On Wednesday Elizabeth Warren published a tweet, that in my opinion, is laughable stupid. "Our military force's diversity is its greatest strength. The Army Secretary must show genuine support for ALL of our men & women in uniform." I understand the point of this tweet. To show that discrimination within the military should not be embraced. This is still a dumb statement and shows the lack of knowledge in the Democratic Party. While diversity is a strength in any group, not in the military. The power of a military is not gauged by the nationalities within in it but rather by the firepower and funding it receives from its nation. Fundamentally, diversity is not a factor that plays into the strength of a military. My father is in the military, and in no way in a battalion, which is one of the most diverse he has ever been in. Is made stronger because of that diversity. Real strength comes from force and will within the officers and soldiers within the military. Not the races that make it up. The United States military is the strongest because of its firepower, not diversity, and Warren needs to find a different way to communicate her message so that she doesn't look like an idiot.
No, it's not. From I've been told, the blacks are in the rear with the gear and it's the white boys doing the dying
If you look @ the SEALs, Special Forces, etc. in the US military - everyone in them can handle weapons & comms & basic first-aid, as well as rope work, SCUBA, parachute, & so on. They also specialize - & one member or another of an action team is typically familiar with the language(s) & culture(s) of the target area of operations. Of course they all get - time allowing - some basic language & phrases handy for ops in the field. This is likely what Sen. Warren was referring to - our military can typically put a familiar ethnic face to any population we're likely to interact with in the field. This is very important in some countries, less so in others. But as a way to reduce tensions between military forces & presumably neutral civilians on the ground, it's worth pursuing & planning & training for.
Meh. Diversity is definitely *not* a strength in the military. Military cohesion is dependent on conformity, an ability to think and act like everyone else when shtf. A body of individuals is at a tactical and strategic disadvantage against a force uniform in thought and action. This is why I didn't join up. I am incabable of being a 'team player'. I recognize that my brain just isnt wired similarly to most folks. That being said, we are (supposed to be) a nation of individials with emphasis on individual liberty, freedom of thought and choice. I dont think it reasonable to expect our military to operate as a hive mind if we are filling its ranks from a population emphasizing individuality. Small differences between individuals can be overcome with training. This why we have one of the most well trained militarys in the world. Some sacrifices must be made, of course, in voluntary service of the nation, but within reason. We can afford certain disadvantages (like a degree of individuality, or honor on the feild of battle for example) and still be a highly capable and effective fighting force. I do believe there is an increased spirit or will to succeed that such individuality and diversity promotes that gives us a somewhat difficult to measure advantage over other forces. There is also the element of unpredictability that can be a tactical benefit as well.
I think the point is if you can't get along with your fellows and get the mission done because of their ethnicity or skin color you have no business being in the military.
Our military seems to do quite well at killing terrorists with no matter the number of white, black, Asian and latinos involved, that much I can say.
"Diversity" has been shown to cause people to become more insular and less trusting of outsiders, which is exactly the opposite of what you would want in a military unit, where cohesion is vital.
wait... are we just talking avout diversity of skin color here? I thought we were talking about diversity of ideology, lifestyle, culture... I dont think diversity of skin color has any effect on the military whatsoever. Thats just dumb.
there is no black, white or brown in the military. Everyone is green (at least in the army, back when they still wore the the green jungle camo when i was in ROTC breifly). Is this idea no longer hammered into recruits?
dversity in cultural backgrounds is advantageous insofar as winning hearts and minds- say you have someone whose parents immigrated from (insert area of deployment) if leveraged properly this is advantageous as it reduces the cultural bridge between. Just having someone that looks like the natives can be a big boon.
I can top it. Remember, she's just a dumb civilian. The real problem are the generals. “Our diversity, not only in our Army, but in our country, is a strength. And as horrific as this tragedy was, if our diversity becomes a casualty, I think that’s worse,” GEN George Casey, regarding the FT Hood massacre.
I am convinced, we must have a military made up purely of blue eyed moderate to conservative white men. Reinstate the draft!
