Skin color, sexual identity, political affiliation, and now … being from a state where anti-woke legislation has been passed. These have become the top priorities when it’s time to consider candidates for promotion in the top ranks of the United States military.

In a position where it is not only your role but your legal duty to serve and protect your home country and uphold its national security, the universal agreement should be that the top contenders demonstrate the utmost dedication, commitment, resiliency, endurance, problem-solving, and patriotism (to name a few). Appointing leaders who possess these traits should be in everyone’s best interest, no matter your race or sexual “identity.”

There are certainly jobs that would be less impacted if the employer was to base hiring decisions on political agreement than that of who is selected for and in charge of the U.S. military operations. After all, leading a squad is not the same as managing the daily operations of a fast-food restaurant, and directing fellow service members in highly sensitive, global operations missions is not the same as organizing a team meeting for office staff or scheduling delivery drivers.

However, it doesn’t seem that actual capability is a concern to Space Force Lieutenant General DeAnna Burt. She made that clear in her recent speech during a Pride event that was held at the Pentagon.

In her speech, Burt used her platform and the influence of her military position to condemn the “more than 400 anti-LGBTQ+ laws” that have been “passed at the state level.” Worse, she went on to brazenly admit that as she considers candidates for promotions within the Space Force, she looks at not only their job performance and relevant experience but also their “personal circumstances.”

To be clear, what she calls “anti-LGBTQ” legislation are bills passed in Florida, Texas, Tennessee, Alabama, and many other states that prevent teachers from being able to change a child’s name and pronouns without parental knowledge, or that keep activist doctors and counselors at bay as they salivate over the opportunity to discuss sexually explicit topics with students during school hours. The “critical healthcare” Burt warns is needed for the safety and performance of her squad members is actually medical professionals debilitating the reproductive anatomy of individuals under the age of 18, whether through drugs or surgical procedures.

The benchmark of “personal circumstances” she uses to determine suitability in leadership begs clarity. Does this mean she is looking at their voting record? Is she checking their church attendance? Or monitoring the causes they donate to?

Are these the kinds of circumstances that might lead her to disqualify the most capable applicant for the job?

Burt doesn’t leave us in suspense for long. She goes on to say:

If a good match for a job does not feel safe being themselves and performing at the highest level given their location, or if their family could be denied critical healthcare due to the laws in that state, I am compelled to consider a different candidate, and perhaps less qualified. Those barriers are a threat to our readiness, and they have a direct correlation to the resiliency and the wellbeing of our most operational advantage … our people.

It sure seems that a Space Force lieutenant general admitted that if there is a promotion on the line that would otherwise be reserved for the best and brightest in the service, she would be more than willing to appoint a lesser-qualified person to that position, and potentially put the entire squad in jeopardy. Depending on the position, the entire mission could be put at risk as well.

Not only that, but if the service members under the direction of the lesser-qualified candidate fall short of achieving the critical objectives of their work, Burt believes that the blame should rest on the shoulders of red-state governors who signed laws she doesn’t like.

Recruitment into all branches of the military has plummeted in recent years because current leadership prioritizes politics over protection. Though they insist that they are concerned about the lack of interest from the upcoming generation when it comes to serving and protecting the U.S., their actions and advocacy prove their words to be empty.

What can they expect in recruitment efforts when, in just a few years, a significant portion of what could have been potential healthy service members are too psychologically and mentally crippled to flip burgers, let alone serve in a high-stakes position in a national defense organization? American youth deal with high rates of unaddressed depression and anxiety, on top of years of indoctrination within the public schools, where they’ve had anti-American, revisionist history drilled into their minds.

How can military leaders expect voluntary enlisting to increase when large numbers of service-age young adults are headed toward early onset diseases like osteoporosis due to hormone suppressants? Or they are dealing with permanent complications from surgeries that removed or altered their reproductive anatomy? The bodies of 20-somethings are giving out in ways that we’d typically see in nursing homes.

It would be short-sighted to believe that this is simply the consequence of the political priorities of those who serve at the head of the agencies today, and that it will sort itself out once they retire and make their own way into the company of the elderly.

However, the true long-term objective of this ideology is not short-sighted. In fact, it has been a long time coming. Wokeness has been slowly dripping into all of our public institutions for years, and the purpose has always been to weaken every aspect of the strongest nation on earth.

Today, the effects of subpar education, the rewriting of history, activism replacing academics, and the creation of a new class of victims through gender ideology are in full public view. Military leaders like Lt. Gen. DeAnna Burt are using their uniforms as costumes to give the impression of dedication and loyalty to the nation they serve. In reality, Burt is part of the current authoritarian regime in office, and she is doing her part to render the U.S. completely defenseless against countries that train and hone the skills of their young people in expert-level attack and conquer tactics.

There is nothing accidental about the state of the U.S. military in 2023 activist America.