The Pentagon’s Political Priorities Sleep well tonight. The U.S. Army has plans to defeat climate change.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-pentagons-political-priorities-army-climate-change-11644614919
“But never fear, the Pentagon is also on high alert over identity politics. This week it pumped out a press release about the “need for diversity, equity and inclusion to be a consideration or part of all decisions in the military.”
The world looks more dangerous every day, so let’s check in on the folks responsible for defending America. The Biden Defense Department hasn’t released a National Defense Strategy and the Pentagon can’t adjust its priorities while it’s stuck in continuing budget resolutions from Congress. But the Army is devoting time and effort to trumpeting its new plan to fight the invisible enemy of climate change.
“Climate change endangers national and economic security, and the health and well-being of the American people,” the first-ever Army Climate Strategy says. Among the stated goals: a 50% reduction in Army net greenhouse gas pollution by 2030; installing a microgrid on every installation by 2035; and converting its nontactical fleet of vehicles (vans, for example) to all-electric by 2035.
The Army pitches this as a natural extension of its mission to plan and prosecute wars, though nothing about less reliable energy sources or more expensive logistics will make the Army a better fighting force. The Pentagon insists it can fight climate change while dealing with threats like Russia and China, but focus is a finite resource and the service has far more urgent priorities.
The Army’s budget has been flat or declining for years after inflation, even as the land branch is trying to modernize much of its 1980s equipment. Some in Washington are eager to carve up the Army to fund a larger Navy to deal with China, but the 485,000-soldier service would be healthier at 500,000. As the saying goes, no one knows where the next war will be fought.
But never fear, the Pentagon is also on high alert over identity politics. This week it pumped out a press release about the “need for diversity, equity and inclusion to be a consideration or part of all decisions in the military.”
In a recent speech, Wisconsin Rep. Mike Gallagher walked through the dubious social science and flawed logic that informs the Pentagon’s fixation with equity. As he put it: “We are lucky to draw from a diverse population, but we do not want the U.S. military to look like a representative sample of the population. We want it to be the best and the brightest. The U.S. military is an elite and meritocratic organization where only the most fit, disciplined, and lethal individuals should thrive, regardless of skin color.”
He added: “Actual strength—physical strength, mental strength and overall end strength—is our strength.”
Documents about climate change or bromides about diversity are more mood associations than concrete plans, but they do raise questions about a politicized military. A military that wanders from its core mission is not one that will attract the public funding and support it needs to defend the country from proliferating threats.
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