The 118^th Congress has exceeded expectations, but the battle is far from over.

In January 2023, the Center for Military Readiness posted a Challenge for Congress that highlighted eight major military/social issues of concern to CMR.  Despite strong resistance from the Biden Administration and lack of majority control in one chamber, Congress addressed all the issues on CMR’s list, and added four more in one or both defense bill drafts.

The House- and Senate-approved versions of the NDAA for 2024 will be consolidated by a Conference Committee meeting in the Fall, and all issues of concern deserve to be enacted in law.  If they are not, Republicans should redouble efforts to win the next election and return to address all the woke issues, which are not difficult to define:

Wokeism takes progressive policies to extremes and imposes them with coercion, even if it hurts the institution. 

This article highlights many issues of concern to CMR addressed in the current NDAA:

CMR: Congress Takes the Lead: How to Eliminate Wokeism in the Military 

As you can see, issues addressed include meritocracy in the military, discriminatory diversity, equity, & inclusion (DEI) quotas, divisive critical race theory (CRT) instructions at the militry service academies and in DoD Education Activity (DoDEA) schools, time-consuming “anti-extremism” stand-downs, harmful transgender policies, drag shows and story hours on military bases, the controversial Army Combat Fitness Test (ACFT), unfair COVID-19 mandates, “climate change” and ESG mandates, subsidized travel and time off for abortions, and displays of unauthorized flags celebrating leftist causes and the LGBT agenda.

CMR’s 30^th Anniversary Year has been very busy and productive!  A remarkable coalition has made it possible to see results unlike anything we have seen before. 

The Center for Military Readiness will continue pressing for high standards, sound priorities, and an end to wokeism that weakens morale and readiness. 
 
–Elaine Donnelly

A.  Defense Bill Pushing Back on Wokeism in the Military

Wokeism is not limited to social/cultural issues; it can be seen in many extreme progressive policies that hurt institutions. 

Demands to defund the police, for example, have escalated crime rates and violence in cities that take such demands to extremes.  Environmental, Social, & Governance (ESG) mandates also have proven ruinous to private companies like Bud Light and nations like the Netherlands. 

The various types of wokeism the Defense Department keeps imposing on our men and women in uniform are even worse because they are weakening the only military we have. 

Woke issues are matters of national security.  This is why it is important to understand what some members of Congress are trying to do, and to lend support at this critical time. 

This CMR Report includes the latest information, including Sections of the House and Senate bills where provisions of interest can be located:

CMR: Congress Takes the Lead: How to Eliminate Wokeism in the Military 

The White House issued a predictable Statement of Administration Policy expressing strong opposition to common-sense provisions that would dismantle wokeness in the military.  As explained in this article, the administration’s Statement confirms how woke the Biden administration’s agenda really is: 

• The Federalist: GOP Can’t Cave on NDAA Amid Biden’s Woke War on the Military

Congress has made significant progress in restoring sound priorities, but members need to know where their constituents stand on any or all the issues highlighted in this the need to eliminate wokeism from our military. 

Members of the House Armed Services and Senate Armed Services Committees deserve special attention.  Stay tuned for more activity on the NDAA in the Fall.

B.  Nominee for Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

Working with several other organizations and concerned individuals, CMR recently circulated a statement opposing the nomination of Air Force Gen. Charles Q. Brown, Jr. to be the next Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff:

Open Letter Members of the Unites States Senate Re: Nomination of Air Force General Charles Q. Brown, Jr. to be Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

The Open Letter and other concerns about General Brown’s nomination were featured in several articles:

• Daily Caller:  Retired Generals Urge GOP Senators To Grill Biden’s Top Military Nominee Over Race-Based Policies
•  Real Clear Defense: General Charles Q. Brown—Too Many Red Flags

This article includes the hearing video of Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) questioning Gen. Brown about the plight of a female constituent and National Guard trainee who was forced to share open-bay barracks and showers with biological men claiming to be women:

• Fred Lucas, Daily Signal: How Biden Nominee to Head Joint Chiefs Fields Questions on Gender, DEI (dailysignal.com)

Gen. Brown’s commitment to “look at” the situation was by no means reassuring.  Threats to women in situations where their personal privacy and modesty are violated are not an anomaly; they are caused by transgender policies that Gen. Brown fully supports.

America’s military should be led by officers at all levels who assign priority to military readiness, not woke policies. 

C.  Articles of Interest:

• Elaine Donnelly, The Federalist: Like Bud Light, the U.S. Navy Steps on a Rake With Drag Influencers

Excerpt: “Wokeism in the military hurts an institution by taking leftist ideology to extremes. . . Congress should demand accountability from policymakers who don’t understand the importance of military culture.  “Dignity and respect” should include discipline, selflessness, and undiminished focus on missions that protect national security in a dangerous world.”

• Prof. William A. Woodruff, The Federalist: No, the Supreme Court Did Not Carve Out a Military Exception in Race-Based Admissions

 Excerpt: “The final judicial resolution of how equal protection principles apply to the service academies’ admissions practices is years away. Congress, however, has the authority and responsibility to address the issue immediately. Legislation forbidding the use of racial preferences and requiring admissions and other personnel decisions to be made based on merit instead of skin color will remove the uncertainties and delays that are inherent in judicial resolution.”

• Lt. Gen. Gregory Newbold, USMC (Ret.), Military.com: Inconvenient Truths for the Next War
  

Excerpt: “American history teaches us that our admirable adherence to tenets of democratic values, coupled with either ignorance about or apathetic indifference to military bedrock requirements, causes nearly endless repetition of mistakes in preparing our armed forces for war. Said less politely, "democratizing" an institution whose often lethal duties require nothing approaching democratic processes already has caused the deaths of thousands of young Americans. Who do you want guarding the flock -- one of the sheep or a sheep dog?’

• Micaela Burrow, Daily Caller: EXCLUSIVE: Military Policy Group Slams Biden For Opposing Anti-Woke Defense Bill
• Thomas Spoehr, The Hill: In the military, physical fitness outranks gender ‘equity’
• Micaela Burrow, Daily Caller: The Military Is Quietly Using A Little-Known Program To Enable Child Sex Changes
• Fox News: Female recruit considered resigning after being forced to shower with trans women with full male genitalia
• Colorado Gazette: The DEI Threat to Our Military Academies
• Briana Oser, Washington Examiner: The military's transgender policies enable men to shower with women
• Rich Lowry, Boston Herald: Lowry: U.S. military doesn't need DEI programs
• Brent Ramsey, RealClearDefense: The Navy and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)
• Military.com: Poll says confidence in US military lowest in 25 years (militarytimes.com)
• Robert Knight, Washington Times: Yes, the culture war is real, and Democrats started it
• John A. Lucas, Bravo Blue: "To Win Our Nation's Wars"?  
• Micaela Burrow, Daily Caller: ‘A Matter of Political Will’ – Biden and a GOP Senator Are Duking It Out Over Abortion, and Neither One is Backing Down

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The Center for Military Readiness (CMR) is an independent, non-partisan public policy organization, founded in 1993, which reports on and analyzes military/social issues.  This informational paper does not constitute endorsement of specific legislation.  More information is available on the CMR website: www.cmrlink.org.