I was hoping one of the Ethics Alarms military vets would on the issues raised by the recent West Point scandal, and frequent commenter Steve, among others obliged.

Here is Steve’s Comment of the Day on the post, The West Point Communist, How Cultures Rot, And The Whistleblower’s Letter…

These issues are the result of the PC culture that civilian leadership has foisted on all things military. Results are demanded, not those of honor and integrity but of achievement of feminist and progressive goals.

I am retiring from the Marine Corps, things have changed and in terms of accomplishing the mission only a few changes have been good. The core of our military is the infantry, the best of the best of our officers strove to become infantry officers, the most demanding and dynamic job a young officer can have. To be successful you have to be in the top 10 percent of physical performance, be mature, have heart and character. The service academies strove to develop those types of leaders, the type that could be successful infantry officers. With that as the bar, our academies, all of them, have provided the nation with some of the best leaders has given the nation a steel core that helps strengthen the whole country and provides us with resolve and honor that has helped to drive the nation during times of strife.

Civilian control of our military is essential but is also the cause of the rot. Many of the issues such as DADT and the official acceptance of gays in the service doesn’t matter much, the fight and dissent on this issue was due to concerns of political correctness and social engineering effecting the performance of the military, creating a distraction from, in terms of gays in the military it has never hurt us and we have all know some, as a leader I don’t give a shit who you sleep with so long as conformity and uniformity is achieved where it matters most, that the chemistry of the unit is stable. That is that issue in a nut shell.

Now the issue that is very much hurting our academies and the military is the unattainable push for equality, again the core of our military is the infantry, the pinnacle of being a good soldier is to be an infantryman, it is where the bar is set the highest, success requires achieving and maintaining peak mental and physical condition. The infantry is the essence of the military and women can only be artificially successful as an infantryman.

Over the last couple of decades the push has been focused of the individual achievement of women, for achievements sake, not as a multiplier of available manpower or enhancement of performance but to be able to lay claim to being just as effective soldiers as men, it is a desire to be able to make a claim, not to realize it. Standards remain different, there is an acceptance that requirements must be flexible to the individual so as not to become the focus of ire from civilian leadership. It all flows from the top, civilian authorities select generals not solely based on merit or performance but more and more on politics, those who are willing to tow the political correctness line are promoted, those who focus on effectiveness and strive to be apolitical are shown the door or are passed over.

We finally have a female graduate from the infantry officer course, she should be applauded, it is an amazing achievement. With that said she was allowed to graduate, despite being injured, likely permanently. Based solely on her ranking she would likely not get an infantry platoon, she just didn’t make the cut. I would support women being in the infantry if they could truly be successful. Right now the school of infantry, enlisted infantry training has a female graduation rate of 30 percent, 98 percent for males, the school is less demanding than being in an actual infantry unit. Of the 70 percent that don’t make it over half have injuries that will permanently affect them. This is just the start though. To be successful these women will have to make it into the top 10 percent to be allowed to reenlist, it is unlikely any will make it naturally.

These young women deserve better. They are good Marines, honorable and hard working. Too many of them are broken for life, destroyed backs, knees, ankles, shattered and separated hips, I see them EVERY week. We are tolerating this shit because a few feminists, the loudest of which would never even have the heart to spend one day in these Marines boots, the Senator Tammy Duckworths and Rep. Martha McSallys of this world who have no idea what combat arms is really is all about. These female veteran politicians, pilots and guardsmen are trusted to make sound, rational and intelligent decisions, and  instead they focus on advocacy instead of leadership.

The artificiality and relaxing of standards that we have to accept due to the goals of our civilian leadership drives mediocrity throughout the services. Our military is weaker today because feminist and progressive leadership want to wish something into being that is just not possible at this time.