I recently read a Fox News article that presented the views of a number of anonymous military members regarding the “woke” military. The service members almost universally agreed that senior members who openly disagree with the direction the military is heading risk their careers or retirement pensions.

“Merely questioning the goals or methods used to promote ‘Equity & Diversity’ is punished and that punishment is swift, harsh, and public”....

[snip]

“Most of us who serve did so because we came from military families. Patriotism and American values are no longer appreciated or expected”....

I am a 4th generation veteran in my family. My wife, who immigrated to the US, is the first generation on her side. We served in the 1980-1990s and saw the very beginning of wokeness and its consequences. Even before that, in the early 1980s, as a Military Policeman, I was falsely accused a few times of either racism or sexism for pulling over a speeder or making a uniform correction. At the time, I figured all cops get that occasionally... maybe the person even believed it to be true. It certainly wasn’t.

“I 100% believe the military is woke. I see daily minorities, overweight people and women not adhering to military standards,” another said. “Nobody corrects them due to the fear of being fired and labeled a racist or a sexist.”

After some time in college, I returned to active duty and, while processing into my Special Forces unit, I made a correction on a young Specialist. She accused me of racism and of calling her a racist name. She screamed profanities and threw her rank across a room full of people when I spoke to her supervisor about her behavior. Fortunately, there were dozens of witnesses. Her supervisor later told me that he moved her to another section where “she didn’t have to deal with customers.” When I asked about her punishment, he added that she was a single mother and that he didn’t want to do anything more.

Image: Soldiers in a race. Public domain (Defense Department).

The same article discusses politics in the general officer ranks. Nothing new there except, in my experience, politics were for getting that next star, so the officers still had to be professional. From what I’ve seen since then, it seems that politics in the general officer ranks are all about that next job as a consultant or something after the military.

“It seems like in the ‘90s, DOD was apolitical, but that doesn’t seem to be the case now. It seems like more and more leaders are more overtly supporting a political side, rather than their oath”....

I suspect it was always that way to some degree, but it is so obvious now as to be an expected part of the progression plan where, in the past, it would have been considered unprofessional. Just like the politicians who daily lie to our faces, these generals no longer feel they must hide intentions that would have been unseemly just a decade or so ago.

Lastly, I feel terribly sad that our family traditions are coming to an end.

None of my three very physically fit sons want to serve. They even considered applying to West Point (my wife’s alma mater), but the wokeness there and the mandatory COVID vaccines have put all that to rest. I suggested joining the Army National Guard, so they would at least be more likely to serve with people from the local region, which I believe is generally more conservative. Still, the mandatory vaccine is a huge issue for all of us. I feel for the active-duty conscientious objectors to the vaccine.

“…Losing the retirement…because they didn’t want to take an experimental vaccine for an illness that was mild for fit and healthy people.”

As a father, I always had mixed emotions about my sons following in our footsteps. I worried they would go to West Point, then to Ranger and Special Forces, and end up dead (or worse) at a young age. At the same time, I used to believe this country was worth that risk—even for them. I’m not so sure anymore.

"How can we ask young men and women who have decided to risk their lives for America, even die for America, to affirm that our country is inherently racist?" former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo wrote for Fox News last month.

The answer is that defending the country is not the current government’s priority. Rather, the current administration seeks total compliance with progressive ideals. I am quite confident that, in the 1990s, if the government had ordered the military to come after dissidents or to confiscate weapons, the military would have resisted. With our new woke military, taught to hate the country it serves and believe that the rest of us are Nationalist MAGA Fascists and Militarized Violent Extremists, I don’t expect much resistance to any unconstitutional actions going forward.

I believe we’re entering a stage of government oppression from which it will be very difficult to escape.