5 Reasons Why You Should Be Worried About The Rapidly Declining American Military America’s most dedicated warfighters are giving up.

On December 3, 2015, Secretary of Defense Ash Carter, acting on orders from the Obama Administration, directed the U.S. military to integrate women in to all combat roles to include infantry and special operations. While this is just the most recent in a long line of poor decisions, it may be the one which finally damages the military beyond repair. It has also raised the question of whether or not women of military age should register with the Selective Service System—“The Draft”—upon turning 18 just as their male counterparts are required by law to do.

The US military has been an all-volunteer force ever since 1973, and most people understand that a return to a draft is highly unlikely. But with 1 in 4 military age Americans now unfit for service, and the social engineers holding the door open for women, immigrants, gays, and transgenders, the United States is fielding the weakest force it its history. But why should that matter? Surely there are enough dedicated professionals left in the military to handle whatever threats are out there? Well, not necessarily. Consider the following:

1. The War On Terrorism Is Far From Over

It really only took a little over three years before people forgot about 9/11. By the time Obama was elected, any support for seeing the war on terrorism through to its logical conclusion was long gone. Today, Americans simply don’t have the fortitude to care about doing the right thing unless it affects them directly and frequently. This fight will continue for a long time, but it will be inside America, not Iraq or Afghanistan. Attacks and shootings by radical Islamic sympathizers will increase, but not enough to inspire a real call to action; just more speeches from our impotent leaders about diversity, peace, understanding, and tolerance.

In addition to a lack of a coherent mission, talent management in the military is abysmal. Why should an experienced operator or a skilled strategist continue to choke down the daily required sensitivity training and other PC garbage when they can make high six figure salaries in the private sector without constantly being shit on by inept politicians?

2. There Is Little Interest In Preparing For The Next War

While our near-peer enemies are fielding new advanced weapons and conducting hardcore training, we are cutting the force to levels never before seen while simultaneously wasting effort on social experiments like allowing women in the infantry, recruiting illegal immigrants, and opening the door for transgenders. During his tenure as the “commander in chief,” Obama has purged every hard-line warfighting general who dared to speak up about the even worse threats that are still out there.

The killing of Osama Bin Laden was a great victory for the United States, albeit a mostly symbolic one, but it had one big negative side effect. It essentially solidified the view of the Obama Administration (and the left-wing in general) that a large standing military is an unnecessary burden when victory can be achieved with a small number of drones and special forces.

After 9/11, the United States began to tailor our military for a single type of warfare: counterinsurgency. Although we consider it a “global” war on terrorism, it has unequivocally been the most low-intensity conflict of the last 70 years. The conduct of the war affected perhaps 3% of the U.S. population (service members and their immediate families) and yet by 2005, the American people had enough. This speaks volumes to the character of the American people today. The American people, and by extension, its military, are totally unprepared for the nightmare of a full-scale war against a modern and determined enemy nation.

3. The Warfighting Profession Is Being Killed By Political Correctness

Since the “end” of the war on terrorism, the pendulum has swung so far in the other direction that we now pretend terrorism doesn’t exist because we don’t want to offend Muslims—when terrorism does exist, its right wing, anti-government, conservative, militia related, or Christian in nature. Although political correctness has already been affecting the military for some time, the vast numbers of “social justice warriors” now among the ranks have drastically accelerated the process (see women in combat, recruiting of illegal immigrants, and now transgenders – because gays were just the beginning).

But even discounting all that, the issue of lower standards and softer training is what will cause the most damage. Modern warfare as a profession is accepted in society; we no longer draft soldiers to fight, and rightly so. But just because we are an all-volunteer force does not mean everyone deserves to be welcomed. That simple fact doesn’t matter to the feminist professors who believe women are just a capable—or better—than men on the battlefield.

The current crop of military leaders are buying into this nonsense, else they risk their careers. Diversity makes us stronger! Even the Marine Corps, which conducted an extensive study ultimately proving that women consistently underperform compared to their male counterparts, rolled over in the name of equality and political correctness.

4. Real Patriotism Is Dying In America

A significant number of people who join the military today do not do so out of patriotism, sense of duty, or a love of America. With the war on terrorism all but over, the military is now flooded with college graduates who decided that enlisting was now a “safe” last-resort option after their gender studies degree failed to secure them an acceptable civilian occupation. This influx of overeducated and mostly left-wing children still on their parents’ health insurance has resulted in a force that cares little about fighting and winning wars, but cares a lot about fighting for causes in the name of social justice (see multiculturalism, gender equality, etc).

This is directly tied to the decline in discipline, the rise of political correctness, and the general lethargic attitude about the wars to come. Military-age millennials (those ranging from 18 to 25 years old) are causing irreparable damage to the image and effectiveness of the military. They have been raised to believe that each and every one of them is a special and unique snowflake. Everything must be dialed back to accommodate their fragile sensibilities—and they are quickly becoming the dominant demographic of the “new” military.

Real combat soldiers hate the slogan “bring the troops home” because real combat soldiers want to be out doing their jobs—killing America’s enemies—they don’t enjoy risking their lives, but they understand sacrifice is a necessary part of the warfighting profession. Traditionally, these were the people who made up the strength of the armed forces. Unfortunately, the “new” military is driving away this demographic in great numbers.

5. The Veteran Community Is Used By Politicians

This should not come as much of a surprise to anyone; therefore I don’t have a lot to add on the subject. The abysmal state of the Department of Veterans Affairs is a disgrace which should never have happened. But instead of massive reforms, we got reassurances that transgendered individuals would have their sex change surgery paid for by the government.

Returning veterans are viewed as terrorists by our own homeland security while actual terrorists (like Nidal Hasan, the Fort Hood shooter or Sayed Farook and Tashfeen Malik, the San Bernardino shooters) get a free pass because not appearing racist is more important. Worst of all, elected officials with military backgrounds will often cite their “military expertise” to push asinine political agendas. Tammy Duckworth, Gary Peters, Tulsi Gabbard, are some of the worst offenders.

Conclusion

I realize that most of these issues are not unique to the military, but are true of most organizations today. Corporate America is filled with political correctness, diversity quotas, bad management, you name it. My point is that of all organizations, the military should be most immune to these things based on the very nature of what the military is and does—fight and win the nation’s wars.

Once this is no longer the priority of the military, those dedicated individuals who normally would look beyond politics and focus on defending the American way of life may just decide to call it quits for good—and what they will be replaced with is frightening.

Read More: What You Should Consider Before Joining The Military