Secretary of the Army: 'We’ve Got to Make Them All Feel Included’
Administration official takes jab at right-wing attacks on being "woke"
The top civilian leader of the US Army took a veiled swipe at right-wing jabs at the idea of calling people “woke,” by saying that she wants to ensure that all of the soldiers in the largest branch of the US military feel valued and included.
Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth made her remarks at a Monday press conference.
The secretary of the Army is the senior civilian official within the Department of Defense, with statutory responsibility for all matters relating to the US Army: manpower, personnel, reserve affairs, installations, environmental issues, weapons systems and equipment acquisition, communications and financial management.
Those on the political right have been working to turn the term “woke” — which is supposed to mean simply aware of racism and other oppression — and turn it in into a pejorative.
“You know, we get criticized, frankly, sometimes for being woke. I’m not sure what woke means, I think woke means a lot of different things to different people, but first of all, I would say, ‘If woke means we are not focused on war fighting, we are not focused on readiness,’ that doesn’t reflect what I see at installations all around the country or overseas when I go and visit,” said Wormuth, who has been in office since May 2021. “But I think, you know, we do have a wide range of soldiers in our army and we’ve got to make them all feel included, and that’s why a lot of our diversity, equity and inclusion programs are important.”
Please consider supporting our work by joining our Patreon for as little as $5…
Also, please subscribe…