Once again, the absurd, touchy-feely, metrosexual, diversity moms of America are trying to tinker with and baby-proof a military fighting force that they do not, and can not understand.
The Pentagon announced today a relaxation of uniform standards as they pertain to the wearing of religious apparel or with regard to grooming standards and religious practice. Under the new rules, Sikhs, for example, could get an exemption to wear a turban rather than a standard cover, Muslims could wear beards, and Jews could wear skullcaps. According to the Wall Street Journal:
Military service members will have to request exemptions from current uniform rules from their commanders, and in some cases higher headquarters. But religious garb that had previously been banned, including head coverings or pendants, is likely to be allowed under the new rules
The PDF of the directive is here. The changes are marked in red.
Col. Allen West appeared on Fox today to discuss these changes with Greta Van Susteren.
This is a horrible idea, as Col. West points out. It undermines uniformity and conformity, which is fine for civilians but absolutely antithetical to to military philosophy. There are also more practical concerns. A Marine is going to regret his religious beard about ten seconds after hearing the words “gas, gas, gas!” Just try and get a seal on that mask with a religious beard or piercings.
There is a very real need for uniformity in the ranks. This has been true since man began forming armies. As Col. West points out, this sort of policy change would be a hypocrisy. But it is also a conceit; the idea that we are going to create some perfectly beautiful Diversity Corps, some United Colors of Benetton military force that’s going to Starfleet around the globe cleaning up oil spills, getting cats out of trees, and generally being the benign, nerf-weapon carrying flower children the Obamas of the world picture when they say “Give peace a chance” in their feetie-pajama cocoa meetings.
A friend emails “We really, REALLY want to make sure we don’t ever win a war again, don’t we?” That’s true, but it’s only step one. We want to be rid of the notion of an armed and dangerous force fighting war altogether. The heroes out there shooting, stabbing, punching, choking … using violence. The Obama administration and their like-minded fellow travelers think we can wish this away. It’s a tolerance arms race and we’re the only ones in it, constantly topping ourselves with increasingly absurd concessions to impractical and silly demands.
What you “We are the world” hippies don’t understand is that the military has a job to do, and it has to be done in a certain way. And its existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves lives! You don’t want the truth, because deep down in places you don’t talk about at parties, you want us on that wall. You need us on that wall. In a proper uniform. And holding a (*gasp*) gun.