Bob Brostoski . . ."When questioned about many of today's controversial changes or policies in the military, top brass almost always fall back on the standard answer: "the military is only a reflection of the American people." It's here where the military is failing miserably and will probably continue to hemorrhage recruiting numbers for years to come. There was a time when the military was a pretty accurate representation of the American people, but that is no longer the case. The military, the most trusted and respected federal agency when I retired, is now in the ranks of the IRS and the FBI. Somehow, the military has managed to take a combat-trained force, which also happened to be the one of the most diverse and trusted organization in the country, and succeeded in ostracizing most of its supporters. While the military still believes that it is representing the whole country, it now seems to represent only a small group of leftists and elitists that not only hate the country, but also have historically despised the same military that is now killing itself trying to accommodate every social just crisis that hits Twitter or Facebook at any given moment.". . .
The military would benefit itself and the country by creating a task force to rebuild and depoliticize itself. Extra care and critical thinking should be utilized in the selection of the members. Just one hint on whom not to select to stay within the parameters of critical thinking: former secretaries of defense, generals, media talent, or anyone from the DoD Office of Diversity Management and Equal Opportunity.