America’s military is in trouble.  Extreme woke policies are dividing and demoralizing the troops and contributing to the ongoing recruiting crisis, but Commander-in-Chief Joe Biden and many of his congressional allies don’t seem to care.  

Enter the 118^th Congress, under partial new management.

In January, the Center for Military Readiness posted a CMR Challenge to Congress, calling on the members to address eight military/social issues in the military.  In July, a Summary of the House version of H.R. 2670, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for 2024, titled Ending Wokeness in the Military, reported that the House had addressed all eight issues included in the CMR Challenge to Congress, plus several more. 

Positive measures passed in both the House and Senate versions of the NDAA for 2024, if enacted in law, would begin the process of restoring common sense policies that assign higher priority to military readiness and morale, not woke policies that are not difficult to define.

On issues ranging from climate change and transgenderism to diversity quotas and prejudicial indoctrination in military schools – woke policies take progressivism to extremes and impose them with coercion, even if it hurts the institution.

Section numbers indicated below are from the House Report accompanying accompanying the House bill, HR 2670. 

The Senate Armed Services Committee voted behind closed doors, but released a Summary of the Committee’s NDAA draft. (See pp. 17, 18, and 30)  The Summary and the record of Committee roll call votes shown at the end of the Senate Report (118-58) accompanying S. 2226, (pp. 656-661) indicate voting outcomes on several measures of particular interest in the Senate defense bill. 

Senate Republicans sponsored amendments addressing some of the topics included in the House bill, but most were not taken up when the Senate passed its version of the bill, S. 2226, on July 27.  Differences in the bills will be resolved in the Fall.

The following twelve topics of interest to CMR were addressed in one or both pending House and Senate versions of the NDAA for 2024:

1.  Meritocracy in the Military

Both the House and Senate addressed CMR’s paramount issue for 2023: Meritocracy in the Military.  The need to codify the concept of merit became apparent last year.  CMR supported the amicus brief filed by the Veterans for Fairness and Merit VFM) in two cases that were heard in October 2022, Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) vs. Harvard and the University of N. Carolina.

The VFM amicus brief challenged the Biden Administration’s argument that the military service academies should be allowed to continue racial discrimination in administration practices as a matter of “national security.”  The SCOTUS disregarded the Administration’s arguments that the Solicitor General presented in oral arguments before the Court, handing down rulings ending racial discrimination in higher education.  (The rulings did not affect the military service academies – an issue that would have to be settled in law or separate litigation with a full record.)

Among other things, the Senate and House drafts of the NDAA:

• Require that all military promotions, assignments, and other personel actions should be based primarily on qualifications, performance, and merit.  (S. Sec. 534)

• Prohibit any funds authorized in the bill from being used by the military service academies to discriminate based on race or ethnicity in academy admissions or to establish quotas for admission on the basis of race or ethnicity; (H. Sec. 570G)

Both the House and Senate recognize how divisive and costly DEI programs and bureaucratic infrastructures – dubbed the Diversity Industrial Complex – have become.  The draft bills would:

• Prohibit the Secretary of Defense to appoint or employ a military or civilian employee whose duties include diversity, equity, and inclusion with a rank or grade in excess of GS-10. (H. Sec. 364 and S. Sec. 537, which would require a personnel grade cap related to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs run by high-salary DEI “experts.”

• Prohibit federal funds from being used to establish a position within the Department of Defense for anything similar to Chief Diversity Officers (CDOs) or Senior Advisors for Diversity and Inclusion.  (H. Sec. 904)

• Eliminate any offices of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DIE) along with personnel in said offices within the offices of the armed forces and Department of Defense and prohibits DoD from establishing new DEI administrator positions and/or taking actions to fill vacancies in currently existing DEI billets. (H. Sec. 596 and H. Sec. 570F)

• Call for assessments of staffing in DoD Office for DEI.  (H. Sec. 1120) and require oversight regarding the pay and hiring of civilian DEI employees.  (Official reports could reveal exceptionally high salaries with limited benefits for military readiness.)

• Request a review of DoD DEI Programs to assess costs, objectives, results, etc.  (H. Sec. 568) and Prohibit the DoD from establishing new DEI positions or filling vacancies in such positions until the GAO reviews the DoD diversity, equity, and inclusion workforce.  (S. Report, pp. 139-140 and p. 147)

3.  Critical Race Theory (CRT) and Anti-Extremism Programs

There are several sections addressing divisive critical race theory (CRT) and “anti-extremist” programs in the House and Senate NDAAs, including measures that would:

• Prohibit funds authorized for DoDEA [DoD Education Activity schools] from being used to promote the idea that, 1) Any race is inherently superior or inferior to any other race, color, or national origin.  2) The US is a fundamentally racist country.  3) The Declaration of Independence or the US Constitution are racist documents, 4) An individual’s moral character or worth is determined by the individual’s race, color, or national origin. 5) An individual, by virtue of the individual’s race, is inherently racist or oppressive, whether consciously or unconsciously.  6) An individual, because of the individual’s race, bears responsibility for the actions committed by other members of the individual’s race, color, or national origin.  (H. Sec. 566 and a shorter measure in S. Sec. 535)

• Prohibit the Department of Defense from making participation in training or support for certain race-based concepts a requirement for hiring, promotion, or retention of individuals.  Would also ensure that employees and service members cannot be compelled to declare belief in or participate in training that promotes such concepts as a condition of favorable personnel actions.  (H. Sec. 1099B)

• Require that all documents and correspondence of the Countering Extremism Working Group be provided to the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government and the Committee on Armed Services.  (H. Sec. 598)

• Prohibit funds for training or education that promote critical race theory (CRT).  (H. Sec. 566)

• Requires annual reports on costs of defined CRT Training.  (H. Sec. 568)

• Require publication of training materials of the Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute (DEOMI) (H. Sec. 569)

• Prohibition of funds for DoD Countering Extremism Working Group.  (H. Sec. 598)

4.  Gender Identity and Transgender Policies

Transgender mandates have become extremely controversial, even though Defense Department regulations forbid discussion of problems with transgender policies without high-level permission.

At a recent confirmation hearing with Joint Chiefs Chairman nominee Gen. Charles Q. Brown, Jr., USAF, Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) put on the record the concerns of a female boot camp trainee and constituent who was forced to share her living quarters and showers with physically intact biological males.

The Senate nevertheless refused to take up an amendment called the Ensuring Military Readiness Act of 2023, which would have disqualified persons diagnosed with gender dysphoria and barred “gender transition” and gender marker procedures recognizing gender identity instead of biological sex.  (Sen. Mark Rubio (R-FL), #902)

The Senate also refused to consider an amendment that would have prohibited TRICARE coverage for certain medical procedures for children that could result in sterilization.  (Sen. Ted Budd R-NC, #600) However, the House passed several positive measures that could be approved by the House/Senate Conference Committee.  For example, House legislation would:

• Prohibit TRICARE from covering and the Department of Defense from furnishing sex reassignment surgeries and gender hormone treatments for transgender individuals.(H. Sec. 717)
• Prohibit provision of gender transition procedures, including surgery or medication, through the Exceptional Family MemberProgram.  (H. Sec. 640C)
• Require a DoD report on results of EO 13988, re: Discrimination on Basis of Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation, to obtain data on the impact on women in private areas such as bathrooms and locker rooms and number of discrimination complaints alleging gender identity that were made and substantiated.  (H. Report, p. 140)

5.  Drag Shows on Military Bases

Even though Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin made good on his promise to end drag queen performances on military bases, the Senate did not consider an amendment offered by Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) to end “adult cabaret performances” on military bases (#434).  The House, however, did address the issue with measures to:

• Prohibit drag shows and drag queen story hours on military bases (H. Sec. 598); and

• Put an end to current Digital Ambassador Program of the Navy and future review of digital ambassadors (H. Sec. 599)

6.  Parents Rights – DoD Education Activity (DoDEA) Schools

The Senate requested a briefing on parent representation on Parent/Teacher Organizations (PTOs) at DoD Education Activity (DoDEA) schools (S. Report, pp. 145-146).  More direct House proposals would:

• Protect the rights of parents of children in DoDEA schools with regard to curriculum, instructional materials, etc. (Sec. 651)

• Require disclosure of curriculum in DoDEA schools for military dependents. (H. Sec. 659)

• Prohibit funding for race-based theories in DoDEA schools (H. Sec. 659)

• Prohibit DoDEA schools from purchasing and having pornographic and radical gender ideology books in their libraries.  (H. Sec. 661))

7.  Sex-Neutral Standards for Combat Arms MOSs (Army Combat Fitness Test)

Three years of tests with the failed Army Combat Fitness Test (ACFT) revealed difficulties in training both men and women with sex-neutral standards in combat arms units that attack the enemy with deliberate offensive action.  Pending legislation would:

• Restore the Army’s Physical Fitness Test (APFT) as the test of record and require a 24-month pilot program and briefings before a new standard can be implemented.  (S. Sec. 557)

• Require sex neutral ACFT standards for specific combat occupations, such as infantry, armor, field artillery, and Special Operations Forces that engage in direct ground combat against the enemy.  (H. Sec. 567)

8.  COVID Mandate Repeal and Restitution

Congress voted for measures to end COVID-19 mandates in 2022, but more needs to be done to restore harm done to active-duty and other military members who were adversely affected or unjustly discharged:  Legislation would, for example:

• Prohibit adverse action against a member of the Armed Forces solely because of refusal to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, and to consider reinstatement.  (H. Sec. 525)

• Mandate reviews of administrative discharges due to COVID mandates (H. Sec. 526)

• Require a study and report on health conditions arising in members of the Armed Forces after the administration of the COVID-19 vaccine.  (H. Sec. 772l)

• Prohibit any adverse actions against cadets or midshipmen based on their COVID-19 vaccination status.  Further states that an individual may not be denied admission at a service academy based on their COVID-19 vaccination status.  (H. Sec. 564)

• Initiate a study regarding the immune response levels of servicemembers to COVID-19 infection and vaccination.  (H. Sec. 773l)

• Prohibit of any sort of mask mandate regarding the spread of COVID on any military installation in the United States.  (H. Sec. 736l)

• Require a communication strategy re: COVID reinstatement process.  (H. Sec. 527)

• State that cadet tuition repayment requirements shall not apply to individuals who were not commissioned solely due to vaccination refusals.  (H. Sec. 564)

9.  Climate Change Executive Orders and Mandates

The House bill includes several measures addressing mandates related to “climate change” and associated pressures to ensure compliance.  Pending legislation would:

• Prohibit DOD from carrying out Biden's climate change executive orders.  (H. Sec. 1050)

• Limit funds relating to federal contractor disclosure of greenhouse gas emissions and climate-related financial risk.  (H. Sec. 1822 and S. Sec. 820)

• Prohibit funds for advisory committees related to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) aspects. (H. Sec. 1046)  Attempts to comply with ESG mandates have proved ruinous for American corporations (think Disney and Bud Light) and misguided ESG-obsessed nations (e.g., Sri Lanka and the Netherlands).

• Call for a report on concerns about electrification of military vehicles and battery safety.  House Report Title III, pp. 96-97)

10.  Abortion Travel and Time Off Subsidies 

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin’s extremely controversial memo authorizing generous time off and transportation subsidies for servicewomen seeking abortions in states different from their home base triggered different approaches to the issue in the House and Senate:

• The House bill would prohibit the Secretary of Defense from paying for or reimbursing expenses relating to abortion services.  (H. Sec. 716)

• In the Senate, however, three amendments to terminate Defense Department subsidies for abortion travel and time off were defeated in Committee.  (See Roll Call votes, Senate Report p. 564)

• Senators also failed to vote on an amendment (#387), sponsored by Sen. James Lankford (R-OK), which would have provided conscience protection for servicemembers who provide or assist with provision of health care.

• The Senate Report calls for a briefing by the Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the Attorney General and the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Armed Services (DACOWITS), on matters involving abortions for servicewomen and family members.  (p. 145)

11.  Displays of Unauthorized Flags

Excessive displays of LGBT pride/progress flags, even at the White House, drew reactions in both houses, with different outcomes:

The House NDAA would codify Trump administration guidance to prohibit the display of unapproved flags.  (H. Sec. 1048)

In the Senate, however, an amendment offered by Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS), to prohibit the display of unauthorized flags on military bases, was taken up on the floor but defeated 50-49. (51 required for passage - #874)

12. “Draft Our Daughters”

Unlike previous years since 2016, neither the Senate nor House NDAA drafts include any mandate to “Draft Our Daughters” by registering with Selective Service.  This is good news.

The House approved H.R. 2670 on July 14, 219-210.  The Senate approved S. 2226, 86-11, on July 27.  A Conference Committee will resolve major differences in the Fall.

Biden Administration Affirms Wokeism in the Military

Congress is taking serious steps in the right direction, but the Biden Administration issued a July 10 Statement of Administration Policy and other comments indicating strong opposition to common-sense provisions in the NDAA for 2024:

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

The administration’s legislative hit list conclusively confirms the administration’s support for:

• Subsidies for military abortions, contrary to federal law
• DoD funding of transgender treatments and surgeries, including for children
• High-salaried DoD diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) employees (H. Sec. 364)
• Discrimination in military accessions, assignments, selections, or promotions based on race or other factors, not “merit-based principles.” (H. Sec. 523)
• Federal funds for training or education programs that promote critical race theory (CRT) (H. Sec. 566)
• Drag shows and drag queen story hours on military bases (H. Sec. 595)
• No sunset or report on selection of members of the Defense Advisory Committee on Diversity and Inclusion (DACODAI) (H. Sec. 596)
• Continued funding for the prejudicial DoD Countering Extremism Work Group (H. Sec. 598)
• Retention of the DoD’s Chief Diversity Officer (CDO) (H. Sec. 904)
• Continued funding for Advisory Committees related to Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Aspects (H. Sec. 1046)
• Collection of tuition from cadets and midshipmen who were unjustly dismissed due to unreasonable COVID mandates (H. Sec. 564)
• No protection for servicemembers affected by COVID-19 mandates, including reviews of discharges triggered by the refusal of healthy servicemembers to accept the controversial COVID vaccine (H. Sec. 525)
• No reviews of discharges of healthy servicemembers who resisted controversial COVID-19 vaccinations (H. Sec. 526)
• Costly mandates forcing federal contractors to meet “greenhouse gas emissions” (H. Sec. 1822)

The issues listed above should be above partisanship, but divisions between the two parties are very clear.  The Biden Administration’s goal is to reaffirm and expand wokeism in the military, defined as: Progressive policies taken to extremes and imposed with coercion, even if it hurts the institution. 

The 118^th Congress is using both the power of the U. S. Constitution and the power of the purse to advance sound policies for our military.  Civilians control the military, and Americans who care about the military should step up and make their voices heard.

* * * * * *

This article was prepared by the Center for Military Readiness, an independent public policy organization that reports on and analyzes military/social issues and does not constitute endorsement of legislation.  More information on all issues mentioned in the Challenge for Congress is available at www.cmrlink.org