GOP lawmakers move to block CRT training in military

July 17, 2021 Carley Joanou US 0

Sen. Tom Cotton on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, Pool, File)

OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 3:30 PM PT – Saturday, July 17, 2021

Republican Sen. Tom Cotton (Ark.) announced legislation to stop military officers from teaching critical race theory. At a Republican dinner on Friday, Cotton said CRT was an anti-American idea that only focused on skin color and opposed the foundations of the democracy.

Cotton has recently worked with other Republicans such as Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas) to create the “combating racist training in the military act”.

“Our service members don’t need to be reading arguments that America and our institutions, including the military, are inherently racist and irredeemable,” Crenshaw asserted. “It’s detrimental to the moral of the very men and women who put on the uniform to defend America with their lives.”

Traditional Americanism promotes unity, cohesion and equality among service members. Indoctrinating troops against those values runs directly counter to the mission of the force.

TODAY at 11am ET, @SenTomCotton joins us to discuss: https://t.co/wUTH14a9aQ

— Heritage Foundation (@Heritage) July 1, 2021

Cotton and Crenshaw launched a whistleblower tip line for military members to report evidence of CRT training and have received hundreds of tips just since its inception in May. According to the senator, numerous sailors interviewed in the report have contended the Navy seemed to be prioritizing diversity issues over actual combat.

“…The fact that 94% of all the sailors interviewed thought that the Navy has a crisis of leadership and culture on the surface,” he explained. “They say they have seen little institutional focus in their training over the years in war fighting and legality.”

One Navy lieutenant went on to say, “sometimes I think we care more about whether we have enough diversity officers than if we’ll survive a fight with the Chinese navy.”

The findings of this investigation into the Navy’s culture are concerning. I intend to work with veterans, Navy leaders, and my colleagues to implement the report’s recommendations.https://t.co/9U0pVSZd6z

— Tom Cotton (@SenTomCotton) July 12, 2021

Similarly, a recently retired senior enlisted leader said, “I guarantee you every unit in the Navy is up to speed on their diversity training. I’m sorry that I can’t say the same of their ship handling training.”

In February, the Chief of Naval Operations released an updated reading list including “How To Be An Antiracist,” which advocates for supposed “woke teachings.” According to the Republican leaders and those interviewed, the curriculum is reportedly sending sailors into battle less prepared and less focused than their opponents. Republican lawmakers directed this investigation into the Navy after several high profile losses of sailors and warships occurred.

Critics say not only has the military degraded the effectiveness of it’s troops by teaching CRT,- it stands in opposition to the 1976 Supreme Court decision that the military would be apolitical or politically neutral under civilian control.