Experts: "De-Woke the Military or Lose the Next War"

Veterans warn of the nightmare of a military more focused on combating gender realities than America’s enemies.

Biological men in women’s locker rooms, months of paternity leave, time off for getting an abortion, and a system rigged to target anyone who challenged the insanity. This isn't Columbia University or the Democratic National Committee—it's the U.S. military under Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.

Democrats and RINOs tried to block the Senate confirmation of combat veteran Pete Hegseth as Trump’s Secretary of Defense, smearing him as a misogynist and a radical. But the truth is our military is in crying need of the reforms Hegseth promises to bring to the Pentagon. 

The woke policies implemented by the Biden administration Defense Sec. Lloyd Austin left America at greater risk than ever before. Hegseth's 51–50 confirmation was essential to exorcising the horrible DEI, CRT, and pro-abortion policies of the Biden regime. 

I spoke exclusively to two Air Force veterans about the nightmare of a woke military.

One of these individuals is active duty enlisted, while the other is a retired officer who still works for the military. And based on what they said, woke leftism is harming military preparedness, putting women at risk, and ensuring unqualified partisan hacks are promoted. Both sources preferred to remain anonymous as the sad reality of this woke military is personal retaliation against anyone who speaks out about the internal destruction. The countless patriotic service men and women in our armed forces deserve better—they deserve a Defense Secretary like Pete Hegseth.

“Biological men were occupying women’s spaces (bathrooms, locker rooms, etc.),” the enlisted woman told me. Transgenders were prioritized “and we were forced to be uncomfortable.” Not only did biological men invade women’s facilities, but an innovation now exposes details about the issuer of disciplinary paperwork. “When paperwork was issued (LoC [letter of counseling], LoR [letter of reprimand], etc.) the rank, gender, age, and ethnicity of both the issuer and the problematic person were given to leadership,” the service member said. If she issued an LoC to someone, “both of our ranks, gender, ethnicity/race, and ages were put up on the screen for the commander and other leaders to view.” 

What happens if a straight, white woman reprimands a “transgender”? Or a middle-aged man issues an LoC or LoR to a young, black lesbian?  Now all that information is exposed and taken into account, the retired officer clarified.

(READ MORE: Trump’s Top Priority—End Wokeness in the Military)

Culture War

The enlisted servicemember noted that transgenders are also allowed to break regulations for uniform, hair, or anything else.  “We were told not to correct a person transitioning for not being in regs.” Air Force Gen. Charles Q. Brown, Biden’s chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and thus in charge of policy across all the service branches (not just AF), was a major part of the problem. My source highlighted the fact that he had “quotas of people of color for promotion.” Naturally, when people are promoted based on their skin color and not their qualifications, that seriously impacts military readiness. Both of my sources noted that older servicemen are being told not to advise or mentor young airmen, nor even to bring their experience to bear. “We were told that the young airmen are the future and they are so bright that we need to listen to them . . . basically throw out our experience.” 

Nor were military being promoted just from a woke race perspective. “People less qualified [were] being promoted for sexual preferences,” the enlisted service member said. They also receive special privileges. “Trannies weren’t deployable so the rest of us had to fill in.”

Another disturbing woke policy, my sources told me, is letting women in the military take time off for killing their unborn babies. “Women [were] offered PTDY [Permissive Temporary Duty] for abortions,” the enlisted servicemember said. 

The retired officer corroborated that claim. “They got time off for recovery and it was masked on their medical records, so nothing could happen to them.” Furthermore, paternity leave was extended far beyond what was reasonable, once again affecting military readiness. “Men got more leave for the birth of a child than I got for actually giving birth . . . I’m still bitter over this,” the enlisted service member stated. When she had her child, she had to use “two weeks of personal leave because there were no available slots at the CDC [on-base daycare].” She also had to return to work while she was still recovering from giving birth. Now, however, paternity leave can be longer than maternity leave used to be and special privileges were handed out on top of that. “Men get 12 weeks and the wife one year to recover before” they have to return to work and/or take standard tests again, the retired officer explained.

Of course, I have been able to witness the harmful effects of military leaders like Brown and Austin putting woke politics over qualifications and patriotism myself. The BX on Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Arizona, not only had a huge LGBTQ display for “Pride Month,” it promoted completely inappropriate LGBTQ books to children. At bases in both California and Arizona, I have seen how the regulations for weight, hair, uniforms, and more have been relaxed (especially for transgenders). 

In Arizona, the man in charge of the local base’s youth Civil Air Patrol program gave talks on racism and DEI and promoted woke ideology to cadets. He also displayed staggering bias in testing, promotions, and other opportunities, picking and choosing his favorite kids. 

The Arizona Civil Air Patrol Wing Vice Commander, Lt. Col. Linda Yaeger, was appointed under Biden, and Civil Air Patrol in recent years has enthusiastically celebrated Pride Month on social media. 

Ultimately, the lesson is this: In Arizona or California, Pennsylvania or Iraq, Italy or Kansas, in youth programs and active duty military wings, indeed at every level, woke DEI policies do lead to egregious favoritism and unprofessional conduct. The standards under Biden/Austin/Brown were not patriotism or excellence or integrity, but one’s personal views on “victim classes” and “oppressed minorities.”

It all boils down to this: the U.S. military needs a Defense Secretary like Pete Hegseth to start purging the CRT, DEI, and other woke insanity out of our armed forces, so that we can once again be the finest and most lethal fighting force in the world.

(READ MORE: Withdrawing from WHO is a Win for Decency Over Insane Gender Ideology)

Catherine Salgado is a contributor for PJ Media. She also writes for Media Research Center, the Prickly Pear, and her Substack Pro Deo et Libertate on a variety of political, historical, and cultural topics. She received the Andrew Breitbart MVP award for August 2021 from the Rogue Review for her journalism.

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