As a matter of fact, diversity is not a strength.

When the HMNZS Manawanui ran aground in October 2024, New Zealand saw $100 million sink beneath the waves. Also sunk was the continuing desire to engage in "diversity hires." The ship was captained by a lesbian who was selected for the position because of her sexual identity rather than her merit.

Captain Yvonne Gray is now one of three people facing disciplinary action after a court of inquiry found the accident was caused by human error, including turning off the autopilot.

“The direct cause of the grounding has been determined as a series of human errors which meant the ship’s autopilot was not disengaged when it should have been,” Rear Admiral Golding said.

“The crew did not realise Manawanui remained in autopilot and, as a consequence, mistakenly believed its failure to respond to direction changes was the result of a thruster control failure.

“Having mistakenly assessed a thruster control failure, standard procedures should have prompted ship’s crew to check that the ship was under manual control rather than in autopilot. This check did not occur.

“Remaining in autopilot resulted in the ship maintaining a course toward land, until grounding and eventually stranding.”

Not to be outdone, though, New Zealand's Defence Minister stated that any criticism of Gray is “misogynistic” and praised Gray for taking life-saving steps by ordering an evacuation.

The HMNZS Manawanui was one of nine ships in New Zealand's Navy and its first ship lost since World War II.

The actual cost of this DEI torpedo is more significant than $100 million; it is the 12% of their surface fleet that sank that matters.

America can learn another lesson and immediately return to merit-based promotions.