Military Advertises Woke Politics instead of National Defense

By: Amy Jo Underwood

In Brief: 

Republican lawmakers are claiming that the U.S. military is becoming increasingly politicized, prioritizing woke politics instead of defending the country. Recent concern has stemmed from new recruitment advertisements from the U.S. Army, as well as the firing of Lt. Col. Matthew Lohmeier after he criticized the military’s tolerance of Marxism within its ranks. 

The Background: 

The U.S. military’s role is to defend the nation, yet recent actions have shown that it is increasingly concerned with virtue signaling and political statements. 

This month, the Army released five new recruitment advertisements showcasing stories of soldiers. One of the ads starred a female soldier raised by two lesbian women. In a Disney-like animated video, the soldier shared her reason for joining the military: to “shatter stereotypes” and to “discover her inner strength.” As political commentator Matt Walsh stated, such advertisements for the world’s greatest military power make the U.S. “the laughing stock of the world.” The Army disabled the comment section on the video after people quickly criticized the focus of the recruitment ad. 

"Call me old fashioned, but I think the military should be 100% focused on being the best fighting force it can be to counter our adversaries like the Chinese Communist Party or Russia, and stop entertaining Left-wing social experiments,” stated Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN), House Arms Service Committee Member.

Perhaps even more concerning, Lieutenant Colonel Matthew Lohmeier was fired from his position in the U.S. Space Force after he voiced his concerns about the military’s acceptance of communism and critical race theory. Lohmeier stated his concerns on a podcast, as well as in a book, and spoke about the dangers of Marxist ideology infiltrating the U.S. military. 

Lohmeier was relieved of his official duties as commander in the U.S. Space Force due to making partisan comments as a member of the military. He remains in the Space Force but will be reassigned.

“I don’t believe I was being partisan. It is not politically partisan to expose or attack critical race theory or Marxism," Lohmeier stated. “The reason I say that is because critical race theory and Marxism are antithetical to American values. Critical race theory fuels narratives that attack America's founding documents."

House Republicans have written a letter to the Acting Secretary of the Air Force, as well as the Chief of Space Operations, to demand that Lt. Col. Lohmeier be given back his position.

Notable Quotes:

“My intent never has been to engage in partisan politics. I have written a book about a particular political ideology (Marxism) in the hope that our Defense Department might return to being politically non-partisan in the future as it has honorably done throughout history.” - Lt. Col. Matthew Lohmeier

“We can’t afford to risk our national security to appease some liberal, woke agenda.” - Mike Pompeo, former CIA Director and former Secretary of State