We all knew that the sole reason that Peter Hegseth was called upon to be Secretary of Defense was tied up in his hatred for anything he perceives to be “woke” or in some way inclusive of a diversity of voices and people. How it is that a military that opens its arms to the most diverse population on the globe – Americans, is supposed to function without programs created to enhance cooperation among people from different backgrounds is beyond me. But every time that I read Hegseth or another of his brethren (They are all men) talking about “warfighting” being the only test, the only job, it makes me think that the best way to fight is in cooperation with everyone, without doubts, without any misunderstandings or latent agendas, and that gets done by programs put in place prior. If corporate America does it – and they do, then it should be obvious that one makes money, fights better wars, when everyone is on the same page. It really shouldn’t be that hard and it really shouldn’t be that controversial, but these things evidently do threaten the people used to being at the top, white men, and under Hegseth things are about to get real hard at the Pentagon. It sounds like Hegseth is about to go down the line and fire every general he considers too liberal. How about that for carving up U.S. forces?
As CNN reports, the cuts start right at the top and Hegseth is going to really invite outrage as he threatens to fire the Black Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, CQ Brown – who, if one trusts previous reports, is near universally loved and respected by troops and his colleagues in the Pentagon:
Rumors about the impending dismissals have been percolating for weeks, but a more formal list of those who could be fired was recently shared with Republican lawmakers, suggesting that the dismissals could be imminent, one of the sources said. Democrats were not briefed directly, that person said. The fact that the list was sent to lawmakers was first reported by NBC.
The list includes Gen. CQ Brown, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the sources said. Before he was nominated as defense secretary, Hegseth said Brown should be fired because of his “woke” focus on diversity, equity and inclusion programs inside the military.
I doubt there is any accusation that Gen. Brown is any more into “woke” programs than Gen. Mark Milley, who supported many of the diversity programs during his tenure. One worries that Brown is perceived as more “woke” for the simple reason that he is black. Hegseth might want to be careful because firing an officer who is likely far more popular than Hegseth himself carries a lot of risk going forward. And now to the quote, as if there is no middle or crossover between the battle for ground on the globe and battle for the soldier’s mind. The quote is attributed to Hegseth:
“But any general that was involved — general, admiral, whatever — that was involved in any of the DEI woke s— has got to go,” he continued. “Either you’re in for warfighting, and that’s it. That’s the only litmus test we care about.”
Talk about an anti-woke term, “Warfighting” is a relatively new term, probably put in specifically as an “F-You” to anyone with any reservations about throwing an aggressive military out to fight smaller countries… Our military does most of its work, in terms of pushing the nation’s priorities and defending it, by doing everything but warfighting. We do our thing by being prepared, being there, being ready to fight, being willing to fight, but also being willing to put the fight off if countries want to do the right thing. The last element is critical because, again – it allows us to get 90% of what we want without putting an American in harms way. It just doesn’t sound as cool to some as “warfighting” – and even if it did, it doesn’t preclude the need to get everyone on the same page, which is all the Defense Department “woke” stuff ever did. And then there is the other agenda:
Per CNN, half of the generals on the firing list are women and all of the expected successors are men.
Do you need to know much more? There is no conceivable way that half the generals in the service are women, thus creating a list in which half are women sends an unequivocal message as to the underlying agenda, warfighting is for men, even if women tend to bring about a different mindset, perhaps one that’s a bit more subtle, perhaps think a little differently and may come up with solutions, indeed – whole programs, that wouldn’t normally be put forth by men, at least adding to options – which is all anyone really wants, thereby taking advantage of every facet of humanity as put forth into “warfighting.”
Just awful stuff and yet you knew this was coming. Not only will the military lose a ton of institutional knowledge and good people, there is no conceivable way that those left behind, those still employed, won’t be angered that their colleagues, even if somewhat more liberal, were mowed over in this type of move. The purge does little more than ensure lasting damage going forward even in what remains in DoD. People didn’t vote for this…
God Bless: I can be reached at [email protected] and on Twitter-X at @JasonMiciak and please now follow on Bluesky.
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I’ve been involved in companies with significant layoffs and while some people are upset over who is lost, they soon forget about it and look forward to possible new opportunities. Conversely, those who are dismissed can sometimes be bereft and never recover.