Public Domain

The Constitution is the supreme law of the land.  The oath that I took upon commissioning was a solemn vow of allegiance to that Constitution and says in part, “I, XXX, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; ….So help me God.’’   That oath that I took 54 years ago still binds me to my country.

At https://navy.mil are core Navy documents.

SAILOR’S CREED:  I am a United States Sailor. I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States of America and I will obey the orders of those appointed over me. I represent the fighting spirit of the Navy and those who have gone before me to defend freedom and democracy around the world. I proudly serve my country's Navy combat team with Honor, Courage, and Commitment. I am committed to excellence and the fair treatment of all. 

NAVY CORE VALUES 

Honor: I am accountable for my professional and personal behavior. I will be mindful of the privilege I have to serve my fellow Americans. 

Courage: Courage is the value that gives me the moral and mental strength to do what is right, with confidence and resolution, even in the face of temptation or adversity. 

Commitment: The day-to-day duty of every man and woman in the Department of the Navy is to join together as a team to improve the quality of our work, our people and ourselves. 

The Expanded Honor Section says:

"….we will: Conduct ourselves in the highest ethical manner in all relationships with peers, superiors and subordinates; Abide by an uncompromising code of integrity,…; Illegal or improper behavior or even the appearance of such behavior will not be tolerated.”

The Constitution, the Oath, the Sailor’s Creed, and Navy Core Values tell you everything you need to know about being a good sailor.  The stress is repeatedly on the concept of honor.  Everyone understands the importance of honor!  These fundamental values and truths obviate the need for introducing divisive social justice ideas into our Navy. 

Questions for the Admirals

Today there are approximately 224 Admirals in the Navy out of an officer corps of 56,000 or about .4%.  It is extraordinarily hard to make Admiral with a tiny fraction of a percent achieving that level.  Even to become an officer in the Navy is highly selective with only a small percent of those applying to be an officer candidate either through the United States Naval Academy, NROTC or OCS being accepted.  To make Admiral is an extraordinary accomplishment reserved for the most highly qualified, most experienced, most dedicated, most honorable leaders.  It is to this group of extraordinary Patriots that I speak.

Since 2011, the Navy has been ordered by Presidents Obama and Biden to implement Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI).  Why is this necessary when the overwhelming values of the Navy are honor, integrity, teamwork, and ethical behavior which the Navy drums into one from the day you take the oath until you are mustered out of the service?  Yet, what we find is that the Navy has completely embraced implementing divisive DEI programs into the entire force.

So, here are some respectful but urgent questions for the Navy’s Admirals:

Are you aware of the Marxist roots of DEI being Critical Race Theory?

Do you know that there is no research showing a connection between diversity based on skin color and excellence in military and/or tactical performance?  Task Force One Navy had a charge to discover the connection between diversity and excellence in tactical performance and failed to find it.

After the DoD wide standdown in 2021, a survey was done to assess the situation.  A senior official told this author, “I reviewed the stand down brief that was internal to DHRA and it included survey results from all of DoD (military and civilian) conducted by the DHRA Office of People Analytics, and the survey indicated that, overall, 2 percent of DoD personnel are concerned about hate crimes or racism.”  Why are millions of dollars and hundreds of thousands of hours being devoted to implementing DEI?

Do you know that the lag in achievement of some racial groups is not racism but cultural choices such as a high percentage of single parent families, having children before getting a high school education, and not having full time employment of any type.  Data on real reasons for some of our nation’s people lagging may be found in Discrimination and Disparities, by Dr. Thomas Sowell, Taboo: Ten Facts (You Can’t Talk About) by Dr. Wilfred Reilly, What Do White Americans Owe Black People: Racial Justice in the Age of Post-Oppression by Dr. Jason D. Hill, Red, White and Black edited by Robert Woodson, Sr., The Diversity Delusion by Heather Mac Donald, A Dubious Expediency edited by Gail Heriot, or Black Eye For America by Dr. Carol Swain.

Do you know that research indicates that DEI programs do not work?  Even Harvard says so.  And, besides, not necessary in our already diverse Navy.

Do you know that race relations have been improving for decades and that a vast majority of Americans do not feel that race is a major factor in workplace success?  The complaint rate for discrimination in the workplace has been going down for decades.

More detailed information on the reduction in racism in American can be found in Racism In America Is Vanishing.

Is it time for the senior leaders in the Navy, the Admirals, to wake up to the fact that DEI programs mandated by the Executive are unnecessary and harmful to the Navy?  There is no evidence the Navy is systemically racist and pretending that it is harms morale, recruiting, retention and readiness.  

Note:  Portions of this article appeared originally in the Washington Examiner 6/21/23.