Mr. President, Fire the Woke Admiral Biden Promoted to the Joint Chiefs

Our military shouldn't be led by a fearmongering admiral who limits the freedom to worship and promotes woke DEI policies.

Admiral Christopher W. Grady

An order issued on June 20, 2020 by Admiral Christopher W. Grady when he was head of U.S. Fleet Forces Command prohibited servicemembers from attending indoor religious services during COVID—a clear violation of their First Amendment right to religious freedom.

Grady's wokeness was further revealed in his reliance on "gender advisers" to guide his military decision-making.

Grady is just one of the politically correct senior military officers we're exposing at Restoration News. For too long, military leaders have been promoted for their willingness to toe the far-Left agenda. We are exposing those who put politics ahead of warfighting because they must be eradicated from the military.

Grady gave the directive prohibiting attendance at religious services despite President Trump declaring in a June 2, 2020 executive order that religious freedom "is a moral and national security imperative."

The unlawful order given by Grady also "strongly encouraged" government civilians, family members, and contractors to comply with the same guidance on indoor religious services and other gatherings. If these civilians were found in violation, they could be excluded from defense department facilities which included commissaries where military families shop for groceries. How many civilians were forced to give-in to this heavy-handed directive?

Shortly after Grady's outrageous decree, First Liberty Institute sent a letter on behalf of a military officer calling on the Navy to rescind the "unlawful order immediately." After this letter, and more complaints from Congress and military chaplains, the Navy put out new guidance on July 9, 2020 claiming Navy orders should not "restrict attendance at places of worship where attendees are able to appropriately apply COVID-19 mitigation measures."

Even though strict measures were still in place prohibiting indoor gatherings of 10 or more, on September 5, 2020, Adm. Grady posted a picture on Facebook of 11 people close together in an indoor shooting range and it appears he was one of the 11. It's Grady's "rules for thee but not for me"—COVID must have only lived in churches, not shooting ranges.

Grady Gets Promoted and Invited to Speak at Notre Dame

Grady's actions, unsurprisingly, didn't deter Joe Biden from nominating Grady to a key leadership role as Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Disappointingly, no one questioned Grady during confirmation hearings about his actions restricting religious freedom. Yet Grady did reveal his leftist tendencies when questioned on issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) probed Grady on his views regarding a lack of focus on warfighting in military education, a focus on DEI and the collapse of American confidence in military senior leadership. Grady skirted Cotton's direct questions, but later answered another senator's question about whether the military is a systemically racist institution. Grady said, "Every time I do a fleet-unit visit. . . I ask these questions, and we work really hard to have that dialogue, that important dialogue that we need to have about racism."

Grady also said in his hearing that he supports the role of "gender advisers" in the military. He told the U.S. Senate that "The role of a gender adviser is a way to attack a very significant issue, and if confirmed, I look forward to leveraging those advisers who can make me think better and smarter about the issues that you raise," Grady said. "So I look forward to, if confirmed, understanding that ecosystem and helping advance that cause going forward."

In Dec. 2024, Defense Sec. Lloyd Austin put out a memo emphasizing how the military would be "professionalizing the Gender Advisory Workforce" and "integrating gender analysis into military operations" with tailored training and "professional military education for the Total Force." One goal of gender advisers was to "promote gender equity" across the Total Force.

Sharon Feist is the principal gender adviser for the Defense Department and she creates curriculum on the topic. She has a master's degree in fine arts with a specialization in poetry—no military or warfighting background. Why are taxpayers funding these positions that have nothing to do with military readiness?

Insiders have told me that to become a flag level officer in today's military, one must toe the political line. There are certainly some great senior officers in the military but no doubt they face political pressure. Weak officers won't fight back on issues like "gender advisers" and other DEI initiatives that cause division among troops.

Grady was not only rewarded by the Biden administration for his wokeness, but he will also deliver Notre Dame's 2025 commencement address. He needs to be held accountable for his actions.

It's imperative that America's military be politically neutral, which is required under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. When flag officers push a political agenda, they set the tone for the entire military that you must follow their ways. This leads to division. The military must be unified toward a common goal of being the best warfighters in the world to protect America from those who seek to harm our nation—not focused on political agendas.

(READ MORE: The Uniform Is Not Invincible—Firing Generals Is Critical to Restoring Military Lethality)