Merchant Mariner Captain John Konrad made an excellent observation.
The predominance of Trump Administration appointees, who have a military background, are from my Service, Army. In addition to that, the cadre of Veterans are devoid of Service Academy fragrance.
The Service Academies (like West Point, Annapolis, etc.) and Senior Service Colleges (Army War College, Naval War College, and the others) appear to be the key gestation petri dishes for the Woke-ing Process that, until now, had captured the leadership and infected the culture of the U.S. Military.
The Service cultures had been devolving into an environment where the strategic plan of the day was painting pinecones, picking up rocks, and attending DEI lectures.
Building lethal capacity to deter China was not a priority. The Biden staff’s Fiscal year 2025 budget request went up significantly in dollars, but the number of available ships and aircraft went down while missiles were being used at a staggering rate in the Middle East and Ukraine.
We were spending more than ever on the Department of Defense, yet all measures of effectiveness were plummeting.
The previous tradition for those selected to lead the modern U.S. Military in uniform and as civilian appointees has led to disaster after disaster.
Trump Appointees with military experience and their backgrounds
From Merchant Captain Konrad’s keen observation, here is a review of those with a military affiliation and a source of commissioning:
- President Donald J. Trump: Five years at the New York Military Academy (Army heritage school affiliation)
- Vice President J.D. Vance: Corporal of Marines
- National Security Adviser Michael Waltz: Army Colonel Retired (Virginia Military Institute)
- Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth: Army Major (Princeton ROTC)
- Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard: Army Lieutenant Colonel (Still affiliated with Army Reserve) (Officer Candidate School)
- Veteran Affairs Doug Collins: Colonel (Chaplain) Air Force (Still affiliated with Air Force Reserve)
- President’s Special Envoy for Ukraine and Russia Keith Kellogg: Army Lieutenant General, Retired (LTG) (Santa Clara University ROTC)
There is not a single Service Academy graduate in this pool of top-level Presidential appointees.
Other than LTG (Retired) Kellogg, there are also no General Officers/Flag Officers. All of the appointees represent an aspect of the military that has been suppressed by the Biden staffers and legacy media.
It is those that are dissatisfied with U.S. Military Leadership which is primarily shaped and cultivated by the Academies and War Colleges.
In an article that appeared in Task and Purpose, it was written, “According to a 2011 Pew Research Center report, only half of post-9/11 vets interviewed felt the War in Afghanistan, which was in the midst of an ongoing troop surge, was worth it, and just over half of veterans interviewed felt the Iraq War had not been worth the cost.”
Trump Administration Veteran’s Ranks led by Army
Another observation by Merchant Captain John Konrad is also significant. There is a clear weighting toward Army Veterans in senior appointments of the Trump Administration.
One point perhaps influencing the Army heavy representation is that Army is the Service with the largest headcount.
With about 2.1 million in the entire Active, Guard, Reserve force, about 47% are Army, Army National Guard, or Army Reserve (roughly about 968,000 of the force).
Army is statistically the largest of the Services, so this would statistically tilt the percentages of Veterans in the Trump Administration toward Army, all other things considered. But there may be more to the story.
What is noteworthy is the lack of Navy representation in the Trump appointee pool. There have been severe problems with Woke-ism in the Army from centers such as West Point.
The Navy has also had a woke vendetta streak, perhaps worse than Army.
In one extremely pernicious case, Chief Special Warfare Operator Bryce Henson was investigated by the Navy in 2023 and 2024 for daring to speak out at School Board meetings as a parent, using an alias, against transgender indoctrination. Woke extremists worked to “out” his affiliation.
One reasonable question to ask is how much the Navy worked with Woke extremists, social media, and U.S. Government censorship to identify and punish Henson.
Former Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Mike Gilday promoted a Woke reading list and then quietly started culling it after backlash.
His replacement, Admiral Lisa Franchetti has overseen a U.S. Navy rife with ship collisions, crashes, shooting down of its own aircraft, and ships that exhibit more rust than paint, while the Fleet shrinks.
The Navy Wokeness might have been worse than the Army, when the Navy is now needed more than ever. Captain Konrad feels there is a message with the absence of Navy Veterans in the Trump Team.
Leveraging the Army to grow the Navy and Air Force for the reality of a World on Fire
As President Trump and Secretary of Defense Hegseth focus on building a lethal deterrence force, the Army heritage may be in vogue with Presidential appointees.
On this small sample of senior officials, Army veterans are leading the process of “De-Woking”.
As the military completely De-Wokes and focuses on building unmatched deterrence and lethality, perhaps some of this numerical dominance of the Army should be re-apportioned to the other services.
This can help accelerate all the Services and the entire Department of Defense removal of the Religion of Woke-ism.
There is nothing in law or regulation stating that the Army must be the largest of the Services.
Instead of simply cutting the Army force structure and forcing Soldiers out of the service, entire Army units can be reflagged as Navy and Air Force units.
This will help the Navy and Air Force to more quickly build their capacity for matching the explosive growth of the Chinese military. Army Military Police, Logistics, Engineer, Civil Affairs, and Air Defense Brigades can be shifted over to become Navy and Air Force units to build deterrence in the Western Pacific and help quicken the De-Woking process.
All viewpoints are personal and do not reflect the viewpoints of any organization.
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