The Army’s top civilian leader pushed back amid Republican criticisms that the military is going too “woke,” arguing such critiques are deepening an already troubling recruiting crisis.
“We are a ready Army, not a ‘woke’ Army,” Army Secretary Christine Wormuth told reporters last week, according to a report in Task & Purpose. “That’s something, frankly, the chief [Army Chief of Staff Gen. James McConville] and I said throughout posture season in hearings, in meetings with members of Congress.”
Wormuth’s comments come as all branches of the military have come under fire for what some critics see as “woke” policies, arguing the services have been prioritizing classes and training on diversity, equity, and inclusion over readiness to fight the nation’s wars.
Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
“I think one of the things that we see that’s contributing to a decline in trust in the military is a concern on both sides of the aisle about politicization of our military leaders,” Wormuth said.
“I think the more our military leaders are sort of dragged into spaces that have been politicized like that, I think the more it contributes to this perception that they’re political when they really aren’t,” Wormuth added. “So, I hope that we don’t see more of the kind of talk that’s been out in the past few days.”
ARMY MISSES RECRUITING GOALS WHILE OTHER BRANCHES FALL BEHIND FOR NEXT YEAR
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“What I am trying to do is talk about now how that drip, drip, drip of criticism about a ‘woke military,’ I do think is having some counterproductive effects on recruiting,” Wormuth said.