The beginning of this New Year is a great time to review and analyze what was accomplished last year and to consider ways to build on progress made.

Even in the face of strong opposition from the Biden Administration and progressive Democrat leaders in Congress, the House version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for 2024, and parts of the Senate bill, included many positive proposals addressing wokeism in the military, some of them for the first time. 

The Center for Military Readiness issued several updates on what Congress was doing to meet our Challenge for 2023.  We encouraged Congress to use their power to fix our military, and they made a great start.  During Conference Committee negotiations, however, many important provisions were left on the cutting room floor.

The CMR Policy Analysis linked below provides insight and a roadmap for more progress on the road to ending wokeism in the military in the coming year.  None of these issues are going away, and the need for congressional action is greater than ever.

This edition on CMR E-Notes also raises questions and expresses concerns about the judgement and record of the Secretary of Defense, Lloyd J. Austin, III.   The only good thing about this story is Secretary Austin’s reported recovery from his recent illness, but that does not preclude accountability for his own actions and those of others around him.

Finally, the year got off to a great start with an outstanding hearing before a subcommittee of the House Committee on Oversight & Accountability.   As noted below, witnesses and members of the subcommittee did an impressive job exploring the costs and consequences of diversity, equity, inclusion (DEI) and other progressive ideologies in the military.

This article provides an overview of what happened on major military/social issues when a Conference Committee met behind closed doors to reconcile differences between the House and Senate versions of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for 2024:

• CMR: NDAA for 2024: The Good, the Bad, and the Incomplete

More details on the substance of each issue and what the Conference Committee did with them, including references to previous House and Senate section numbers, are analyzed here:

• CMR Policy Analysis: NDAA for 2024: Missed Opportunities Must be Revisited

Issues addressed in 2023 included meritocracy in all military personnel decisions, the need to end diversity, equity, & inclusion (DEI) mandates that involve racial discrimination, abortion travel subsidies, divisive critical race theory (CRT) instructions, military parents’ rights to oversee their children’s education, drag queen performances and unapproved flags on military bases, climate change greenhouse gas limits and costly orders to buy unreliable electric vehicles, sex-neutral Army combat fitness tests, and the impact on morale when military women are ordered to accommodate biological men in their private living spaces, showers, and athletic teams. 

Members of Congress must revisit missed opportunities to eliminate woke policies, which are not difficult to define.  Wokeism takes progressive policies to extremes and imposes them with coercion, even if it hurts the institution.  None of the woke policies that the Biden Administration imposed on our military are working to promote military readiness or morale.

With more coordination between the two houses, Congress could and should do more to end wokeism and to support sound policies in the only military we have.   

B.  Secretary of Defense Goes AWOL

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin is one of many fortunate men who were diagnosed and sought early treatment for cancer.  CMR wishes him a full recovery, but when Austin returns to the Pentagon, his first official action should be a letter of resignation. 

It is not enough for Austin to “accept responsibility” for his failure to provide proper notification of a serious illness and treatment on December 22, misleadingly described as “elective surgery.”  Nor did Austin inform his subordinates and President Biden of a lengthy stay in Walter Reed Hospital’s intensive care unit (ICU) for treatment of post-surgical complications, starting on January 1. 

Given his key position in the chain of command, next to President Joe Biden, Austin’s peculiar, irresponsible behavior rose to the level of scandal.  President Biden should accept Austin’s letter of resignation or fire him for cause. 

Many observers have wondered by White House leaders did not notice the absence of the Secretary of Defense, second in the military chain of command.  According to some observers, America’s adversaries probably knew what our President did not know. 

On Saturday evening, January 6, Biden spoke with Austin on the phone.  But the president did not learn of Austin’s cancer surgery until Tuesday, January 9.  Why did Secretary Austin not tell his boss the full truth when they spoke on January 6? 

At a minimum, the Secretary of Defense has set a bad example for the troops he leads.  A mid-ranking officer would never get away with leaving his or her post without notice for what Austin characterized as “personal” medical business. 

Were American Troops Without a Leader for 3 Days?

Because unexpected emergencies can result from any type of surgery, there is no excuse for Austin ignoring continuity of government protocols.  CMR Legal Counsel and Law Professor Emeritus William A. Woodruff, who served in the Army Judge Advocate Corps and retired as a Colonel, has explained why the situation was so serious:

“Under 5 USC 3345(1)(a) the President and only the President can appoint the agency head’s first assistant to be “acting” during the time when an agency head is unable to perform the duties of his office.  Thus, Austin should have informed the President, who should have designated Assistant Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks, who was on vacation at the time, as the Acting Defense Secretary while Austin was incapacitated.

“. . . By the same token, if the first assistant is to assume the duties of the office during the principal’s disability, the first assistant must know about the disability.   That, apparently, was not the case here.  Since Ms. Hicks was out of the country when Secretary Austin fell ill and was hospitalized, it is conceivable that she could not perform the duties of the office even if she knew Secretary Austin was ill.  In that case, the President could have appointed another serving Senate confirmed person to be the acting Secretary of Defense.  Technically, we didn’t have a functioning Sec Def for several days because neither Hicks nor President Biden knew Sec. Austin was incapacitated.” 

There is a reason why a soldier carries “the football” with nuclear codes when traveling with the President.  The Secretary of Defense and the Commander in Chief must be on duty at all times, 24/7. 

It is disturbing to know that during the Christmas break, President Biden took off for St. Croix, Someone issued a false statement about Secretary Austin “working from home,” and his Chief of Staff Kelly Magsamen was at home with the flu with no contingency plans for execution of her responsibilities.  As a result, Deputy Secretary Hicks, vacationing in the Caribbean, was left out of the loop, together with National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and Air Force General C.Q. Brown, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Austin’s mysterious absence embarrassed the administration, disrespected the troops, elevated risks of an international incident, and put the nation in peril.  What if Murphy’s Law had kicked in at a time when Iran-financed proxy terrorists and Houthis have been attacking our troops on land and sea more than 100 times since October 7?

What else has the Pentagon not told us, particularly about the health of President Biden?

According to some observers, America’s enemies probably knew that Secretary Austin was AWOL for several days.  If our enemies knew but didn’t take advantage of the situation, we dodged a bullet as big as the surveillance balloon from China, which Secretary Austin allowed to float across America last year.     

Time to Hold Austin and Biden Accountable

The credibility of President Biden, who rushed to defend Secretary Austin, also should be called into question.  In this administration, the Commander-in-Chief shares responsibility for Lloyd Austin’s dismal record as Secretary of Defense.  For example:

• Austin’s first major action in office was a divisive worldwide “stand-down” to examine “extremism” in the ranks.  The project was, at best, a bust.  A DoD investigation found less than a hundred cases, and a second much-delayed report, quietly released in December, revealed nothing more than what the Wall Street Journal called “phantom extremism” in the armed forces. 

• During the horribly botched retreat from Afghanistan in August 2021, thirteen troops were killed, America was disgraced before friends and foes, and equipment costing billions was left behind for use by the Taliban and others wreaking havoc in the Middle East. 

• In October 2022, Austin unilaterally authorized time off and travel subsidies for military women seeking abortions, deliberately triggering Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s months-long protest holding up hundreds of promotions.

• In 2023, Austin expanded reality-denying transgender policies, and restricted disclosure of problems to preclude awareness of the consequences for military women and children.

• Secretary Austin bungled COVID-19 protocols to ensure an FDA approved vaccine, and the careers of thousands were ended or ruined.

• The DoD has defended and expanded diversity, equity, & inclusion (DEI) mandates at all levels, even though a steep decline in white recruits has worsened the ongoing recruiting crisis.

• Yielding to congressional pressure, Austin ended drag queen performances on military bases, but the Administration blocked legislation to codify that policy. “LGBT Pride” events proliferated at the Pentagon and installations worldwide.

• Even though the Supreme Court rejected Defense Department arguments in favor of racial discrimination in higher education, the DoD and service academies are looking for ways to continue racial discrimination in admission practices.

• Critical race theory instructions, which divide participants into “oppressors” and “the oppressed,” are continuing despite DoD denials of their existence.

• The Heritage Foundation’s 2023 Index of Military Strength rated all the services, except the Marine Corps, as “marginal,” “weak” or “very weak.”

House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers has sent separate letters to Secretary Austin, Deputy Secretary Hicks, and Austin’s Chief of Staff Kelly Magsamen, demanding explanations for what Rogers called an “inexcusable” lack of transparency that “could have resulted in calamity.”

This sorry episode reflects how the Biden Administration runs everything.  Ultimately, it will be up to the voters to fire President Biden, Secretary Austin, and all appointees who have made our world worse.

C.  House Subcommittee Conducts Serious Hearing on DEI, CRT in the Military

CMR congratulates Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-WI) who chairs the House Sub-committee on National Security, the Border, and Foreign Affairs – a subset of the Committee on Oversight & Accountability.  On January 11, Chairman Grothman and several more Republicans took a serious look at  “The Risks of Progressive Ideologies in the U.S. Military.”  Author and former Air Force and Space Force officer Matthew Lohmeier, together with Army veteran Will Thibeau of the Claremont Institute testified at the hearing, which can be viewed here:

• January 11, 2024 Hearing: The Risks of Progressive Ideologies in the U.S. Military - United States House Committee on Oversight and Accountability

Mr. Lohmeier and Mr. Thibeult were very effective in explaining why meritocracy, without regard to any other superficial characteristic, is the true strategic imperative for military personnel of all ranks.  The documents and articles that they and members of the committee put on the record will open eyes nationwide, setting the stage for specific congressional action to end racial discrimination and uphold meritocracy in the military service academies and all branches of the service.

Rep. Mike Waltz (R-FL) also advanced the discussion by examining the different between “equity” and “equality.”  Differences between the two concepts deserve more examination and action to eliminate the former while assuring the latter.  As Matt Lohmeier said, the military benefits from natural diversity, which everyone supports – not outcome-based “equity” mandates that promote some individuals at the expense of others.

 D.  Articles of Interest

• Daily Caller: Army Struggles For White Recruits Amid Recruiting Crisis And Diversity Push
• Military.com: Army Sees Sharp Decline in White Recruits
• Micaela Burrow, Daily Caller: Prostategate: Did The US Not Have A Functioning Defense Secretary During Lloyd Austin’s Secret Hospitalization?
• Elaine Donnelly, The Federalist: If The DOD Gets Away With Funding Abortions, It Won't Stop There
• Elaine Donnelly, The Federalist: Tuberville Abortion Fight Barely Scratches The Surface Of Military Wokeness
• Jonathan Butcher, The Heritage Foundation: DEI Has Failed; We Do Not Need More of It
• Frank Gaffney, Daily Caller: Stop The Marxist Makeover Of America’s Military
• Cully Stimson/Dakota Wood: Pentagon reverses gender-neutral pronouns in military awards (americanmilitarynews.com)
• Sean Davis, The Federalist: 'Diversity' And 'Academic Freedom' Are Just Left-Wing Buzzwords
• Scott Sturman, Brownstone Institute: No Institution is Safe: DEI Thought Control in the Military
• Shawn Fleetwood, The Federalist: GOP Senators, Not Tuberville, Deserve Blame For Dropped Pentagon Protest
• Brent Ramsey: What Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion is Doing to the Navy? - American Thinker
• Chuck DeVore, Fox News: 7 ways to fix the most glaring issues facing America’s military
• Andrea Widburg, American Thinker: The West Point conundrum: How do you fight for a country you’re taught to hate?

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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 edition of CMR E-Notes does not constitute endorsement of specific legislation.  More information is available on the CMR website, www.cmrlink.org.