13 November 2024

What Trump Can Do for the Military

Gary Anderson

Donald Trump correctly realized that this election was about domestic 'kitchen table" issues and not foreign policy or military readiness. He alluded to the fact that there was much wrong with the Pentagon and vowed to fix it. The voters were interested in other issues, and he did not have to go into details. Now that he is President-elect, he has an opportunity to fix what is wrong with the Pentagon while fulfilling his promise to reduce the size of government. Here are some ideas of how he can do it.

First, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) has grown from a cottage industry in the Pentagon to a mega-juggernaut that produces nothing but resentment and a devastating impact on recruiting, particularly children of veterans. It will likely be high on the list of cuts on Elon Musk's efficiency task force agenda. The whole concept should be scrapped, and revert back to a merit-based promotion system for both service personnel and civilian employees.

The Biden administration, like many before it, attempted to turn the military into a social experimentation laboratory. Most of the red-blooded American men which the military needs do not want to participate in group self-deprecating seminars. They want to join an organization dedicated, if necessary, to locate, close with and destroy the enemy by fire and maneuver, or repel the enemy assault by fire and close combat when the nation needs it. The Biden administration ignored this, and that is largely why we have a military recruiting problem.

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