_tok=ODI0LU1IVC0zMDQAAAGRec-5ilc3y_wRoV0Io7X6pHpP1R8yYtBmVtQWyYfsRgkbRzH1iDBuQK9vafTUd3k4NU4yHRNniMi8KOy_0ugsInK3LEBTkhXLhQ5GpOIv3fCbXRE\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">the Navy has begun accepting the lowest category of aptitude testing<\/a> \u2014 a high-risk option that could worsen a <a href=\"https:\/\/patriotpost.us\/articles\/105432-navy-leadership-failures-2024-03-25\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">rash of mishaps at sea<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The Heritage Foundation\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.heritage.org\/military-strength\/executive-summary\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">2024 Index of Military Strength<\/a> rates the Air Force as \u201cvery weak\u201d on readiness, and the Navy and Army rated \u201cweak\u201d or \u201cvery weak\u201d in different categories.<\/p>\n<p>According to the latest annual <a href=\"https:\/\/www.military.com\/daily-news\/2023\/11\/30\/most-would-encourage-military-service-confidence-armed-forces-remains-low-survey-finds.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute Survey<\/a>, public confidence in the All-Volunteer Force has declined from 70 percent to 48 percent since 2018. And a recent <a href=\"https:\/\/news.gallup.com\/poll\/509189\/confidence-military-lowest-two-decades.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Gallup poll<\/a> reported a drop in confidence in the military from 81 percent to 60 percent since 2010.<\/p>\n<p>The latest Blue Star Families <a href=\"https:\/\/www.military.com\/daily-news\/2024\/03\/18\/only-one-third-of-military-families-would-still-recommend-service-blue-star-families-survey-finds.html?mc_cid=0847752750&#038;mc_eid=773ea84c01\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">survey<\/a> reported that only 32 percent of military families would recommend service in the All-Volunteer Force.<\/p>\n<p>So, what has the Army done? West Point officials are <a href=\"https:\/\/johnalucas6.substack.com\/p\/west-point-deletes-duty-honor-country\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">removing the historic words<\/a> \u201cDuty, Honor, Country\u201d from the U.S. military academy\u2019s mission statement, dropping \u201cCountry\u201d and obscuring \u201cDuty\u201d and \u201cHonor\u201d in a wordy <a href=\"https:\/\/www.army.mil\/values\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">separate statement<\/a> of \u201cArmy Values.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Diversity Metrics Over Meritocracy<\/h2>\n<p>Civilian and military leaders seem stuck in a time warp, conducting DEI business as usual. Policies that replace color-blindness with race-consciousness define wokeism, which takes progressivism to extremes, even if it hurts the institution.<\/p>\n<p>True diversity, <em>equality<\/em>, and appropriate inclusion are good things, but DEI programs that divide and demoralize are not. A ship that is steered two degrees off course, without correction, eventually winds up in the wrong ocean. With national security at risk, Congress must intervene to change the military\u2019s course and restore sound priorities before it is too late.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-322500be5535ddaab1204d5d09bce1ca fdrlst__b89e9-after-post-content\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-322500be5535ddaab1204d5d09bce1ca\"><\/div>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">    \t\t\t\t\t   \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The military faces challenges with chronic recruiting shortages, leading to cuts in occupational positions. The Air Force plans to reduce 8,000 troops due to missed recruiting goals after two decades. The Navy lacks 9,000 sailors, resulting in extended deployments. These issues raise concerns about strength despite embracing diversity and highlight the impact of these shortages on operational effectiveness<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":504,"featured_media":2208921,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/43651843081_576d864ccd_k-e1711677977758.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2208920","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/43651843081_576d864ccd_k-e1711677977758.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2208920","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=2208920"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2208920\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2208921"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2208920"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2208920"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2208920"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}