OPINION:
President Trump is more committed to peace than any other modern president. For that reason, he is keen to ensure his subtle and not-so-subtle threats toward potential enemies are backed by a military prepared to tackle any challenge.
In an address to generals and flag officers in Quantico, Virginia, on Tuesday, the president described the purpose of rechristening the Department of Defense as the Department of War. “We must be so strong that no nation will dare challenge us, so powerful that no enemy will dare threaten us, and so capable that no adversary can even think about beating us,” he told the crowd.
He directed War Secretary Pete Hegseth to expunge political correctness from ranks commanded by pudgy four-stars and, until recently, a man in a dress pretending to be a Public Health Service admiral.
Speaking to the same gathering, Mr. Hegseth laid out the details of his plan to restore codes that were in effect before liberal ideologues took over. Under the new rules, the same ones in place in 1990, dangerous assignments will no longer be handed out as if they were participation trophies.
“The purpose of the American military is not to protect anyone’s feelings,” Mr. Hegseth noted. “It’s to protect our republic, and it’s the republic we dearly love.”
Combat missions calling for physical strength will be given only to soldiers, sailors and airmen who meet a single set of prerequisites, not requirements that shift based on diversity criteria. Everyone in uniform must get in shape and pass regular physical fitness tests while adhering to appearance guidelines.
The American Security Project documented the military’s dilemma in an April report that found an estimated two-thirds of National Guard and reserve members are overweight or flat-out obese.
The problem festered because the services lowered standards to achieve diversity targets instead of operational demands, but those days are over.
Everyone, including the “fat generals and admirals” waddling through the halls of the Pentagon, will have to hit the gym. To free up additional time to do so, human resources bureaucrats are banned from forcing the troops to watch pointless PowerPoint presentations.
Research teams will abandon the futile quest to create “green” bullets that emit fewer carbon dioxide molecules as they slice through the air. Blueprints for solar-powered battle tanks and wind-driven ships will also be consigned to the shredder. Mr. Hegseth shot back at the naysayers who suggested the changes were mean-spirited.
“Real toxic leadership is endangering subordinates with low standards. Real toxic leadership is promoting people based on immutable characteristics or quotas instead of based on merit. Real toxic leadership is promoting destructive ideologies that are anathema to the Constitution and the laws of nature and nature’s God, as Thomas Jefferson wrote in the Declaration of Independence,” Mr. Hegseth said.
President Clinton was the first to open the door to turning the armed forces into a playground for left-wing activism with a few shrewd modifications. It wasn’t until the Obama and Biden administrations that competence and vigor were replaced with drag queen story hour.
The leadership ranks swelled, literally, with social justice warriors, not combat warriors. President Biden’s staff used COVID-19 as an excuse to purge anyone uncomfortable with the new direction.
A return to the classic way of doing things is overdue. Refocusing the military will help guarantee we retain the strength required to avoid being drawn into unnecessary conflict.
Update: This editorial was updated to more clearly reflect the findings of the American Security Project.
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