By Casey Harper (The Center Square)
As US Sen. Marco Rubio exploded.
“The United States military is the greatest fighting force in the world, but activists awakened in the Biden administration are undermining military readiness, cohesion and purpose,” Rubio, R-Fla., told Center Square. “We will not allow these leftist lunatics to hollow out our army. The world is an increasingly dangerous place and America’s security requires a strong military capable of deterring and, if necessary, protecting our nation.
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Rubio’s comments came after The Center Square reported that the Pentagon is struggling to meet military requests even as it devotes attention and funds to issues of diversity, gender and critical race doctrine.
The Pentagon would struggle to produce enough precision missiles if a conflict with China broke out. Reports indicate It comes after the US sent a decade’s worth of Stinger missiles to Ukraine immediately after the war broke out, one of many shortfalls or potential shortfalls exposed by US support for Ukraine.
Critics argue that the military is distracted. For example, the recent Department of Defense Comptroller Report $86.5 million for “dedicated diversity and inclusion activities.”
“The department leads with our values - diversity, equality and inclusion in everything we do,” the report said.
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At a hearing earlier this week, National Security, Border, and Foreign Affairs Chairman Glenn Grothman, R-Wisc. The subcommittee expressed concern about the infiltration of “progressive ideals” into the military.
“We all know that the primary mission of the armed forces is to protect and defend our interests at home and abroad,” Grothman said. “However, the military is not an institution of social experiments and political correctness. This administration appears to be willfully blind to how its progressive ideals are affecting military readiness and recruitment.
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GOP lawmakers have introduced legislation to ban the teaching of critical race ideology in the military and cut funding to diversity offices that push these ideas, but the legislation hasn’t gained enough traction.
Grothman said the military’s liberalization is also hurting recruiting, which has become more difficult in recent years. The Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps all failed to meet their recruiting targets last year.
“Despite lowering fitness standards, relaxing tattoo policies and increasing recruiting bonuses, fewer and fewer young adults are joining our military ranks,” he said. “Meanwhile, the Biden administration is more focused on how cadets at military academies use the correct pronouns than learning how to lead, work as a team, and defend our nation.
“The Biden administration thinks service members understand ‘white rage’ — as recently described by our highest-ranking military officer, Gen. Mark Milley — is more important than promoting unity across the armed forces,” he said.
Rubio and U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, commissioned a report on similar concerns that was released last year. It has shown numerous examples of gender and racial ideology in US military training, policies and leadership.
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In one case, official training materials for West Point cadets lectured on white privilege. Another example the report points to is a slide presentation for the Air Force Academy titled “Diversity and Inclusion: What It Is, Why We Care, and What We Can Do.” This taxpayer-funded training warns cadets to avoid using gendered language, including words like “mom” and “dad.”
Syndicated with permission From the central square.