When historians write about the effectiveness of our military after the Biden/Harris  Administration’s inept retreat from Afghanistan, the year 2022 will be seen as a turning point. 

Either the armed forces will continue to bear heavy burdens of “woke” policies – imposed by social justice warriors who are dominating the Department of Defense – or new leaders will step up to confront and reverse harmful “woke” policies that detract from readiness and morale.

This two-page document challenges current public officials and future candidates to actively defend our military against deeply flawed mandates, while fighting for sound policies that put military men and women, and national security, first:

CMR Challenge for 2022: Strengthen Our Military – Secure American Freedoms

In general, the CMR Challenge for 2022 asks policy makers to:

Oppose:

• Pentagon Diversity, Inclusion, & Equity (DIE) metrics and percentage-based quotas
• Divisive critical race theory (CRT) instructions in military schools and academies
• Anti-extremist programs skewed by leftist ideology
• Registration of Women with Selective Service for a Possible Future Draft
• Attempts to re-define Selective Service – a step toward mandatory National Service
• Unreasonable Covid vaccine mandates and personnel discharges

Re-Evaluate and Revise:

• Results of assigning women to direct ground combat (infantry) units that attack the enemy, to include consequences of “gender-neutral standards,” disproportionate injuries among women, plus higher rates of attrition and non-deployability
• Impact of transgender policies that accommodate gender dysphoria in the military
• Impact of gender dysphoria policies on medical ethics, personal privacy in female-only living facilities, and biological males competing against military women in athletics
  

Support:

• Principles of non-discrimination and recognition of individual merit
• First Amendment rights, including religious liberty in the military
• Command accountability for due process and justice in matters of sexual assault
• “Peace Through Strength” and American military superiority

CMR also is concerned about trade dependence on hostile nations for energy, medical supplies, and electronic components needed for national defense, and the administration’s failure to secure the border against illegal incursions by drug cartels and terrorists.

Military readiness and national security depend on sound priorities. 

The armed forces will respond to better leadership when the political situation changes, but the groundwork for restoration of sound policies must begin now. 

CMR Celebrates Hard-Fought Defense Bill Victory

The year 2021 ended on a positive note for the military when Senate and House leaders removed from the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for 2022 several provisions that would have done enormous damage:

• Elaine Donnelly, The Federalist: Senate Drops Bipartisan Plan to Draft Women After Constituent Outcry

The same issues likely will come up again, so pro-defense advocates should be prepared to aggressively defend sound policies that strengthen our military, not weaken it.   

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The Center for Military Readiness is an independent, non-partisan public policy organization that reports on and analyzes military/social issues.  More information is available on the website www.cmrlink.org, and tax-deductible contributions can be made by clicking here.