I am a Black, gay veteran of the U.S. Army's Fourth Infantry Division and the recipient of the Combat Infantry Badge, so you can believe me when I say that the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion agenda started by President Barack Obama and accelerated by President Joe Biden has deeply weakened America's armed forces to an extent that the average American citizen isn't fully aware of. But help is on the horizon: Pete Hegseth's military experience, his veteran advocacy, and the communications skills honed by years at Fox News make him an excellent choice for Secretary of Defense.
Much of what we're seeing now can be traced to the 2011 repeal of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" law that banned gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military. It was an unjust law that I personally spoke out against, going so far as to chain myself to the White House fence during Obama's first term in protest. But the once-admirable attempt to make America's military a welcoming place to all transitioned into a Frankenstein's monster of wokespeak, declining standards, and politicized leadership spewing far-Left propaganda.
One of the great joys of serving in the United States military is that soldiers from many different backgrounds and races learn to come together as a unit to complete the mission at hand, but the Biden Administration seemed hellbent on creating and fomenting racial division. For example, in February of 2021, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin directed DOD servicemembers and employees to conduct a "one day stand down" to discuss extremism with an extra focus on the alleged White Nationalism within the military's ranks. General Mark Milley defended teaching Critical Race Theory at U.S. Service Academies and testified to Congress about his desire to understand "white rage." He argued that it was critical to American security that taxpayer dollars were used to provide critical race theory to service members.
There's more: The Department Of Defense Education Agency exists to operate K-12 schools in America and around the world for the children of service members. Former Chief DODEA DEI officer Kelisa Wing tweeted about how "exhausted" she is with "white folks in education sessions" and wrote a children's book about "white privilege." She was later reassigned, and her office disbanded. But it's not just the racial DEI agenda that has infiltrated the military; open service by qualified gays and lesbians has been used to make way for a far more insidious LGBT agenda to be inserted into the military.
In May of 2021, The U.S. Army released an official recruitment ad, a partially animated commercial featuring the active-duty daughter of two lesbians which was roundly mocked on social media. As Senator Ted Cruz remarked, "Holy crap. Perhaps a woke, emasculated military is not the best idea...." In 2023, the U.S. Navy invited an active-duty drag queen to be a "Digital Ambassador." Yeoman 2ndClass Joshua Kelley, who identifies as non-binary and goes by "Harpy Daniels" on social media, was appointed as the first of five Navy Digital Ambassadors in a pilot program.
Of course, this is all absurd, but the DEI proponents on the Left will tell you that this is a vision of "equality and inclusion" that will make the military stronger.
I vehemently disagree. Being Black and gay didn't make me inherently better or worse at my job as an Army infantryman. These immutable characteristics didn't matter, nor did my fellow soldiers make much of a deal about any of it stateside or during deployment.
It is my personal opinion that bringing too much attention to differences in the context of active service makes unit cohesion more difficult, not easier. The proliferation of the DEI agenda into America's military makes it weaker, not stronger.
We urgently need to change course, which is where Pete Hegseth comes in.
Pete has been a friend and mentor of mine since my days as a regular commentator on Fox News. Of course he's aware of my "identities," but he has always been upstanding, supportive, and deeply interested in my take on the military as an enlisted soldier. We've spoken about unit cohesion, military readiness, and various media opportunities, and he's asked me for input on his last book. But we've never once spoken about any identity other than that of a United States military veteran.
I believe—and I think it's safe to say that Pete does too—that the only identity that truly matters is that of a proud American. When we focus on that, we will find more of them to make our military stronger, and by virtue of what our great nation looks like they will just so happen to be of many different backgrounds, identities, and belief systems.
The Democrat senators hellbent on derailing both his nomination and Donald Trump's agenda as a whole will not like the directness with which Pete speaks about how deeply the woke DEI agenda has affected America's military, but I believe this directness is necessary. From his service with various veteran organizations to his status as a Bronze Star recipient for his own service to, yes, his years of communications skills perfected by the pressures of doing daily live television, Pete Hegseth is the man for the moment.
We can only hope that America's senators are smart enough to see this and confirm him as Secretary of Defense, so he can begin the process of making America's military strong, unified, and great once again.
Rob Smith is a decorated Iraq War Veteran, Communications Strategist for Right Turn Strategies, and the host of the "Can't Cancel Rob Smith" Podcast. Find him on X @robsmithonline.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.
source: https://www.newsweek.com/im-black-g...-pete-hegseth-can-make-it-great-again-2013709
archive: https://archive.md/wip/3LBZz
Much of what we're seeing now can be traced to the 2011 repeal of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" law that banned gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military. It was an unjust law that I personally spoke out against, going so far as to chain myself to the White House fence during Obama's first term in protest. But the once-admirable attempt to make America's military a welcoming place to all transitioned into a Frankenstein's monster of wokespeak, declining standards, and politicized leadership spewing far-Left propaganda.
One of the great joys of serving in the United States military is that soldiers from many different backgrounds and races learn to come together as a unit to complete the mission at hand, but the Biden Administration seemed hellbent on creating and fomenting racial division. For example, in February of 2021, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin directed DOD servicemembers and employees to conduct a "one day stand down" to discuss extremism with an extra focus on the alleged White Nationalism within the military's ranks. General Mark Milley defended teaching Critical Race Theory at U.S. Service Academies and testified to Congress about his desire to understand "white rage." He argued that it was critical to American security that taxpayer dollars were used to provide critical race theory to service members.
There's more: The Department Of Defense Education Agency exists to operate K-12 schools in America and around the world for the children of service members. Former Chief DODEA DEI officer Kelisa Wing tweeted about how "exhausted" she is with "white folks in education sessions" and wrote a children's book about "white privilege." She was later reassigned, and her office disbanded. But it's not just the racial DEI agenda that has infiltrated the military; open service by qualified gays and lesbians has been used to make way for a far more insidious LGBT agenda to be inserted into the military.
In May of 2021, The U.S. Army released an official recruitment ad, a partially animated commercial featuring the active-duty daughter of two lesbians which was roundly mocked on social media. As Senator Ted Cruz remarked, "Holy crap. Perhaps a woke, emasculated military is not the best idea...." In 2023, the U.S. Navy invited an active-duty drag queen to be a "Digital Ambassador." Yeoman 2ndClass Joshua Kelley, who identifies as non-binary and goes by "Harpy Daniels" on social media, was appointed as the first of five Navy Digital Ambassadors in a pilot program.
Of course, this is all absurd, but the DEI proponents on the Left will tell you that this is a vision of "equality and inclusion" that will make the military stronger.
I vehemently disagree. Being Black and gay didn't make me inherently better or worse at my job as an Army infantryman. These immutable characteristics didn't matter, nor did my fellow soldiers make much of a deal about any of it stateside or during deployment.
It is my personal opinion that bringing too much attention to differences in the context of active service makes unit cohesion more difficult, not easier. The proliferation of the DEI agenda into America's military makes it weaker, not stronger.
We urgently need to change course, which is where Pete Hegseth comes in.
Pete has been a friend and mentor of mine since my days as a regular commentator on Fox News. Of course he's aware of my "identities," but he has always been upstanding, supportive, and deeply interested in my take on the military as an enlisted soldier. We've spoken about unit cohesion, military readiness, and various media opportunities, and he's asked me for input on his last book. But we've never once spoken about any identity other than that of a United States military veteran.
I believe—and I think it's safe to say that Pete does too—that the only identity that truly matters is that of a proud American. When we focus on that, we will find more of them to make our military stronger, and by virtue of what our great nation looks like they will just so happen to be of many different backgrounds, identities, and belief systems.
The Democrat senators hellbent on derailing both his nomination and Donald Trump's agenda as a whole will not like the directness with which Pete speaks about how deeply the woke DEI agenda has affected America's military, but I believe this directness is necessary. From his service with various veteran organizations to his status as a Bronze Star recipient for his own service to, yes, his years of communications skills perfected by the pressures of doing daily live television, Pete Hegseth is the man for the moment.
We can only hope that America's senators are smart enough to see this and confirm him as Secretary of Defense, so he can begin the process of making America's military strong, unified, and great once again.
Rob Smith is a decorated Iraq War Veteran, Communications Strategist for Right Turn Strategies, and the host of the "Can't Cancel Rob Smith" Podcast. Find him on X @robsmithonline.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.
source: https://www.newsweek.com/im-black-g...-pete-hegseth-can-make-it-great-again-2013709
archive: https://archive.md/wip/3LBZz
