Defense Department Criticized for Labeling Diversity Training a ‘Strategic Imperative’

U.S. Army drill sergeants stand over recruits during a live-fire marksmanship training course at Fort Jackson, S.C., on Aug. 17, 2016. AP Photo/Gerry Broome

The Department of Defense (DoD) is attracting widespread criticism for a recent program that pushed diversity in the military as a “strategic imperative,” with some pointing out that the armed forces should do its job of protecting the country rather than focusing on “wokeness.”

“Diversity is a strategic imperative critical to mission readiness and accomplishment. We were on site for the 2023 inaugural @DoD_ODEI Summit as DEIA experts led forums to advance the DEIA and DoD mission—because our people matter,” the department said in a Feb. 18 tweet.

ODEI refers to the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. DEIA refers to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility. The Feb. 15-17 event featured “distinguished presenters and renowned experts in government, higher education, business, science, and technology.”

The DoD’s promotion of diversity training attracted criticism online, with many ridiculing the program, while others raised concerns about military goals being compromised.

“As Chairman of the Military Personnel Subcommittee, ensuring our military is focused on lethality and readiness, NOT wokeness and DEI, is my top priority,” Representative Jim Banks, (R-Ind.) said in a tweet replying to the DoD’s Feb. 18 tweet.

“Your strategic imperative is defending the United States,” Elon Musk said in a Feb. 20 tweet directed at the DOD.

“Do you seriously think Russia or China will be more deterred by the US military if our military promotes ‘diversity’ as a strategic priority? Really? Seriously?” author and psychologist Geoffrey Miller said in a Feb. 20 tweet.

“Absolutely ridiculous and totally unrelated to the quite significant national security threats we face. China and Russia are laughing at you/us and when we encounter big ticket problems, people will look at this moment and posts like this to see where our priorities went wrong,” said political adviser and entrepreneur Blair Brandt.

“Your entire mission is to deter an attack on the U.S. homeland, and if there is a war, to effectively and efficiently destroy the enemies of the United States. That’s it,” said Jeremy Redfern, deputy press secretary of Gov. Ron DeSantis.

‘Woke’ Military

The military’s DEIA push was highlighted as a major vulnerability in a GOP report called “Woke Warfighters” published in November. The report blamed President Joe Biden and his administration for “weakening warfighters through a sustained assault fuelled by woke virtue signaling.”

The report cited several DEIA measures being implemented by the administration. One policy involved Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin signing a “racism” memorandum that directed all service members and DoD civilian employees to observe a “one-day stand-down” to discuss extremism within their ranks.

This directive was issued despite the fact that data from the Biden administration itself shows that there were only 100 reported cases of alleged “extremism” in a force of over 2.1 million personnel.

“Our military’s singular purpose is to ‘provide for the common defense’ of our nation. It cannot be turned into a left-wing social experiment. It cannot be used as a cudgel against America itself,” the report said.

In an interview with The Epoch Times in August 2022, an active-duty Army soldier with more than 15 years of service raised alarm bells over the agency falling short on recruitment numbers. He pinned the blame on the politicization of the Defense Department.

“They happily encourage mandated vaccines, back the transgender issue, and speak out in opposition to the Supreme Court of the United States in regard to Roe v. Wade—all of which are very political,” the soldier said.

“We now have a Department of Defense that has taken various political positions that are very much opposed to the heart of America.”

Legislation Against DoD Politicization

On Jan. 31, Representative Chip Roy (R-Texas) introduced the “Restoring Military Focus Act” that seeks to end the politicization of the Department of Defense by Democrats as well as eliminate “unnecessary progressive agenda” being pushed by the left that undermines the American military, according to a Feb. 2 press release.

The bill aims to repeal Sec. 913 of the FY21 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). By doing so, it will eliminate the positions of Chief Diversity Officer and Senior Advisors for Diversity and Inclusion in the military, as well as ban using federal funds to establish these positions anytime in the future.

“The Pentagon’s job is to develop our men and women in the Armed Forces into a united, lethal, and battle-ready force to defeat our enemies and defend our interests. It is not supposed to be a woke social engineering experiment wrapped in a uniform,” Roy said in a statement.

“The American people gave House Republicans the power of the purse in November; we need to deliver on our promises and restore mission focus to our Armed Forces.”

The Epoch Times reached out to the DoD for comment.