Military Veterans and Patriots

Tag: Woke

  • Our ‘Not a Woke Army’ Lauds Transgender Officer Who Broke Regulations for a Decade for ‘Living Authentically’

    Our ‘Not a Woke Army’ Lauds Transgender Officer Who Broke Regulations for a Decade for ‘Living Authentically’

    The observance of Pride Month, celebrated every June, was first recognized by the Department of Defense in June 2012. It is a time when the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer community come together to celebrate love and authenticity. Maj. Rachel Jones is an example of this, serving openly as a transgender female Soldier. Jones is the U.S. Army Sustainment Command’s Cyber Division chief, G6 (Information Management). (Sarah Patterson)

     streiff | RedState

    The US military, in general, and the US Army, in particular, is suffering from a recruiting crisis (see Army Backs off Enlisting High School Drop Outs but the Woke Cancer Killing Enlistments Remains Stronger Than Ever, Military Recruiting Numbers Lowest Since the Vietnam War, GAO Finds Military Has No Plan for Ongoing Recruiting Crisis, the Real Question Is Do They Care?, and Rum, Buggery, and the Lash Makes a Comeback as the US Navy Fights Recruiting Woes; Well, Better Hold the Rum for examples). My suspicion is that retention figures among the noncommissioned officer corps would show nothing less than a genocide of talent. Why this is happening has never been a secret. The Department of Defense has tried to blame COVID and the miracle of Bidenomics, but the answer is much more banal. The military is in the thrall of Woke, and they’ve made it very clear that there is no room in their ranks for those White males from the South and fly-over country who used to fill the ranks. The message has been received by the young men who are inclined to serve, just not in the current military, where they are denigrated and alternatively treated as potential predators and actual prey. The message has also been received by the men called “influencers” in Recruiting jargon, the dads, coaches, teachers, and scoutmasters (can I even say “master” anymore?) who used to counsel young men about the benefits of enlisting in the military.

    The situation has gotten so bad that it reminds you of the joke about the cavalry officer who was so dumb that even the horses had begun to take notice.

    In recent interviews with NPR and MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” [Army Secretary Christine] Wormuth has sought to dispel any notion that the Army had gone ‘woke.’

    “As I said a few times last week in some media engagements: We are a ready Army, not a ‘woke’ Army,” Wormuth said on Tuesday. “That’s something, frankly, the chief [Army Chief of Staff Gen. James McConville] and I said throughout posture season in hearings, in meetings with members of Congress.”

    The case for why the Army is not woke just got a lot harder. Via a US Army press bulletin headlined Living authentically saves ASC Soldier’s life.

    Army Lauds Transgender Officer Who Broke Regulations for a Decade for 'Living Authentically'

    Maj. Rachel Jones, U.S. Army Sustainment Command’s Cyber Division chief, G6 (Information Management), serves openly as a transgender female Soldier. Featured on her desk is a wood sign stating “My pronouns are she/her. What are yours?” CREDIT: Army Sustainment Command Public Affairs Office

    The observance of Pride Month, celebrated every June, was first recognized by the Department of Defense in June 2012. It is a time when the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer community come together to celebrate love and authenticity. Many LGBTQ+ people must overcome deep-rooted fear, shame and adversity in order to live as their most authentic self, though.

    The road to self-acceptance was not easy for Jones. Before coming out privately to her therapist, Jones lived every day deeply depressed and suicidal.

    “When I was growing up in the ’80s and ’90s there was a lot of anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric. I don’t think many people meant to do that, but it’s something I heard as I was growing up repeatedly. So much so that I was convinced I was inherently evil for being transgender,” said Jones. “The pressure of hiding all of the time was so bad I grew up depressed and suicidal to the point that I always had a plan to end my life.”

    The story goes on to relate even more suicidal ideation by Jones, interspersed by years of violating Army regulations.

    Although Jones privately came out in 2019, she could not publicly come out due to the military’s ban on transgender service members.

    In September 2011, the policy on military service of non-heterosexual personnel “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”, was repealed, allowing LGB service members to openly serve in the armed forces. This did not apply, however, to transgender service members.

    In October 2016, transgender service members were temporarily able to serve openly under the Department of Defense Instruction 1300.28. In July 2017, the president announced that transgender individuals would no longer be allowed to serve in the U.S. military.

    “It was very risky to my career to be seen in public as a transwoman prior to the ban being lifted,” said Jones.

    Effective April 2021, DoDI 1300.28 was reinstated, once again allowing transgender service members to serve openly.

    This is a pattern that the Army has repeated over and over. In previous posts (The US Army: an institution corrupted to its very core and Army Starts Sham Investigation Into Bondage Fetish Colonel and His Friends Because They Think You’re Stupid), I’ve noted that the Army is totally over that “I will not lie, cheat, or steal or tolerate those who do” bullsh** and has moved without pause to praising those who make a mockery of the rules.

    Army Lauds Transgender Officer Who Broke Regulations for a Decade for 'Living Authentically'

    At one time, the code of the officer corps was the same as that of West Point cadets. You will not lie, cheat, or steal, nor tolerate anyone who does. The reason for this is simple. On the battlefield, the truth is vital. Even when the truth is unpleasant and places you or your unit in an unfavorable light. In the last years of the Obama regime, I posted this story: The US Army: an institution corrupted to its very core.

    This may be stupid but how is it corrupt?

    Let’s go back to August 2012.

    Army reserve officer Tammy Smith calls her recent promotion to brigadier general exciting and humbling, saying it gives her a chance to be a leader in advancing Army values and excellence.

    What she glosses over is that along with the promotion she is also publicly acknowledging her sexuality for the first time, making her the first general officer to come out as gay while still serving. It comes less than a year after the end of the controversial “don’t ask, don’t tell” law.

    “All of those facts are irrelevant,” she said. “I don’t think I need to be focused on that. What is relevant is upholding Army values and the responsibility this carries.”

    Or earlier this week:

    A married Army general on Tuesday introduced his spouse at a Pentagon event that featured lots of top brass, including Defense Secretary Ashton Carter as the keynote speaker.

    What made this seemingly routine introduction noteworthy is that Brig. Gen. Randy S. Taylor introduced his husband, Lucas.

    “My husband Lucas is sitting up front here,” Gen. Taylor said of the man in the same row as Mr. Carter, Army Secretary John McHugh and other senior officials. He said Lucas has subjugated his own career to support the general’s frequent moves over an 18-year relationship.

    “We bet everything on my Army career,” said Gen. Taylor, whose 27 years of service spanned an outright ban on gays, then “don’t ask, don’t tell” and finally, the ban’s lifting in 2011.

    The issue in both these cases is not the sexual preference of the officers but the fact that they entered on active duty at a time when it was against Army regulations — and illegal under the Uniform Code of Military Justice — to engage in homosexual activity. This is what is known as a fraudulent appointment. It is actually a federal crime. They accepted a salary under false pretenses. Any punishments they awarded are illegal because they held their commissions illegally. The Army is now honoring them as some sort of hero — General Smith says her promotion is about “upholding Army values” which, at some point after I left, were expanded to include lying and deceit. At a minimum, neither of these officers should have been promoted because they are self-confessed and unrepentant liars.

    I visited the National Museum of the US Army at Fort Belvoir two years ago. In the display of “firsts” in the Army was a panel devoted to Brigadier General Tammy Smith, the first lesbian general. No mention of the lies and deceit that allowed her to become a general.

    A man who violated Army regulations for at least a decade and has a history of mental instability is now held up as a role model. One can only conclude that the person who came up with this press release is legitimately clueless or trying to troll people on Twitter.

    If you don’t want to be a woke Army, don’t be one. But don’t lie to the country about what you are doing. If someone is working out their personal drama, they shouldn’t do it on duty and in uniform while ostensibly managing a key command program. If someone is having serial suicidal ideations, they probably should be evaluated for medical discharge so they can get well. What we know for a fact is that pretending to be a woman does not reduce the suicide rate for men who think they are women.

    With stuff like this, it is going to take a lot more than some progressive apparatchik to convince young men and their influencers that they have any role to play in the Army the Biden White House has created.

    Original Here

  • Senior Space Force Officer Attacks Anti-Grooming and Mutilation Laws, Says They Damage Readiness

    Senior Space Force Officer Attacks Anti-Grooming and Mutilation Laws, Says They Damage Readiness

    LTG Deanna Burt says “anti-LGBTQ+” state laws makes her use less capable personnel as commanders. CREDIT: Screengrab via YouTube

     streiff | RedState

    Last week began a veritable bacchanalia of celebrations of “PRIDE” month by the US Armed Forces. Why a military that has gone 0-2 in the last 20 years and is sucking swamp water in recruiting would want to devote a month to celebrating sexual deviance is beyond me, but that is where we are. The Air Force seems to have aimed for the stars (‘Embarrassing’: Air Force Twitter Account Sparks Outrage After Going Way Too Far in Honor of ‘Pride Month’ and Air Force Using Taxpayer Dollars to Fly Service Members to Pride Events).

    In the interest of interservice fairness, I’d like to point out that “Harpy Daniels,” the trans/drag/whatever the Navy had appointed to be “Digital (ewww) Ambassador” (see Rum, Buggery, and the Lash Makes a Comeback as the US Navy Fights Recruiting Woes; Well, Better Hold the Rum) performs with his equivalent in the US Army. This has nothing to do with PRIDE month but because I have a kid in the USAF and don’t want them to feel picked on more than usual.

    Watch on TikTok

    All joking aside, one of the most telling episodes underscoring the damage done to the military by celebrating what was, up until not that long ago, a felony under the UCMJ took place at the Pentagon’s 12th Annual LGBTQ+ Pride Month Celebration on June 7.

    The keynote speaker was Deputy Chief of Space Operations for Operations, Cyber, and Nuclear, Lieutenant General Deanna Burt.

    Since January of this year, more than 400 anti-LGBTQ+ laws have been introduced at the state level. That number is rising and demonstrates a trend that could be dangerous for servicemembers, their families, and the readiness of the force as a whole.

    When I look at potential candidates, say, for squadron command, I strive to match the right person to the right job. I consider their job performance and relevant experience first. However, I also look at their personal circumstances, and their family is also an important factor. It’s a good match for a job does not feel safe being themselves and performing at their highest potential at a given location, or if their family could be denied critical health care due to the laws in that state, I am compelled to consider a different candidate and perhaps less qualified.

    Those barriers are a threat to our readiness, and they have a direct correlation to the resiliency and well-being of our most important operational advantage: our people. The Department of Defense’s success depends on getting the most from every person on the team. Each team member deserves, at a minimum, to be treated with respect and dignity and to serve in an environment which they can grow and thrive.

    The diverse and inclusive tapestry of the Department of Defense must continue to embrace the LGBTI+ plus community. A 2022 poll showed that almost 20 percent of the people born between the years of 1997 and 2004 identifies LGBTQ+. That means without proper policies, messaging, and allies; we are potentially alienating 20 percent, 20 percent, of the key demographic and age group that we are looking for to recruit. And remember, the DpD is experiencing recruiting shortfalls across the entire enterprise.

    Diversity, inclusion are both force multipliers and warfighting imperatives that enable our competitive advantage against adversaries. We must be able to draw from the best and brightest talent across our nation to develop and retain a force comprised of backgrounds, experiences, and skill sets as diverse as the challenges we face as a nation.

    To get after this in the space force, for example, we ask each Guardian to embody the Guardian Spirit. The Guardian Spirit is a collective representation of what it means to be a member of the United States Space Force. Those with the Guardian Spirit are principled public servants possessing character. Beyond question, they are space-minded warfighters committed to mastering the profession of arms. Guardians are bold and collaborative problem solvers exemplifying the courage to debate new ideas and continually challenge the status quo. They connect with teammates to experiment, fail, learn, adapt, and innovate.

    No matter the challenge, the Guardian Spirit says nothing about which bathroom they use or which gender or sex they are.

    Thank you.

    Of course, there is the usual nonsense about diversity and inclusion being essential for mission success. I’d like to see an example of this just once. The British Army, which was the best army in the world for nearly two centuries, recruited regiments from within a zone. The early Highland regiments were raised by clan chieftains from their kinsmen. They managed to raise extraordinary military formations from Indian, Himalayan, and Pakistani tribal levies by hewing to homogeneity. One of the key reasons the Afghan National Army that we spent 20 years and billions of dollars trying to make look like a fighting force folded like a cheap suit was that, unlike the Brits, we insisted that each battalion be a proportional demographic slice of Afghan tribes. For any “diverse” French Foreign Legion you can name, I can give you a dozen homogenous counterexamples.

    What is stunning is that even by the standards of the military run into the ground by Lloyd Austin and Mark Milley, this is an extraordinarily partisan political speech. The fact that it was televised by the Pentagon and not behind closed doors shows the Pentagon was sending a message to the nation about its enthusiasm for exotic sexual practices and disfiguring surgery.

    Any military officer, particularly a senior one, launching a fact-free attack on laws passed by several states is just stupid. This kind of statement would run perilously close to violating Article 88, UCMJ, if uttered by a commissioned officer stationed in Florida or 18 other states. It is terrible leadership to encourage subordinates to get involved in state and local politics, not to mention a violation of the Hatch Act, and it is stupid politics to create a House and Senate voting bloc opposed to your service.

    What is most stunning is Burt’s claim that she has sandbagged officers slated to take command of units located in states of which she disapproves because of an inchoate fear that they or their families would be in danger. She says she’s had to slate other, less qualified officers in those positions. The subtext, of course, is that all the top-quality Space Force officers possess some exotic sexuality or inclination. Therefore, any straight white male you find commanding in more backward states is a second-stringer.

    I suspect this is utter bullsh**, but as it was a public statement and “against penal interest,” as Law & Order’s Jack McCoy would say, it merits investigation by the DOD Inspector General. If the facts match her bluster, she should be shown the door at a couple of lower grades.

    Over the last eight years, I’ve become convinced that the “long march” through the Defense Department has been accomplished and that institution is largely enemy territory. I saw the first inkling of that in 1992 when the senior officers I worked for in the Pentagon were unanimously and openly pro-Clinton. Should we be fortunate enough to get another Republican in the White House, one of the first orders of business has to be taking a page from George C. Marshall’s playbook. He looked deep into the officer corps for men who could fight and win the next world war and ruthlessly replaced the entrenched hierarchy. Eight years has been enough time to draw the enemy out into the open and initiate a purge — minus the bullet in the back of the head because that would be wrong — that would make Josef Stalin jealous.

    Original Here