Urgent Call for Reforms to Restore Merit-Based Standards
Washington, D.C.—The Claremont Institute’s Center for the American Way of Life has released a critical report examining the impact of identity-based quotas and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies on the operational effectiveness of the United States Armed Forces. Identity in the Trenches: The Fatal Impact of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion on US Military Readiness argues that the U.S. military’s recent emphasis on group quotas and proportional representation, based on race and sex, has led to a significant decline in professional standards and institutional integrity. The report is authored by Will Thibeau, Director of the American Military Project at The Claremont Institute’s Center for the American Way of Life.
“This report should serve as a wakeup call to the institutional crisis of the American military,” said Thibeau in a statement. “This is a crisis of end strength and naval shipbuilding, but even more, a crisis of professionalism, standards, and excellence. America should understand the effort to mold the military in the image of the progressive dream has been afoot for almost 60 years.”
In August 2021, the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan highlighted alarming failures in U.S. military leadership and planning, culminating in the tragic loss of 13 American service members and over 100 Afghan civilians in a Kabul airport bombing. Despite these events, top military officials provided no explanations or accountability when questioned by Congress. The report contends that these failures are symptomatic of broader systemic issues within the military, driven by the prioritization of DEI over operational competence.
According to the report, the U.S. military, once revered for its exceptional standards and commitment to excellence, has been progressively undermined by the Department of Defense’s adherence to policies that mandate group quotas based on identity factors. This shift began in earnest in 1965 under Secretary Robert McNamara and has been exacerbated by recent Pentagon initiatives that emphasize demographic representation over merit and readiness.
“The knife point of this crisis is the race-based, and now sex-based, quotas that have been military policy since the Robert McNamara Pentagon,” Thibeau continued. “The handle of this knife is a military officer class that has embraced and enabled these policies in support of a political agenda counter to the military profession.
Critics of the current state of the military often focus on peripheral issues such as cultural events and social media trends, but The Claremont Institute’s report calls for a refocus on the core issue: the imposition of race and sex-based quotas that degrade the military’s professional standards. The report highlights the Air Force’s recent struggle with reduced flight school performance as a stark example of the consequences of prioritizing demographic quotas over qualifications.
“To confront this institutional rot is to end quotas and establish accountability for the leaders who support such crippling statutes,” Thibeau concluded. “This report makes it clear there is no other option for those who seek to return the military to combat effectiveness and lethality. In an age of coming Great Power Conflict, our nation has no other choice.”
The Claremont Institute affirms and emphasizes that the military’s fundamental purpose is to fight and win wars, a mission that requires unwavering commitment to merit and professional excellence. The report argues that DEI policies, if allowed to continue unchecked, threaten the military’s effectiveness and, by extension, the security of the nation. It calls on Congress and the executive branch to enact specific policy changes to reverse the detrimental effects of DEI mandates and restore the military’s focus on competence and merit.
Ryan Williams, President of The Claremont Institute, issued this statement:
“We are proud of Will Thibeau’s thorough report on the disastrous consequences of substituting identity politics for merit in America’s military. Affirmative action at colleges and universities is unjust and un-American—affirmative action in America’s military is a matter of life and death. All Americans have an existential interest in our recommendations for reform being adopted by the next Congress and presidential administration.”
The Report’s Key Recommendations:
- Reform Military Personnel Policies: Reorganize the military personnel process and the structure of the Joint Staff to prioritize operational needs and professional merit over demographic representation.
- Reassert the Military Ethos: Reinforce the civil-military distinction that defines the armed forces as a professional fighting force, separate from the norms of civilian society.
- Reject Identity-Based Quotas: Eliminate policies that set demographic targets for recruitment, promotion, and selection, replacing them with a renewed commitment to merit-based standards.
The report concludes that the integrity of the U.S. military as an institution is at risk if current DEI-driven policies are not urgently addressed. The Claremont Institute warns that a military consumed by identity politics undermines not just its own effectiveness but the very principles of the republic it is sworn to defend.
For more information, or to access the full report, click here.
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