Protecting Americans is believed to be the first and only priority of the military. According to servicemembers in a recent Heritage Foundation poll, that priority is caving as the military becomes increasingly politicized. Rep. Mike Waltz (R-FL-6)agrees, stating he is looking to find "solutions to restore trust in our military and end the politicization of our warfighters."
"As Chair of @Heritage's National Independent Panel on Military Service and Readiness, our panel is committed to finding solutions to restore trust in our military and end the politicization of our warfighters. Let's get our focus back to winning America's next war," stated Rep. Waltz.
As Chair of @Heritage's National Independent Panel on MIlitary Service and Readiness, our panel is committed to finding solutions to restore trust in our military and end the politicization of our warfighters.
Let's get our focus back to winning America's next war.
— Rep. Mike Waltz (@michaelgwaltz) January 13, 2023
The statistics Rep.Waltz cites in his tweet thread specifically state 69% of those currently serving say they "have witnessed politicization in the military." Another 68% say this is affecting their encouragement of getting their kids to join. Lastly, 70% also consider focuses on climate change and changes in physical standards has violated their trust.
Additional comments from Waltz are found in Heritage's report, where he says that "It’s more clear than ever that Americans are losing faith in what should be America’s most trusted institution and the current recruitment crisis facing our military is evidence of that."
He lambasts the Pentagon's focus on domestic culture wars rather than winning actual international conflicts, and how this change in priority harms the ability to recruit. "The Pentagon should be focused on winning America’s future wars rather than prioritizing divisive programs and issues. The Pentagon should be focused on how best to counter our global adversaries like China and recruiting the best and brightest to our ranks," Waltz adds.
Back in November, Waltz appeared on Fox's Modern Warriors discussing other instances of "wokeness" affecting the military. These include attempting to switch all military vehicles to electric and teaching Critical Race Theory to cadets. The latter problem is easily the most harmful, says Waltz, as the military should teach its members to look past personal traits for a greater cause of serving the country together.
