OPINION:
Every military force in the world invests in the physical enterprise of war. That is, they focus on the equipment and tactics necessary to fight. But the best military forces also invest in the human enterprise of war.
They focus not just on the equipment and tactics but also on the people who must do the fighting. For too long, the Department of Defense has prized the former at the expense of the latter. And if we continue on this trajectory, what was once the greatest and most powerful military in history will become little more than a mercenary force that is a hollow shell of its former self.
When Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin rescinded the Department of Defense’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate in January, many understandably breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that our military could finally get back to the business of defending the nation.
But that notion is sadly misplaced. The vaccine mandate wasn’t the thing. Not even close. It was merely the manifestation of the thing. “The thing” is an erosion of the core values that at one time made our military the envy of the world.
Religious freedom is a quintessential American core value. So it should come as no surprise that the vaccine mandate resulted in a wave of litigation, including the First Liberty Institute’s lawsuit on behalf of 35 Navy SEALs that resulted in the first nationwide injunction against the DOD vaccine mandate. The surprise, however, was a phenomenon that became evident in the course of the litigation.
It became readily apparent that the vast majority of service members who were willing to risk their careers in defense of their religious freedom tended to be senior in rank and tenure. Those who had invested the most blood, sweat and sacrifice in the defense of our freedoms were the first to put their promotions and retirements on the line. Although we saved the careers of more than 4,000 sailors, many thousands more were involuntarily separated due to their objection to taking the vaccine. Among the many lessons and observations in the aftermath of the vaccine mandate, two stand out.
First, it appears the Pentagon intentionally targeted more senior service members who often occupy leadership positions. “Cut off the head, and the body dies,” as the maxim goes. This also sends a message to everyone else that resistance is futile. Check your conscience — and your religious freedom — at the boot camp door.
Second, removing the more senior service members—especially those who demonstrate the fortitude to challenge what they believe to be unlawful or immoral actions — has the effect of “culling the herd” of precisely the type of leaders our military so desperately needs.
For example, the named plaintiffs in First Liberty’s case are 35 Navy SEALs and special warfare members who collectively have more than 350 years of military service and more than 100 combat deployments. Had they been removed, that irreplaceable experience that was earned in places like Fallujah, Ramadi, Mazar-e-Sharif and Helmand province would be lost forever.
And if we don’t correct course soon, we will suffer the same fate as every other once-great military. There are striking parallels between our current circumstances and those faced by the ancient Romans.
Rome faced many external threats, whether from the Huns, the Visigoths, the Vandals, or any number of groups who wanted to take down the Roman Empire. But those groups were never able to take Rome when it was strong. It was not until Rome had weakened from a thousand self-inflicted cuts that it was defeated once and for all.
Like Rome, America faces any number of adversaries who, like hyenas, are simply waiting for us to self-inflict enough wounds to weaken ourselves for the taking. One of the deepest cuts we suffer is the erosion of the core values that made the U.S. military what it once was. Our military wasn’t just a great force; it was a force for good. Its leaders were expected to lead with a moral compass. Indeed, the moral imperative of leadership is what once set our military apart from our adversaries.
Even a decade ago, the Army War College published an essay asserting that the American military “has become increasingly hostile to almost any expression of personal moralities — and particularly those based on religion — so hostile that citizens can rightly wonder whether the conduct of the institutions continues to reflect the legal and moral foundations of the professions’ own ethics.”
If America is to survive the barbarians that stand outside its gates today, we must stop the self-inflicted bleeding. That is, we must stop hemorrhaging service members who are guided by personal morality, even if it is based on religion. To do that, we must develop a culture in the Defense Department that protects and promotes religious freedom as a core American virtue.
• Mike Berry is vice president of external affairs at the First Liberty Institute, a national religious liberty law firm. To learn more, visit www.firstliberty.org.
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