The top enlisted leader of the U.S. Army has issued guidance removing the requirement for diversity to be a factor when choosing upper-level noncommissioned officer positions.
Sergeant Major of the Army Michael Weimer recently issued the new guidance, which was <a href="https://www.military.com/daily-news/2024/09/23/armys-top-enlisted-leader-removed-diversity-consideration-top-enlisted-roles.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">obtained by Military.com</a>. While the guidance was aimed at selecting command sergeants major and remained essentially unchanged from previous guidance issued by Weimer’s predecessor, one missing line has made a big difference.
The line in question previously directed that diversity be a factor in selecting command sergeant major candidates. The guidance previously read that leaders should “consider diversity to ensure leaders represent our formations.&#8221;
As Military.com noted, the new guidance also included mundane provisions such as physical fitness being a determining factor for top enlisted leaders in airborne roles.
The cut diversity line, however, comes after pressure from Republican lawmakers and others, who have insisted the military under President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris has prioritized leftist ideology over military readiness.
<a href="https://www.amiracist.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.amiracist.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1726313279401000&amp;usg=AOvVaw115_qPFFEePDP86-Fvo-Vd">Am I Racist? Is In Theaters NOW — Get Your Tickets Here!</a>
For example, as The Daily Wire exclusively <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/exclusive-biden-harris-admin-paid-consultants-millions-to-help-military-implement-race-based-hiring-combat-resistance-to-dei" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> in August, the Biden-Harris administration paid third-party organizations millions of taxpayer dollars to implement diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. In documents reviewed by The Daily Wire, it was revealed that part of the DEI initiatives included race-based career advancement programs.
“The documents, first obtained by the Functional Government Initiative, highlight the extent of the Pentagon’s efforts to embed leftwing, race-based ideology in the military, in partnership with academic institutions and consulting firms,” The Daily Wire reported. “The outside organizations received taxpayer dollars to set up hiring pipelines that gave candidates preferential treatment on the basis of race and sex, advise the government agency on DEI policy, and combat internal and external resistance to said policies.”
“The U.S. and its allies are facing challenges and threats all over the globe. Despite the increased concern for military preparedness, the DOD continues to prioritize DEI initiatives,” FGI spokesman Peter McGinnis told The Daily Wire.
“Rather than maximizing readiness training to ensure a capable military, the DOD’s training seems calculated to foster sowing internal discord with aggressive efforts to promote controversial ideologies,” he added. “Americans join the military to serve their nation and protect the homeland, not to sit through sensitivity training. The DOD owes them better.”
In November 2023, The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/bidens-pentagon-slated-to-spend-nearly-270-million-on-diversity-agenda">reported</a> that the Department of Defense planned to spend nearly $270 million on DEI initiatives between fiscal years 2022 and 2024.
In addition to the removal of the diversity requirement in Weimer’s guidance, he and Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George also replaced the Army slogan “People First,” which focused more on soldier and family needs than war preparedness. This attitude, which has been in place for the past four years, has led to reduced standards for women recruits, Military.com reported.
Spencer Lindquist contributed to this report.

U.S. Army

U.S. Army Drops Diversity Requirement For Selecting High-Level Non-Commissioned Officers

Diversity

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Military

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Those marginally familiar with World War II will no doubt recognize names like Normandy, Iwo Jima, or Guadalcanal. But like many of the other battles into which American boys have been thrown over the centuries, only the most ardent history buffs can relay much, if anything, about the agony that was the struggle for the island of Peleliu.
This month, we mark the 80th anniversary of the September 1944 landings on Peleliu in the Palau Island chain by the First U.S. Marine Division during the Pacific War. Peleliu is one of those battles that often gets passed over in our national memory.
In the fall of 1944, the island’s airfield was considered vital to protect MacArthur’s southern flank in his advance towards the Philippines 600 miles farther west. And so the First Marine Division was sent to this 14 square-mile dot in the Pacific to seize and clear the island of its estimated 14,000 Japanese defenders.
The operation, prophetically code-named Stalemate II, was expected to last a mere three days.
It didn’t.
<div id="attachment_798471" style="width: 774px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-798471" class="wp-image-798471 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/09/GettyImages-486561439-764x576.jpg" alt="US ships and landing craft heading towards Peleliu Island during the Pacific Campaign of World War Two, Palau, September 5th 1944. (Photo by US Navy/Getty Images)" width="764" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/09/GettyImages-486561439-764x576.jpg 764w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/09/GettyImages-486561439-300x226.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/09/GettyImages-486561439-768x579.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/09/GettyImages-486561439.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 764px) 100vw, 764px" />US ships and landing craft heading towards Peleliu Island during the Pacific Campaign of World War Two, Palau, September 5th 1944. (Photo by US Navy/Getty Images)</div>
The Japanese, mimicking a new and bloody strategy first utilized on Biak several months before, did not meet the Marines on the beaches with anything but a skirmish line of machine guns, mortars, and well-sighted artillery. (Although for the men who landed ashore that day, the carnage and mayhem of this initial action would haunt them forever.) Nor would they waste themselves on mass Banzai charges that were methodically mowed down by the entrenched Americans as occurred on Saipan. Rather, the real battle for Peleliu would be fought against a tenacious enemy burrowed deep into the island’s rock-hard coral ridges, hidden within a network of caves, bunkers, pillboxes, and interconnected tunnels whose often steel doors were impervious to even the heaviest caliber naval gunfire. The U.S. military had never fought such a tenacious defender before. Said one Marine veteran, &#8220;Peleliu was, I think, the biggest surprise the Marine Corps received during World War Two.&#8221;
<div id="attachment_798475" style="width: 880px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-798475" class="size-large wp-image-798475" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/09/GettyImages-1500211936-870x576.jpg" alt="American military officers move across the sands during the Battle of Peleliu (Operation Stalemate II), during the Second World War, on the beach at Peleliu, Palau, 15th September 1944. The troops, supporting the 7th Marines, are either the 16th Marine Field Depot or the 17th Naval Construction Battalion Special. (Photo by Archive Photos/Getty Images)" width="870" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/09/GettyImages-1500211936-870x576.jpg 870w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/09/GettyImages-1500211936-300x199.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/09/GettyImages-1500211936-768x509.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/09/GettyImages-1500211936.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 870px) 100vw, 870px" />Archive Photos/Getty Images</div>
The Americans found themselves shelled and fired down on without rest from Japanese gun emplacements dug into the sides of the forbidding Umurbrogol Ridge, a limestone outcropping some 550 feet above sea level which ran down the middle of the island like the vertebrae of a malevolent beast. As such, Japanese defenders had to be methodically rooted out, one position at a time, with small arms, grenades, demolition charges and, most terrible, flamethrowers while Marine and Navy fighter-bombers dropped canisters of napalm on Japanese positions. It was a brutal affair that went on for 73 tortuous days. In the process, the Marines and their Army replacements suffered crippling casualties.
<div id="attachment_798483" style="width: 716px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-798483" class="wp-image-798483 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/09/PELELIU-96764-706x576.jpg" alt="A column of Marines marches toward the front line through a defile at the southwestern end of Peleliu's Bloody Nose Ridge. (U.S. Marine Corps). U.S. Naval Institute." width="706" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/09/PELELIU-96764-706x576.jpg 706w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/09/PELELIU-96764-300x245.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/09/PELELIU-96764-768x627.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/09/PELELIU-96764-1536x1253.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/09/PELELIU-96764-2048x1671.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 706px) 100vw, 706px" />A column of Marines marches toward the front line through a defile at the southwestern end of Peleliu&#8217;s Bloody Nose Ridge. (U.S. Marine Corps). U.S. Naval Institute.</div>
When a journalist caught up with an exhausted file of Marines rotating off the sheer coral escarpments that dominated the island, he asked them if this was the 1st Marine Regiment. “Mac, there ain’t no more 1st Marines,” a grim veteran replied.
Along with the agony of battle itself, the Americans also found themselves in a struggle with Peleliu’s forbidding topography and climate. The coral base of the island was too hard to dig adequate foxholes, or bury the dead, so many a combatant had to share what little shelter he could find with the bloating, maggot, and fly-infested corpses of enemy and friend alike strewn across the open ground. Adding to the misery, the temperature at times rose to 115 degrees in the shade, and the omnipresent vile stench of rotting flesh and swamp was thick in the oppressively humid air. Some veterans even wondered if they’d ever be able to get the odor out of their nostrils.
For the first few days of the battle, fresh water, a life-and-death matter in such tropical heat, was scarce; as if just to twist the screws, what water the Marines did receive was fouled by traces of fuel oil and rust residue from the reused oil drum containers that had been inadequately cleaned before being repurposed, adding vomiting and aggravated innards to the experience.
Through September, into October, then November the fighting dragged on, and casualties on both sides mounted. Part of the reason for the protracted and bloody nature of the battle was that arguably the two ablest fighting units of each country, the American First Marine Division and the Japanese 14th Infantry Division, faced off in this ghastly arena.
The Japanese were especially driven by a fanaticism to die for their god-emperor and a military code that viewed surrender as the worst of disgraces. Trapped on an island with no escape, the Japanese commander, Col. Kunio Nakagawa, steeled his men to sell their lives dearly, vowing to fight to the last man and take as many Americans as possible with them along the way. For the Marines and soldiers, any pretense of quarter was quickly abandoned in the see-saw fighting as they came across the bodies of captured comrades who’d been sadistically tortured and mutilated or tied to trees and used for bayonet practice. And given the Japanese penchant for trickery by feigning injury or death only to then detonate hidden grenades, blowing apart both themselves and the unsuspecting corpsmen or medics ostensibly coming to their aid, no one was in a mood to take prisoners.
<div id="attachment_798497" style="width: 478px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-798497" class="size-large wp-image-798497" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/09/GettyImages-514678544-468x576.jpg" alt="(Original Caption) 9/26/1944-Peleliu Island: Weary and exhausted after the tough battle for Hill 200 Near Peleliu Airpoet, this leathr neck sits down amidst the battle rubble and weeps. According to latest reports, the marines are making steady progress on the Island, although heavy fighting continues." width="468" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/09/GettyImages-514678544-468x576.jpg 468w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/09/GettyImages-514678544-244x300.jpg 244w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/09/GettyImages-514678544-768x945.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/09/GettyImages-514678544.jpg 832w" sizes="(max-width: 468px) 100vw, 468px" />(Original Caption) 9/26/1944-Peleliu Island: Weary and exhausted after the tough battle for Hill 200 Near Peleliu Airport, this leather neck sits down amidst the battle rubble and weeps. According to latest reports, the marines are making steady progress on the Island, although heavy fighting continues.</div>
Indeed, by 1944, both side&#8217;s combatants had for years been marinated in the notion that the enemy belonged to an inferior species. A Japanese newspaper <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/406393.Jim_Proser" target="_blank" rel="noopener">once described</a> the U.S. Marines as &#8220;a special force recruited from prisons and insane asylums for bloodlust&#8221;. As such, Peleliu was a place where courage was paramount and devotion to the man sharing your foxhole sacrosanct, but where chivalry was replaced with visceral, and understandable, loathing. A reductive atavism fueled by both dehumanizing propaganda and the realities of a medieval brand of warfare experienced day in and day out in an endless battle of attrition.
As with so many of these Pacific Island battles, the rules of warfare as dictated in the Geneva Conventions were ignored.
“The hatred was so intense,” remembered Marine Pvt. <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Old-Breed-At-Pelelui-Okinawa/dp/0091937531" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Eugene Sledge</a>, that to him Peleliu was like “two scorpions in a bottle. One was annihilated, the other nearly so.”
Finally, on 27 November, 1944, D+72, after more than two months of non-stop fighting from one end of the superheated rocky island to the other, Peleliu was declared secure. Operation Stalemate II had taken an agonizing 70 days longer than confident planners had predicted. And both sides paid a horrific price for their efforts.
Of the 28,000 combined Marines and Army infantry involved, they incurred the highest American casualty rate of any amphibious landing of the war. The fine First Marine Division was shattered. It suffered 1,252 KIA and 5,274 wounded. The Army’s 81st Infantry Division lost another 542 KIA and 2,736 wounded.
The Japanese garrison was effectively wiped out. Only 202 of the 14,000 defenders were taken alive and of them, only 19 were Japanese military; the rest were Korean and Okinawan laborers.
<div id="attachment_798495" style="width: 744px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-798495" class="wp-image-798495 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/09/GettyImages-486559307-734x576.jpg" alt="A wounded US Marine lifted aboard a Coast Guard-manned transport, during the Pacific Campaign of World War Two, Peleliu, Palau, 1944. (Photo by US Coast Guard/Getty Images)" width="734" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/09/GettyImages-486559307-734x576.jpg 734w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/09/GettyImages-486559307-300x236.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/09/GettyImages-486559307-768x603.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/09/GettyImages-486559307.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 734px) 100vw, 734px" />A wounded US Marine lifted aboard a Coast Guard-manned transport, during the Pacific Campaign of World War Two, Peleliu, Palau, 1944. (Photo by US Coast Guard/Getty Images)</div>
Tragically, it is debatable whether Peleliu ever needed to be captured at all. The main purpose of the operation, to secure an aerodrome from which to cover the landings on Mindanao in the southern Philippines, was rendered of dubious value when MacArthur opted to bypass Mindanao and strike first at Leyte in the central part of the archipelago. Admiral William Halsey, in fact, had recommended the cancellation of the Palau landings in favor of using the Marines on Leyte. But, as author William Manchester, a wounded Pacific War Marine veteran himself, would <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Goodbye-Darkness-Memoir-Pacific-War/dp/0316501115" target="_blank" rel="noopener">bitterly write</a>: “[Admiral] Nimitz decided it was too late to recall the Palau force and 9,171 [sic] Americans fell there, tragically and pointlessly.”
Since it was expected to be a quick, easy fight, few journalists bothered to cover the landings. Those who did found their stories overshadowed by events in the Philippines and Europe. In fact, the fighting on Peleliu was still raging when MacArthur’s invasion force hit the beaches of Leyte in October.
So Peleliu, perhaps the most brutal battle of our most brutal theater of war, remains in relative obscurity. The men who fought and especially those who died there deserve better. For many veterans who fought throughout the Pacific–the First Marine Division also saw action at Guadalcanal, Cape Gloucester, and Okinawa–Peleliu remained the battle that stayed with them in the sheer savagery of the action, hostility of the terrain, and abject misery of the conditions.
“Something in me died at Peleliu,” lamented Sledge, who’d somehow made it through 45 days of combat before his decimated 5th Marine Regiment was pulled off the line.
Whether or not the Marines and soldiers of Peleliu suffered and died needlessly, there is no debating whether they successfully carried out their mission with extraordinary bravery, skill, and perseverance. They did so on one of the most inhospitable battlefields into which men-at-arms have ever been placed, against an enemy whose homicidal fanaticism was matched only by their tenacity and skill as warriors.
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We owe this moment, then, to the men of Peleliu, most of whom have now died from causes far removed from that terrible battlefield, to remember their sacrifice, to honor their courage, and give them one final salute as they move into their twilight.
Indeed, they should know they are not forgotten. They should know that the seminal moment of their young lives, one they carried to the end of their days, has not slipped away into the collective amnesia of a peaceful society. We will never fully comprehend what happened there and what they overcame to move the country one step closer to a just victory and the world to an enduring peace.
* * *
Brad Schaeffer is a commodities trader, columnist, and author of two acclaimed novels. Along with Daily Wire, his articles have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, New York Daily News, New York Post, National Review, The Federalist, The Hill and other media outlets. His newest book, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Life-Pits-Rough-Tumble-Exchange/dp/B0CKPNCMQW/ref=sr_1_1?adgrpid=1331509151681009&amp;hvadid=83219665089301&amp;hvbmt=bp&amp;hvdev=c&amp;hvlocphy=97755&amp;hvnetw=o&amp;hvqmt=p&amp;hvtargid=kwd-83219680392082%3Aloc-190&amp;hydadcr=18892_13467888&amp;keywords=brad+schaeffer&amp;qid=1698162015&amp;sr=8-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.amazon.com/Life-Pits-Rough-Tumble-Exchange/dp/B0CKPNCMQW/ref%3Dsr_1_1?adgrpid%3D1331509151681009%26hvadid%3D83219665089301%26hvbmt%3Dbp%26hvdev%3Dc%26hvlocphy%3D97755%26hvnetw%3Do%26hvqmt%3Dp%26hvtargid%3Dkwd-83219680392082%253Aloc-190%26hydadcr%3D18892_13467888%26keywords%3Dbrad%2Bschaeffer%26qid%3D1698162015%26sr%3D8-1&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1722366620272000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0vhiW3SrKDrsWDil8BZYgg">LIFE IN THE PITS: My Time as a Trader on the Rough-and-Tumble Exchange Floors</a>, is a fun and informative memoir of his time as a floor trader in Chicago and New York. You can also find more of Brad’s articles on <a href="https://bradschaeffer.substack.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://bradschaeffer.substack.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1722366620272000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3J2TVu4lEyxt1MB9TGXQzF">Substack</a>.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

World War II – Navy Seabees

‘Like Two Scorpions In A Bottle’: The 80th Anniversary Of The Invasion Of Peleliu

'Like Two Scorpions In A Bottle': The 80th Anniversary Of The Invasion Of Peleliu

American History

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Leading <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/house-democrats" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Democrats in the House</a> are urging the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/u-s-army" target="_blank" rel="noopener">U.S. Army</a> to implement a &#8220;strong official response&#8221; over a dispute at Arlington National Cemetery last month involving staff members working for former President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/donald-trump" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Donald Trump</a>.
Trump, who is running another presidential campaign, participated in a ceremony in late August to mark the third anniversary of the Kabul airport bombing that killed 13 U.S. service members during the 2021 Afghanistan withdrawal.
News outlets <a href="https://www.npr.org/2024/08/27/nx-s1-5091154/trump-arlington-cemetery" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> that members of Trump&#8217;s staff allegedly had a <a href="https://www.npr.org/2024/09/05/nx-s1-5101991/trump-campaign-arlington-national-cemetery-staff-debate" target="_blank" rel="noopener">verbal and physical</a> altercation with an official at the cemetery over whether they could themselves film or take photos in Section 60, a zone for recent U.S. casualties.
Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA), the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, and two of his colleagues issued a <a href="https://oversightdemocrats.house.gov/news/press-releases/raskin-smith-takano-call-transparency-and-expediency-investigation-abuse" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> this week, demanding an investigation that could result in penalties and the release of information.
Trump and his campaign staff &#8220;clearly violated the rules and regulations prohibiting political activities at Arlington National Cemetery by using one of our country’s most hallowed sites for partisan campaign purposes,&#8221; they said.
A U.S. Army spokesperson <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/arlington-national-cemetery-donald-trump-campaign-dispute/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> a female official at Arlington National Cemetery, located in Virginia near Washington, D.C., had been &#8220;abruptly pushed aside&#8221; but ultimately decided not to press any charges, and the <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/arlington-national-cemetery-donald-trump-campaign-dispute/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">matter was closed</a>.
Trump has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-pins-arlington-cemetery-dispute-on-comrade-kamala-and-her-misinformation-squad" target="_blank" rel="noopener">denied</a> there being &#8220;conflict or &#8216;fighting.'&#8221; NPR <a href="https://www.npr.org/2024/08/27/nx-s1-5091154/trump-arlington-cemetery" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> that his spokesman, Steven Cheung, &#8220;strongly rejected the notion of a physical altercation&#8221; and said his team was prepared to release footage to fight defamatory claims.
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Gold Star families have <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/gold-star-families-blast-kamala-harris-for-heinous-vile-disgusting-post-attacking-trump" target="_blank" rel="noopener">appeared in videos</a> that Trump posted to social media, saying they invited the former president to attend and film the event and criticizing Vice President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/kamala-harris" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kamala Harris</a> for her political attacks over the dispute.
In their statement this week, the congressional Democrats pressed the Army to &#8220;immediately provide information regarding how the event was coordinated&#8221; and insisted that the alleged assault &#8220;requires a strong official response.&#8221;
&#8220;As with any alleged assault, this incident should be investigated by the appropriate law enforcement authorities and should be subject to an independent charging decision,&#8221; the Democrats said, adding the Army should cooperate fully.
Failure to &#8220;properly investigate&#8221; the dispute and hold people accountable, they said, &#8220;undermines the integrity and honor of&#8221; Arlington &#8220;and erodes the longstanding rules, tradition, and norms requiring nonpartisanship in the U.S. military.&#8221;
Smith was joined by Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), the ranking member of the Oversight Committee who has also requested an <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/25085436-raskin-letter-arlington-cemetery" target="_blank" rel="noopener">incident report</a> on the Arlington dispute, and Veterans’ Affairs Committee Ranking Member Mark Takano (D-CA).

Former President Donald Trump at Arlington Cemetery.

Dems Beg Army For ‘Strong Official Response’ Over Trump Arlington Cemetery Dispute

Dems Beg Army For 'Strong Official Response' Over Trump Arlington Cemetery Dispute

2024 Election

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Travis King, the U.S. Army private who dashed across the North Korean border last year, will plead guilty to desertion and four other charges, his lawyer said Monday. If the plea deal is accepted, nine separate charges against King, including possession of child pornography, will be dropped, The Associated Press <a href="https://apnews.com/article/travis-king-army-north-korea-desertion-506d085782ca3611bf11ec254e799321" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.
King, 23, ran into North Korea in July 2023 after he was released from a South Korean prison where he spent two months on assault charges. As officers were taking King back to the U.S. to face disciplinary action, the soldier joined a civilian tour group and ran across the heavily guarded North Korean border. He remained in North Korean custody for two months before he was returned to the U.S. to face numerous charges, including allegations that he solicited a Snapchat user to “knowingly and willingly produce child pornography.”
King&#8217;s lawyer Franklin D. Rosenblatt told the AP that the soldier &#8220;wants to take responsibility for the things that he did.&#8221;
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&#8220;Travis is grateful to his friends and family who have supported him, and to all outside his circle who did not pre-judge his case based on the initial allegations,&#8221; Rosenblatt added.
The private is also accused of assaulting officers, illegally possessing alcohol, and making a false statement. King will have the opportunity to speak at a hearing at Fort Bliss, Texas, on September 20.
“If Pvt. King’s guilty plea is accepted, the judge will sentence King pursuant to the terms of the plea agreement,” a spokeswoman for the Army Office of Special Trial Counsel said in a statement, according to <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/08/27/travis-king-us-army-private-north-korea-desertion-guilty/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Washington Post</a>. “If the judge does not accept the guilty plea, the judge can rule that the case be litigated in a contested court-martial.”
North Korea <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/north-korea-claims-american-soldier-entered-country-after-becoming-disillusioned-by-unequal-american-society" target="_blank" rel="noopener">claimed</a> that King said he crossed the border because he &#8220;harbored ill feelings against inhuman mistreatment and racial discrimination within the U.S. Army&#8221; and &#8220;was disillusioned at the unequal American society.&#8221; The Pentagon could not verify that King made these statements to the North Koreans, and North Korea regularly releases completely false statements that attempt to paint the U.S. as an evil empire.
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King was the <a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/07/19/1188656665/travis-king-north-korea-soldier-history" target="_blank" rel="noopener">first</a> American soldier to voluntarily cross into North Korea since 1982. American civilian Otto Warmbier was detained and imprisoned by the communist country in 2016 on phony charges of subversion before he was released 17 months later in a coma; he died shortly after coming home to the U.S.

Travis King

U.S. Soldier Who Ran Across North Korean Border To Plead Guilty To Desertion: Lawyer

U.S. Soldier Who Ran Into North Korea To Plead Guilty To Desertion

Courts

North Korea

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/toby-keith">Toby Keith</a>’s daughter reflected on her late father and how he would not allow her to join him on his popular USO tours as a way of protecting her.
Krystal Keith, who is also a singer, recently spoke with <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/toby-keith-refused-let-daughter-join-uso-tours-he-went-dad-mode">Fox News Digital</a> about her dad trying to keep her safe while putting himself in harm’s way to entertain the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/u-s-army">troops</a>. &#8220;I begged to go, but it was such a dangerous thing. He went into, like, dad mode,&#8221; Krystal told the outlet. &#8220;He was like, &#8216;No, no, this is really important work I&#8217;m going to do, and no, my daughter is not – It&#8217;s not something where … I&#8217;m going to put you in danger so you can go experience this.'&#8221;
The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/country-music">country music</a> legend’s daughter said she really wanted to tag along after launching her own career, but Keith still turned her down.
&#8220;Then as I became an artist, I was like, ‘Hey, I want to go do those things,&#8217; and he still, as much as it meant to him, and he knew how important it was for him, he was still like, ‘Hard pass on my daughter going to Afghanistan right now,’ because&#8230;his helicopters had been shot at. He had been in the middle of shows when mortar fire came down,” she added.
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The “American Soldier” singer experienced danger firsthand after mortar fire exploded during a show he was putting on for 2,500 troops in Afghanistan in 2008, the outlet noted. And that wasn’t the only time, Krystal said.
Keith’s daughter said she found a picture of her father after a show had been interrupted by mortar fire.
“There was an underground bunker, and he had like signed on concrete, something about, like, &#8216;I&#8217;m in the middle of a show and some idiot set off some fireworks during my show,'&#8221; she said. The singer said her dad jokingly accused the perpetrators of being “rude” during his performance.
While Keith wouldn’t let his daughter go overseas, she said he did bring her onstage in less potentially fraught situations. 
<a href="http://www.amiracist.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.amiracist.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1724211156439000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2xQ8bdTcpfdrPBAzczIuck">WATCH THE TRAILER FOR ‘AM I RACIST?’ — A MATT WALSH COMEDY ON DEI</a>
&#8220;I did spend time on tour with him. I opened for him from the time I was 14 &#8230; I did the anthem. Anytime I&#8217;d go out on tour with him, I&#8217;d be like, ‘Hey, can I sing tonight?&#8217; He&#8217;d be like, ‘Sure, you can go do the anthem. You can come out during this song.&#8217;”
She added, &#8220;So, I&#8217;d either sneak out and do background vocals on a song and no one ever knew I was there, it was just for me, or I would go out and do the anthem before he went on. Then, when I put my album out, we actually were the opening band for several tours.&#8221;
Krystal Keith will perform on Wednesday during the television special &#8220;Toby Keith: American Idol,&#8221; a tribute to the country star airing on NBC. Keith died on February 5 at the age of 62 after a battle with stomach cancer.

Toby Keith Krystal Keith

Toby Keith’s Daughter Says He Wouldn’t Let Her Tag Along On ‘Dangerous’ USO Tours

Toby Keith's Daughter Says He Wouldn't Let Her Tag Along On 'Dangerous' USO Tours

Celebrities

Country Music

Entertainment

Toby Keith

In the early part of the last century, the popularity of smoking was at its apex with about half of America lighting up. Believe it or not, back then it was not uncommon to find advertisements touting the health benefits of cigarettes. In fact, in 1937, <a href="https://www.history.com/news/cigarette-ads-doctors-smoking-endorsement" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Philip Morris</a> heavily advertised that a study conducted by doctors found that their cigarettes cleared up any and all cases of throat irritation. Just imagine how difficult it would have been to convince an avid smoker back then that this was complete hogwash. Maybe some of you have experienced exactly that difficulty with parents or grandparents who smoked. 
We have a similar challenge today, but in a completely different arena. That arena concerns our American culture – a culture that has historically stressed excellence, meritocracy, and equality of opportunity. It is rapidly being replaced with a different ideology known best by the deceptively innocent catch phrase of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion or DEI.
Those certainly sound like uncontroversial words and concepts, and DEI proponents would have you believe that it is about embracing individual differences, tolerance of people who are different, improving teamwork and output, ensuring equal opportunity, and combatting harmful racial and gender biases. Only a heartless, bigoted, sexist, illogical soul could object to any of that, right? 
Regrettably, nothing could be further from the truth. In practice, like touting the health benefits of cigarettes, the words Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion bring with them the opposite of virtually everything they claim to promote.  
Sadly, thanks to billions of dollars of marketing — akin to the cigarette smoking in the past — many if not most Americans are blind to the real impact of DEI. To these people, critics sound off base or as though they are merely throwing out random derogatory names when they refer to DEI as Marxist. That is understandable because it is a particularly well camouflaged initiative. Nonetheless, under the guise of fighting racism, and promoting fairness, inclusivity, and productivity, it achieves the same objective of division, resentment, and chaos. But instead of pitting people against each other on the basis of socioeconomic class warfare — the more traditional hallmark of Marxism — DEI does so through race, gender, and sexual identity. 
Also, part of why the charge of Marxism may at first sound like hyperbole is because the DEI stuff itself is so whacky and seemingly haphazard that ascribing to it the name of an economic theory seems to give it more purpose and organization than it deserves. After all, what could denouncing all white people as guilty oppressors and putting tampons in men’s rooms possibly have in common? However, those people need to remember, as Christopher Rufo points out in his excellent work <a href="https://manhattan.institute/book/americas-cultural-revolution-how-the-radical-left-conquered-everything" target="_blank" rel="noopener">“America’s Cultural Revolution,”</a> the first objective of Marxism is revolution, and the key drivers for that are segmentation, demonization, resentment, and chaos. It has been working.
As former <a href="https://starrs.us/the-more-diversity-officers-and-dei-training-race-relations-get-worse/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Army Captain Kendall Qualls</a> has observed, per Gallup and Southern Economic Journal, in 2003, nearly 70% of black and white Americans rated race relations either good or very good, which was one of the highest ratings in its tracking history. Since then, as the number of DEI officers in America’s institutions has soared, that percentage has plummeted by more than 30 points. From our <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/27/opinion/christopher-rufo-diversity-desantis-florida-university.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">schools</a>, to the practice of <a href="https://www.thefp.com/p/how-americas-obsession-with-dei-is" target="_blank" rel="noopener">medicine</a> and other <a href="https://www.thefp.com/p/how-dei-is-supplanting-truth-as-the" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sciences</a>, to <a href="https://armedforces.press/two-dei-contradictions-exposed/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">politics</a>, to the <a href="https://time.com/6998539/trump-shooting-republicans-blame-dei-secret-service-women/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Secret Service</a>, and <a href="https://www.newsnationnow.com/race-in-america/dei-doesnt-work-study-of-studies/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">private sector corporations</a>, DEI has been an <a href="https://hbr.org/2022/12/the-failure-of-the-dei-industrial-complex" target="_blank" rel="noopener">unmitigated disaster</a>.
Aside from these institutions there is one other critical organization with a much smaller margin of error in which DEI has been deeply imbedded – our military. If there is one domain in which a country needs meritocracy, excellence, unity, and esprit de corps to reign supreme, it is with its war-fighting effectiveness.
In 2011, the Military Leadership Diversity Commission (MLDC) established a new paradigm. The MLDC’s <a href="https://archive.org/details/DTIC_ADA539297" target="_blank" rel="noopener">162-page Final Report</a>, titled “From Representation to Inclusion: Diversity Leadership for the 21st Century,” shifted priorities away from meritocracy and non-discrimination, moving instead toward “diversity” and “equity” as paramount goals. 
The impact has been swift and devastating. Consider just a sampling of what that has helped produce:
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.heritage.org/military" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Heritage Foundation</a> – one of the only comprehensive, non-governmental assessments of our military readiness – for the first time provided an overall rating for 2024 of “weak,” down from “marginal” in 2023.</li>
<li>The military overall is facing the largest recruiting crisis in over half a century – short by some <a href="https://americanmilitarynews.com/2023/12/us-military-41000-troops-short-of-recruitment-goal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">41,000 personnel</a>.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.heritage.org/defense/report/report-the-national-independent-panel-military-service-and-readiness">The National Independent Panel on Military Service and Readiness</a> concluded that the human elements of training, discipline, cohesion, confidence, and morale critical to fighting and winning wars are under severe duress due to a prioritization of a political agenda that distracts from the war-fighting mission and diminishes trust in military leadership.</li>
<li>In all the services today, biological men are allowed to <a href="https://popularmilitary.com/armys-new-guidelines-for-transgender-showering-urinalysis-tests-are-leaked/">berth and shower</a> with women.</li>
<li>With some <a href="https://thehill.com/policy/defense/599459-army-approves-reduced-physical-fitness-standards-for-women-older-soldiers/">44% of women</a> failing the Army Combat Fitness Test, the Army has reduced the standards for the test to accommodate more women and older soldiers.</li>
<li>DoD data show that some <a href="https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2023/10/13/nearly-70-of-active-service-members-are-overweight-report-finds/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">70% of active duty service members</a> are overweight and that obesity rates have doubled in the last ten years. </li>
<li>The Navy has celebrated “Pride” for 12 consecutive years, and this past year used a <a href="https://nypost.com/2023/05/03/us-navy-appointed-active-duty-drag-queen-as-ambassador/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">drag queen</a> in its recruiting. </li>
<li>Per the <a href="https://www.reaganfoundation.org/media/359970/2022-survey-summary.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Reagan Institute</a>, in just five years, the percentage of Americans saying they had trust and confidence in our military plummeted from 70% to 45% – the first time ever that a minority of the country expressed a great deal of trust and confidence in the military. </li>
<li>In 2018, 70% of Americans said they would recommend joining the military to family or friends. Just five years later in 2023, that number had <a href="https://www.military.com/daily-news/2023/11/30/most-would-encourage-military-service-confidence-armed-forces-remains-low-survey-finds.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">plummeted to 51%</a>. </li>
</ul>
In collecting feedback from military personnel and their families <a href="https://starrs.us/what-people-are-saying/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">STARRS</a> recently received this comment from a Marine father: “My son, who wanted to be a Marine his entire youth, left after 5 years, disgusted with the new &#8216;woke&#8217; Marines.”
Another service member said, “After 20 years of commissioned service, I tell folks all the time – no matter how woke you think the armed forces are, it is much worse.” 
Wars happen when aggressive adversaries assess, rightly or wrongly, that their opponent is weak enough to be defeated. How do America’s adversaries assess its military readiness today? Distressingly, it is likely that they see it as far lower than they did a mere decade or so ago.
Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, and Stanford Professor and historian <a href="https://starrs.us/the-dei-ruse-is-imploding/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Victor Davis Hanson</a> says this of DEI: 
<blockquote>“In the end, DEI will implode because of its many contradictions: it is racist to the core; it is illegal and violates court decisions and the Constitution; it destroys meritocracy; and it is utterly incoherent in adjudicating who and who not deserve racial preferences.”</blockquote>
In ancient times, rigorous athletic competition was considered preparation for war and therefore critical to the survival of a society. In fact, Greek law required physical exercise of both men and women. Athletic competition or sport is perhaps the one stage in our current culture that has remained resistant to the DEI scourge. And yet, how ironic that, while Americans are opposed to removing meritocracy from sports – an enterprise that has historically symbolized combat readiness – they have been willing to throw it under the bus in the realm of actual combat readiness, our military.
The pages of history are filled with failed nations and cultures that made fatal errors in estimating and addressing their war-fighting readiness. We are currently on such a path with America’s military. We need to eradicate DEI policies and practices from the institution that stands between totalitarianism, communism, terrorist extremists and our free republic – our military.
* * *
Dr. Greg Salsbury is former president of Western Colorado University, author of the 2006 award winning book &#8220;But What If I Live?&#8221; which predicted the 2008 meltdown, and the follow up book &#8220;Retirementology – Rethinking the American Dream in a New Economy,&#8221; which topped Amazon’s “personal finance” category.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Navy cadets marching

Cigarettes, DEI, And Our Military

Cigarettes

Marxism

Opinion

Readers Pass

U.S. Navy

An intelligence officer with the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/u-s-army" target="_blank" rel="noopener">U.S. Army</a> pled guilty on Tuesday to selling critical military documents to an individual in Hong Kong believed to be tied to the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/china" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chinese</a> government. 
Korbein Schultz, 24, who was stationed at Fort Campbell along the Kentucky-Tennessee border, pled guilty to conspiracy to obtain and disclose national defense information, exporting technical data related to defense articles without a license, conspiracy to export defense articles without a license, and bribery of a public official, the Justice Department announced. He faces up to 65 years in prison upon his sentencing in January. 
“This defendant sold national defense information to a foreign actor and conspired to corrupt other members of our military,” said United States Attorney Henry Leventis. “In doing so, he violated his training and his oath as a member of the armed services and he compromised our national security.” 
Robert Well of the FBI said that the incident was a reminder that hostile governments like China are trying to steal U.S. military secrets. 
“Governments like China are aggressively targeting our military personnel and national security information and we will do everything in our power to ensure that information is safeguarded from hostile foreign governments,” he said. 
According to the <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/media/1341561/dl?inline" target="_blank" rel="noopener">indictment</a>, Schultz’s illegal activity began in June 2022 and continued until his arrest in March. One of his most recent duties was listed as “Classified Document Custodian,” the indictment against him noted. 
Some of the information that Schultz sold included a document explaining how the U.S. would apply lessons learned from the Russia-Ukraine war to Taiwan, Air Force documents about the HH-60 helicopter, American intelligence on the Chinese military, rocket defense systems, and U.S. military exercises with South Korea and the Philippines. 
Prosecutors previously said that he made around $42,000 from the transmission of the materials.
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Schultz could get 10 years in prison for conspiracy to obtain and transmit national defense information, 20 years for exporting defense data to China without a license, 20 years for conspiracy to violate the Arms Export Control Act, and another 15 years for the bribery charge. 
&#8220;This Soldier swore an oath to faithfully discharge his duties, to include protecting national defense information. Not only did he fail in his sworn duty, but he placed personal gain above his duty to our country and disclosed information that could give an advantage to a foreign nation, putting his fellow Soldiers in jeopardy,” <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/us-army-intelligence-analyst-pleads-guilty-charges-conspiracy-obtain-and-disclose-national">said</a> Brigadier General Rhett Cox.
The FBI and the U.S. Army Counterintelligence Command conducted the investigation into Schultz.

CHINA-OLY-2016-CHN-FLAG

Army Intelligence Officer Pleads Guilty To Selling Defense Information To China

China

Department of Justice

Taiwan

Rep. Mike Waltz (R-FL) appeared to tear up on Wednesday when he revealed what he saw when former President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/donald-trump" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Donald Trump</a> visited with the families of the American service members killed during President Joe Biden&#8217;s disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Waltz, speaking as part of the third night of the Republican National Convention (RNC) in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, said that while President Joe Biden barely mentioned the names of the fallen, Trump had made a real effort to comfort the families.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/michaelgwaltz?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@michaelgwaltz</a> shares a powerful and heartwarming story about bringing Gold Star families to visit President Trump. <a href="https://t.co/dBAOMK2ZTi">pic.twitter.com/dBAOMK2ZTi</a>
— Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDailyWire/status/1813746124601385306?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 18, 2024</a></blockquote>
&#8220;We all remember Biden&#8217;s disgraceful withdrawal from Afghanistan,&#8221; he began. &#8220;The debacle and the stain on our national conscience that was. The 13 Gold Star families have to relive it every day, the ones that lost their sons and daughters that disgraceful day.&#8221;
&#8220;Biden won&#8217;t even take their calls,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;He calls it an outstanding success. He won&#8217;t even take a meeting with them.&#8221;
But then Waltz said that he called Trump, who responded, &#8220;Michael, I would love to meet them.&#8221;
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The Florida Congressman went on to explain that Trump had not just met the families, but after being scheduled to spend an hour with them, he had instead spent six hours with them. He talked to them about their loss and about their sons and daughters.
&#8220;One of the moms leaned over to me and she said, &#8216;Do you think he&#8217;ll sign a picture of my son?&#8217; I said, &#8216;Oh, hell yeah, he will. Please ask, he will be happy to,'&#8221; Waltz added with a smile.
The day continued with dinner, and Waltz explained that as the dinner was just beginning, Trump made them a promise: &#8220;When he gets back in the White House, he will release all the tapes, all the videos, all the records, all the emails, and give these families the accountability and the transparency that they deserve and that they will never get from Joe Biden.&#8221;
Waltz concluded by turning to Trump, who was smiling from the VIP section, and appeared to choke up as he said, &#8220;Mr. President, Mr. President, you helped them heal. And I will forever, and they will forever, and America will forever be grateful to you for that.&#8221;

2024 Republican National Convention: Day 1

Green Beret Veteran Chokes Up While Revealing What Trump Did For Gold Star Families

Elections

Gold Star

Mike Waltz

President Joe Biden lashed out at Rep. Jason Crow (D-CO) for raising concerns about the Democrat&#8217;s re-election prospects and Biden&#8217;s ability — or lack thereof — to &#8220;project strength, vigor, and inspire confidence at home and abroad.&#8221;
According to several reports including <a href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/2024/07/16/nation/biden-allies-worry-he-is-not-getting-complete-information-about-race/">The Boston Globe</a>, Biden made the comments during a recent Zoom call, firing back after Crow warned that persisting in the &#8220;status quo&#8221; would likely result in losses for the president and others in the party come November.
&#8220;We know that without a major change we are facing losses in November,&#8221; Crow began, adding, &#8220;The status quo won&#8217;t work. Focusing just on Trump won&#8217;t work. Focusing on policy accomplishments the last four years won&#8217;t work. We need a major shift. We need a major change. What change to your campaign do you propose?&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Tense showdown between Biden and Army veteran <a href="https://twitter.com/RepJasonCrow?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RepJasonCrow</a> in which the president compares Crow&#8217;s Bronze Star to Beau Biden&#8217;s Bronze Star and dares Crow to name a more effective world leader. &#8220;Tell me!&#8221; Crow replies: &#8220;It&#8217;s not breaking through, Mr. President.&#8221; From <a href="https://twitter.com/juliaioffe?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@juliaioffe</a>: <a href="https://t.co/T1LBC3uhlN">pic.twitter.com/T1LBC3uhlN</a>
— John Hudson (@John_Hudson) <a href="https://twitter.com/John_Hudson/status/1813427042794319911?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 17, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Biden, clearly not pleased with what he heard, fired back, &#8220;First of all, I think you&#8217;re dead wrong about national security. Name me a foreign leader who thinks I&#8217;m not the most effective leader in the world on foreign policy. Tell me. Tell me who the hell that is.&#8221;
&#8220;Tell me who put NATO back together! Tell me who enlarged NATO, tell who did the Pacific basin,&#8221; Biden continued, pivoting to invoke his late son Beau Biden and simultaneously level a personal attack against Crow. &#8220;Tell me who did something that you&#8217;ve never done with your Bronze Star like my son — and I&#8217;m proud of your leadership, but guess what, what&#8217;s happening, we&#8217;ve got Korea and Japan working together, I put AUKUS together, anyway!&#8221;
Biden kept going, once again claiming he was the &#8220;most respected&#8221; world leader anyone had ever seen and was the only one who could bring about peace.
Crow, seemingly ignoring the insult, protested, &#8220;It&#8217;s not breaking through, Mr. President, to our voters.&#8221;
&#8220;You oughta talk about it!&#8221; Biden objected, listing his accomplishments again and adding, &#8220;On national security, nobody has been a better president than I&#8217;ve been. Name me one. Name me one! So I don&#8217;t want to hear that crap!&#8221;
Biden&#8217;s attack on Crow circulated on X, prompting a few to <a href="https://x.com/bonchieredstate/status/1813573174866682172" target="_blank" rel="noopener">point out</a> the full scope of its bad optics for the president. Beau Biden earned his Bronze Star after a year-long deployment with the Judge Advocate General (JAG) Corps, while <a href="https://crow.house.gov/issues/national-security?page=4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Crow earned his</a> while serving in three combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan with the 82nd Airborne and the 75th Ranger Regiment.

I Am Vanessa Guillén Act

Biden Dresses Down Army Ranger Vet In Tense Call Over Re-Election Woes

Biden Dresses Down Army Ranger Vet In Tense Call Over Reelection Woes

Beau Biden

Executive

Joe Biden

Zoom

A U.S. Army base in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/north-carolina" target="_blank" rel="noopener">North Carolina</a> on Thursday disavowed training slides previously shown that referred to several <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/pro-life" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pro-life</a> organizations as &#8220;terrorist groups&#8221; after images were widely circulated on social media. 
Slides referring to the National Right to Life and Operation Rescue as terrorists were used during a recent anti-terrorism training at Fort Liberty, formerly known as Fort Bragg, military authorities confirmed on Thursday. 
“After conducting a commander’s inquiry, we determined that the slides presented on social media were not vetted by the appropriate approval authorities, and do not reflect the views of the XVIII Airborne Corps and Fort Liberty, the U.S. Army or the Department of Defense,” Fort Liberty said in a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/FortLibertyPublicAffairs/posts/895334395966982/">statement</a>. “The slides were developed by a local garrison employee to train Soldiers manning access control points at Fort Liberty.”
“These slides will no longer be used, and all future training products will be reviewed to ensure they align with the current DoD anti-terrorism guidance,” the statement added. 
The slides were first flagged by Sam Shoemate on X, who describes himself as an &#8220;advocate for service members seeking justice.&#8221; 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
An anti-terrorism brief was held on Fort Liberty (Bragg) today where they listed several Pro-Life organizations as “terrorist organizations.”
The slide you see here followed right after a slide about ISIS, a terror group in the Middle East.
The organizations labeled by the… <a href="https://t.co/vlO6XjyGzE">pic.twitter.com/vlO6XjyGzE</a>
— Shoe (@samosaur) <a href="https://twitter.com/samosaur/status/1811198101522391419?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 11, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The slides cited the pro-life groups’ opposition to Roe v. Wade and activities like “mass demonstrations” and sidewalk counseling. They also showed an image of a pro-life license plate urging people to &#8220;choose life.&#8221;  Additionally, it linked the two groups to bombings and attempted murders. 
Carol Tobias, president of the National Right to Life, <a href="https://nrlc.org/nrlnewstoday/2024/07/national-right-to-life-responds-to-fort-liberty-presentation/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> the organization has &#8220;always &#8230; condemned violence against anyone.&#8221;
“Only under the Biden Administration can peaceful law-abiding citizens and their peaceful activities be considered ‘terrorism’” she said. “The Biden Administration promotes the deaths of preborn babies and advocates for unlimited abortion, but peaceful pro-life Americans are labeled ‘terrorists.’”
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Operation Rescue President Troy Newman <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/healthcare/3077716/presentation-at-army-base-labeled-anti-abortion-groups-as-terrorist-organizations/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> the Washington Examiner that the slides were previously used by the FBI and appeared to be recycled for the recent presentation at Fort Liberty. 
“We have morons running the DOJ and the FBI,” he said, adding that the Biden administration was “turning its eyes inward to peaceful, patriotic individuals with different views.”
North Carolina GOP Senator Ted Budd called for the Army to conduct a full investigation into the presentation. 
“Smearing pro-life Americans as terrorists is despicable. The materials briefed at Fort Liberty are disturbing,” he <a href="https://x.com/SenTedBuddNC/status/1811451969669857786">said</a>. “As soon as I became aware of it, I directed my team to contact Army and Fort Liberty officials. They have begun an investigation. The Army must get to the bottom of this and see that it never happens again.”

US-POLITICS-RACISM-MILITARY-BASES

U.S. Army Base Backtracks After Referring To Pro-Life Orgs As ‘Terrorist Groups’

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Pro-Life Movement

If American women 18 and up are required to register for the military draft, it will be the linchpin to the dismantling of America. As the first leader of the Soviet Union, Vladimir Lenin, once <a href="https://catholicexchange.com/save-the-family-save-the-nation/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>, “Destroy the family, destroy the nation.”
By forcing young women into war in their prime years of marriage and motherhood, not only would we negate their natural desires for home and family, but we would also potentially leave children separated from both parents in time of war. Absent mothers create a vacuum of stability and love that is essential to the family. When parents are absent from the home, <a href="https://english.elpais.com/lifestyle/2023-11-28/the-absent-parent-syndrome-and-its-impact-on-child-development.html#" target="_blank" rel="noopener">children suffer</a> from insecurity, loneliness and emptiness, and embark on a constant quest for approval to fill the void of love. They show higher rates of psychiatric disorders, including depression and anxiety, and suffer poor motivation and success in school. 
Lenin also <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/104630.Vladimir_Lenin" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>, “A lie told often enough becomes the truth.”
There is a repetitious lie alive in America today: being male or female is a “feeling,” not a reality. Men and women can be swapped like apples for oranges and no one will know the difference. Our military has traded this lie for truth and claims gender is self-proclaimed, denying that God created us as men and women with purpose and intention. They even pay for men to get breast implants, calling it “life-saving health care,” participating in the charade of gender “transition.” 
In their desperation to believe men can be women, they have lowered the standards of our military and put the nation at risk. The truth is, strong males are wired to lay down their lives for their country, and strong women are wired to hold the nation together at home, with few exceptions. 
No matter how often a lie is repeated, it doesn’t make it true. 
During a recent hearing at the Senate Armed Services Committee, Majority Leader Jack Reed (D-RI) <a href="https://nypost.com/2024/06/20/us-news/congress-mulls-forcing-women-to-register-for-draft-sparking-backlash/">said</a>, “If we go to a draft, that means we’re in a serious, serious situation.” He went on to say, “It’s not like World War II where we need a lot of infantry. We need cyber experts, we need intelligence analysts, linguists, etc. Wait a second, there are a lot of women out there that can do this better than men.” 
While women can be powerful leaders and strategists, this does not negate the fact that most of our daughters, sisters, wives, and future brides are not equipped for military service. The Left can’t stand to admit that most women actually want to be protected by men. By hiding this proposition in the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act, these fascists are setting our country up for annihilation. As the <a href="https://www.armed-services.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/fy25_ndaa_executive_summary.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">proposed amendment</a> reads: 
<blockquote>Amends the Military Selective Service Act to require the registration of women for Selective Service.</blockquote>
Senator Reed went on to say, “Women are doing a remarkable job in our forces today, and if we were in a situation requiring a draft, I think we would need all able-bodied citizens 18 and above,” noting that the GOP’s reluctance to pass the proposal “doesn’t make any sense.” What actually doesn’t make sense is their denial of the importance of women to the home and family. 
Carissa Lund is a mother of three who served four years in the Marine Corps. I mentored her for many years and she shared her experience as a mother in the military. She says, 
<blockquote>The truth is that it’s a man’s world. The organization is trying desperately to show equality but it is never truly equal because men and women are made differently. As soon as women have children they just want to be with their babies. I witnessed many of my fellow female Marines in tears as they dropped their kids off at daycare at 5:30 am and picked them up at 6:30 pm. Forcing women into military service would be a terrible mistake. Who would take care of the home and children?</blockquote>
After two years of researching the words “male and female” in the Book of Genesis, I found that being a man and being a woman are actions of the body and soul. Men are protectors and providers and women are life-givers and change-agents in the home. In the language of the Old Testament, the word &#8220;mother&#8221; <a href="https://www.ancient-hebrew.org/definition/mother.htm">means</a> “Glue.” She is the glue that holds the family together. In the New Testament, women are affiliated with the Greek word “Oikourgos,” meaning “the guardian and watcher of the home.” Without women on the homefront, the glue that holds our country together will be dissolved and Lenin’s prediction will come true. The United States will be destroyed. 
And maybe this is what the Left has in mind. 
How will young women stand up to this? By refusing to comply. By elevating the way men and women are created. And by valuing their role as the life-givers and the glue of the nation. Likewise, men need to take the responsibility to stand up for their wives and daughters. They need to value their role as protectors in times like these.
On the battlefield, in the dark of the night, soldiers often cling to pictures of their wives as their only hope. Many times, a soldier’s last words are a cry for his mother or wife. This is how men are wired. Without a woman to live for, they will perish, and so will America.
* * *
Jennifer Strickland is former international model, TEDx speaker, host of the I AM A WOMAN podcast, and an eight-time author, including titles such as Girl Perfect, Beautiful Lies, and her most recent release, <a href="http://iamawoman.us/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">I Am a Woman: Taking Back Our Name</a>. She has worked with women of all ages for over 20 years through her ministry, U R More, and passionately aims to educate women, girls, men, and boys about the biblical truth of our identity.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Army’s New Pre-Basic Training Prep Course Helps Potential Soldiers Qualify For Enlistment

Why Requiring Women To Register For Military Service Will Destroy American Families

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In a new “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/how-the-military-went-woke-pete-hegseth-member-exclusive" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sunday Special</a>” interview, Daily Wire Editor Emeritus Ben Shapiro spoke to Fox News host Pete Hegseth about wokeness in the military.
Shapiro noted that Hegseth has a new <a href="https://www.amazon.com/War-Warriors-Behind-Betrayal-Keep/dp/0063389428" target="_blank" rel="noopener">book</a> coming out on Tuesday, &#8220;The War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free,&#8221; which examines how the military allowed itself to go woke. The book has also <a href="https://nation.foxnews.com/the-war-on-warriors-live-show-with-pete-hegseth-nation/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">become</a> a Fox Nation series with Hegseth and his panel of veterans.
During their hour-long discussion, Hegseth, an Army veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan discussed how the military allowed woke ideology into its ranks as well as the Left&#8217;s accusations of white supremacy within the military.
&#8220;The everyday soldier on the line is as amazing as he ever was or she ever was, but when it comes to the brass, that has obviously changed,&#8221; Shapiro began, noting that those who notice &#8220;wokeness&#8221; in the military are often criticized.
&#8220;Correct, you can&#8217;t blame me for pointing out what you&#8217;re doing to an institution that&#8217;s beloved to me and my fellow warrior class,&#8221; Hegseth responded.
&#8220;This is an institution more focused than any other in our government, in our society, on meritocracy, on lethality, on readiness,&#8221; Hegseth continued, adding that the military underwent a &#8220;fundamental transformation&#8221; under Obama.
&#8220;Especially under Obama, the focus became, &#8216;No, no, no, no, what about these gender issues? What about these trans issues? What about these women in combat issues? What about climate change?&#8217; And certainly under Biden, it&#8217;s been, &#8216;What about extremism?'&#8221;
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/how-the-military-went-woke-pete-hegseth-member-exclusive" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WATCH THE FULL &#8216;SUNDAY SPECIAL&#8217; EPISODE WITH PETE HEGSETH</a>
Hegseth explained that new, young soldiers who join the U.S. Armed Forces are bombarded with &#8220;woke ideology&#8221; during training.
&#8220;You mentioned the warriors are just as good as they&#8217;ve always been. I agree, kind of. The challenge is because it&#8217;s a top-down organization, you start pushing things like DEI, now your young lieutenants and your young privates going through basic or going through ROTC or going through West Point are getting that woke ideology as part of their training.&#8221;
Shapiro also asked Hegseth about the Biden administration&#8217;s accusations that the military is a breeding ground for white supremacist sentiment.
&#8220;Where is that coming from?&#8221; Shapiro asked.
Hegseth said that after George Floyd&#8217;s death in 2020, Defense Department leadership took the opportunity to address a supposed &#8220;systemic problem&#8221; of racism in the military.
&#8220;The Left knows that by pushing DEI, now they&#8217;ve got black soldiers looking at white soldiers and white soldiers looking at black soldiers wondering who really deserved what or why they&#8217;re in a position, which is really toxic for an organization primed on unity,&#8221; Hegseth said.

Pete Hegseth/Ben Shapiro

‘Woke Ideology As Part Of Training’: Ben Shapiro Talks Wokeness In The Military With Fox News’ Pete Hegseth

Ben Shapiro Talks Wokeness In The Military With Fox News' Pete Hegseth

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