Diversity Thursday
no one is buying this, are they?
I was hoping that we could take a break from DivThu for awhile…but I guess not. This decoupling from the secular religion of sectarianism is going to be hard, but for 95% of people in uniform, it does not have to be.
This is pretty straight forward. If you have worn the uniform in the last three to four decades, especially as an officer, you have had to do things you did not personally agree with, but they were legal orders, you took an oath, and you did your best to execute them.
I served five Presidents from both political parties. I did things under orders that still bother me some, but it was my job. I even was an active participant in what we now call “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” (DEI) efforts where people were given special treatment because someone up the chain needed, “to make the metrics work.” Having the fill of watching that play our is one reason in the Bush43 Administration, DivThu got started.
Anyone who said they were not aware of it either were never in a position of authority, are not very aware of their surroundings, or are just plain lying to you.
If in 2025 you are asked if you were involved or even promoted some of the DEI agenda, there is nothing at all wrong with saying, “Yes. This was the legal policy program directed by the President or from Congress that I executed as legally ordered.” There is perhaps some side-eye to be given to some of the out-of-bounds true believers, but honesty should be respected.
“What cannot be permitted is outright dishonesty—spinning a narrative that cannot survive even a basic follow-up question.
This is where the Commandant of the Marine Corps, General Eric Smith, USMC comes into the story. He seemed to have a curious grasp of in another venue as we covered last December, but one can be generous towards some unchecked enthusiasm and obsequiousness in his staff for letting him get too comforable with hyperbole.
Two weeks ago, he said this:
Moderator: Next is Eric Schmitt, New York Times.
DWG: Thank you.
I wanted to ask you a little bit about yesterday’s hearing on the Hill, if you watched any of it, in particular about Mr. Hegseth’s clear focus on, if he’s confirmed to be Defense Secretary of the Trump administration, to scale back DEI programs in the Defense Department. I wanted to ask you about any reaction you had to the hearing, but more specifically, do you think there are DEI programs that have been in place over the last few years that could be scaled back to improve readiness, combat effectiveness in the military and particularly in the Corps?
General Smith: I’ll be candid. I didn’t watch the hearings precisely because to me it doesn’t matter. The SecDef is going to be the SecDef. He will be or she will be approved by the Senate, appointed by the President.
As far as DEI, the Marine Corps has not had DEI programs. We have a meritocracy-based system. You can be anything you want to be. If you’re a Sophie Mundell you can be an artillery officer as long as you can sling a 95-pound shell and you meet the physical standards, you meet the academic rigorous standards, you can be anything you want. If you’re Jasmin Moghbeli, you can be a Cobra pilot. If you’re Nicole Mann you can be an F-18 pilot and a NASA astronaut. Both of those two ladies happen to be NASA astronauts.
We don’t do DEI in the Marine Corps, we never have. We’re a meritocracy-based organization. We always have been. If you want to apply for an MOS, strap on your pack, grab your rifle and make a run at it.
He was the Assistant Commandant of the US Marine Corps when the below was published as part of Talent Management 2030.
Well, General Berger who was the Commandant before Smith had no problem defending what Smith says did not exist.
Fair360, a company that until very recently was known for years as, literally, Diversity Inc. This was just 4 years ago:
Recognizing the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion in all aspects of life, including the military, the U.S. Marine Corps has announced a new plan designed to help the storied institution “reinvent” itself to look more like modern America.
NPR’s Emma Bowman and Rachel Martin reported that “the Marine Corps, the smallest U.S. military force, has plans for a big overhaul designed to address its lack of diversity and problem with retaining troops.”
Gen. David Berger, Commandant of the Marine Corps, told NPR that “the goal that’s driving what amounts to a cultural shift within the service is for the Marines ‘to reflect America, to reflect the society we come from.’”
If they didn’t exist, why do the USMC have to put out a message to end them?
If DEI didn’t exist, then why have all related webpages—the historical record—being deleted?
You won’t find anything at the links related to DEI and the USMC as they are all dead now. The internet is forever, but that isn’t stopping an effort from DVIDS to .mil accounts, articles and video to delete them. Just one example, the USMC’s Diversity AIMED Officer Program was all over the place. Why the big effort to erase the USMC history of promoting DEI sectarianism and division…if the programs ever existed?
Historians should frown on such Orwellian scrubbing.
I don’t know how General Smith can stay in his present job. How anyone could trust someone with either this lack of candor or this understanding of the organization he was part of for decades…and was its #1 or #2 officer when this was going on. You can’t excuse or sea-lawyer your way out of this.
It is all insulting and dishonest…and unnecessary.
Good reporting and analysis, Commander Sal. To me, the biggest tragedy is the shockingly blatant dishonesty and cowardice of a Marine Corps general officer. This is tragic and unprecedented. Until now, the USMC was the only service which consistently produced flag officers with integrity I could admire and trust. I hope this low life is one of the first to be fired.
As a Naval Aviator, I too served under multiple Democrat and Republican administrations, and I too followed legal orders that I did not approve of, in support of "equity." In my case, I risked my life to babysit an "equity beneficiary" on cruise, who got vertigo every time we got into instrument flight conditions. Essentially, I was flying single-pilot in the most hazardous deployed conditions imaginable - absent actual combat. I thank God that we survived that cruise without incident and that the "beneficiary" was promoted into ground positions that did not require flight into instrument conditions. I am also VERY thankful for our return to meritocracy!
CDR SALAMANDER! Thank you so much for bringing this to the fore! We have been talking on Substack’s Marine Corps Compass Points about just this very issue. This is not the first time General Smith has made amazing statements, but as noted here, he is a product of the times. The Corps currently cannot meet its Title X statutory mandates in regard readiness and in short hand to be America’s 911 force in readiness, that it more or less has been for decades. Generals Berger and Smith are responsible for the terrible condition of the Corps through the development of the now debunking of their Force Design 2030 plan. General Smith and every flag officer in the Corps need to undergo a thorough vetting and most need to resign and retire. General Smith by the way, suffered a widow maker heart attack, and had to have major heart surgery to correct a condition. He refused to resign and refused to say when he would return to full duties, it was no one’s business. Well in a sense who could blame him, HIS boss the SecDef went missing for a week, and it was nobody’s business, including the SecDef’s boss, the President! You can’t make this stuff up. Aviation Sceptic is correct, course correction will be hard and take time, but the best time to start is right now. Thank you agin for this detailed review of the matter with General Smith. In short he hand he needs to go. In another day and time a real Marine General would resign and say thanks for the opportunity and apologize for screwing things up. Not this guy, he will have to be shown the exit.