Letter to General Mark A. Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff - Challenging 'Woke' Agenda in Military

Letter

Dear General Milley:

Given our long history of professional collaboration, grounded in a shared commitment
to sustaining the American way of life and caring for our troops, we write today to express our
grave concerns about this administration's imposition of political narratives on our military, at
the expense of readiness and morale.

At each hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee, we acknowledge that the
world is a more dangerous place than ever in our lifetime and reaffirm our committee's steadfast
support for the 2018 National Defense Strategy. Yet today, efforts to recruit, train, and equip a
ready and lethal force often appear to take a back seat to the Department of Defense's (DOD)
"Climate Adaptation Plan," "Countering Extremism Working Group," and discussions of critical
race theory. DOD touts its "Climate Adaptation Plan," while a viable counterterrorism strategy
in lieu of our presence in Afghanistan after a chaotic exit goes wanting.

A global "stand-down" curtailed essential military operations so that troops could discuss
the perils of "right-wing" extremism. Six months into its existence, a bloated "Countering
Extremism Working Group" plods through its endless review of DOD's longstanding definition
of extremist conduct. All this is taking place despite clear data that pegs the number of extremists
in our military as miniscule. Several members of the Senate Armed Services Committee have
solicited feedback directly from service members about the working group and have also shared
growing concern about the focus directed towards social issues and away from lethality.

Accordingly, in your role as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and in conjunction
with the other members of the Joint Chiefs and the Combatant Commanders, we ask that you
provide us the following data and information pertaining to the armed forces, broken down by
each Military Service and Combatant Command, to include the same data as it pertains to the
Joint Staff:

 The total number of hours expended by any member of the armed forces in researching,
developing, writing, or coordinating the DOD "Climate Adaptation Plan," since January 21,
2021.

 The total monetary value of all other DOD resources expended on the research, development,
writing, or coordination of the DOD "Climate Adaptation Plan," since January 21, 2021.

 The total number of hours expended by any member of the armed forces for any purpose
related to the extremism "stand-down" directed by the Secretary of Defense on February 5,
2021, or in furtherance of any effort described in Secretary of Defense Memorandum of
April 9, 2021, subject: Immediate Actions to Counter Extremism in the Department and the
Establishment of the Countering Extremism Working Group, together with a description of
the current status of each of the efforts established by that memorandum.

 The total monetary value of all other DOD resources expended for any purpose related to the
extremism "stand-down" directed by the Secretary of Defense on February 5, 2021, or in
furtherance of any effort described in Secretary of Defense Memorandum of April 9, 2021,
subject: Immediate Actions to Counter Extremism in the Department and the Establishment
of the Countering Extremism Working Group.

 The total number of hours expended by any member of the armed forces in developing,
preparing, delivering, attending, or assessing new diversity, equity, and inclusion training in
any form, including training on or discussions of critical race theory, since January 21, 2021.

 The total monetary value of all other DOD resources expended on the development,
preparation, delivery, attendance at, or assessment of new diversity, equity, and inclusion
training in any form, including training on or discussions of critical race theory, since
January 21, 2021.

Although the actual costs associated with each of these undertakings is certainly cause for
concern, the opportunity cost they have and continue to visit on the force, its readiness, and
morale appears nothing short of devastating--particularly in light of current threats.

We look forward to receiving your written response and your views on these important
matters not later than November 8, 2021.