Pentagon Spox Kirby: Claims About Wokeness in the Military ‘Ridiculous’

On this week’s broadcast of “Fox News Sunday, Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said that it was “ridiculous” to claim the U.S. military was too woke.

Anchor Dana Perino asked, “Also, just more back here focusing on some criticism in the U.S. military, that perhaps there’s too much of a leftward tilt, or a wokeness in our military when we face really determined adversaries, committed adversaries in China, Russia, Iran, who maybe don’t have those same kinds of pressures. How do you respond to those criticisms?”

Kirby said, “I think a lot of it, quite frankly, is driving a stake through a straw man here. This argument of wokeness in the military, I was in the military for 30 years, and I can tell you things like diversity and inclusion, that makes us a better military because it brings to the fore, in the decision-making, operational decision-making, that we conduct better ideas, more unique perspectives. Somebody else’s lived experiences which might actually make us smarter on the battlefield.”

He added, “So those kinds of arguments — I think are ridiculous. because we are stronger military because of our diversity, and because we represent all Americans, just like we defend all Americans.”

Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN

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