In an earlier article, Patriot Post readers were introduced to DACODAI. In a nutshell, DACODAI is a secretary of defense-appointed committee that exists solely to promote the political ideology of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the Department of Defense (DOD).

Thousands of military veterans from across the nation have testified eloquently that DEI is harmful to our military. DEI is the opposite of what our military’s focus should be. Our military must be based solely on merit-based accessions, assignments, and promotions. However, the DOD continues to promote DEI despite Congress, in the FY2024 National Defense Authorization Act, calling for a halt to the advance of this ideology. For example, Congress placed a hiring freeze on DEI-related positions. Ignoring Congress’s intent to carefully study the impact of DEI on the Armed Forces, DACODAI continues to strongly promote DEI throughout the DOD.

This emphasis is harming readiness and recruiting. DEI is driving away the DOD’s number one demographic that has been the backbone of the military for many decades — white, southern conservatives. The services have now missed recruiting goals by more than 40,000. To compensate for the lack of personnel to fill out the ranks, quality standards for entry to the military are being lowered. For example, in the Navy, you no longer have to be a high school graduate to join. At a time when security threats are increasing around the world — in the Middle East, in the Pacific, and in Eastern Europe — it is an inopportune time to be pushing a radical racial ideology that weakens our Armed Forces when we need them the most.

DACODAI met again for a public hearing on May 2-3 in Washington, DC. Federal entities such as DACODAI must follow public law, and its meetings are supposed to be open to the public. Many members from a nationwide coalition of 16 organizations that advocate for returning merit to the military in recruiting, assignments, and promotions planned to attend this public hearing. The Patriot Post is a proud member of that coalition.

Unfortunately, due to “unforeseen circumstances” at the very last minute, the meeting was closed to the public, and all those who planned to attend in person had to cancel their flights and hotels and stay home. A limited number of 100 persons were permitted to watch the meeting via video conference, but no input or interaction from the public was allowed, not even through the chat feature. This limitation of public participation is not how it is supposed to work. Advisory committees established under public law have rules and guidelines that they are supposed to follow, including receiving public input in their deliberations.

At the very end of the second day of the meeting, the federal officer assigned to DACODAI announced that public statements had been received but would not be discussed. There was no public acknowledgment whatsoever regarding what experienced former members of the military, representing thousands of others, wanted to report to the committee. These statements urge DACODAI to take a serious look at the damage being done to morale, recruiting, and readiness from the mindless advocacy of DEI. Diversity, equity, and inclusion emphasizes the superficial, the color of one’s skin, over the critical, the actual skills and abilities of those who serve or want to serve.

Public statements by Stand Together Against Radicalism and Racism in the Services (STARRS) and 25 other organizations or individuals have now been posted to the DACODAI website and can be reviewed here. These statements are primarily from military groups with collectively thousands of members and vast experience in the Armed Services. The chairman announced that public statements were welcome and would be read by the committee, but this was a hollow promise. In effect, there was no public participation in this meeting whatsoever. For the previous meeting, statements were also submitted by many of these veterans groups, but no responses were made by DACODAI. It would be a surprise if this latest set of public input received any better treatment. DACODAI seems intent on promoting DEI to the max, and the facts about the negative impact are not analyzed or discussed and are completely ignored.

A complete summary of the DACODAI meeting and other events related to it, as well as the outrage of those who had planned to participate and express their views on the damage being done to the services, can be found in detail at the STARRS website. Let your voices be heard if you want our military to be merit-based. Lives depend on restoring merit. You can help. Call your congressional representatives and demand an end to DEI in our military.