“A new Arizona State University study suggests that Diversity, Equity and Inclusion efforts in the United States military are ineffective,” reports Center Square.
A study by ASU’s Center for American Institutions found that there is a focus on training new troops about social issues like “unconscious bias” and “intersectionality” in a way that is at odds with American ideals. The study examined DEI plans in different branches of the the military, including DEI office staffing and education at military academies such as West Point.
“The massive DEI bureaucracy, its training and its pseudo-scientific assessments are at best distractions that absorb valuable time and resources,” the study says. “At worst they communicate the opposite of the military ethos: e.g. that individual demographic differences come before team and mission.”
Donald Critchlow, director of the center, wrote in the study’s executive summary that it closely examined the influence of Critical Race Theory in Armed Forces training. “The Commission on Civic Education in the Military began as a project to review civic education in the military. Our research team did not expect to find Critical Race Theory so embedded and pervasive. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs are found throughout the U.S. Armed Forces and our service academies. This year long study documents just how pervasive these training programs are in our Armed Forces and Service Academies and that DEI extends well beyond just formal training programs in the military and service academies.”
He added, “The Founders of our nation understood and feared a politicized military. History had shown them that a politicized army easily became the tool of tyranny. The Armed Forces of the United States has proudly upheld this long tradition of separating mission from politics.”
The study recommends that DEI offices be eliminated, but recognizes that that will not happen for political reasons for the time being: “The surest way to eliminate the concerning trends we have identified, and the growth of race and sex-based scapegoating and stereotyping in the U.S. military, is to altogether end the DEI bureaucracy there. However, until such a time as the executive or legislative branches of the government choose to end the DEI bureaucracy in our federal agencies and military, we are left to advocate the pursuit of alternative avenues that may affect positive change despite existing policies.”
The study recommends instead that the military prioritize civic education with an emphasis on “America’s commitment to freedom and opportunity.”
“The study comes as some branches of the military continue to struggle with recruiting new service members,” notes Center Square.
