by WorldTribune Staff, November 14, 2016
A key member of the House Armed Services Committee said President-elect Donald Trump should make it a priority to turn back Obama administration social engineering policies that “have cut down on the warrior mentality.”
Rep. Duncan Hunter, California Republican, told The Washington Times that U.S. military needs a counterrevolution.
Hunter, a former Marine Corps major, is said to be under consideration for Navy secretary or even secretary of defense in the Trump administration.
Hunter’s Pentagon agenda includes:
- Reverse the December decision by Defense Secretary Ash Carter to open direct land combat jobs in the infantry and special operations to women.“It doesn’t do anything to further our capacity as war fighters,” Hunter said. “It doesn’t do anything to make us more effective or efficient at getting the job done and killing our enemies and protecting our allies. It’s just a distraction. It’s not like there are thousands of women getting into the infantry now. It will never be that way.”
- Nullify the June 30 decision to open the ranks to transgender service members and fund their sex-change procedures.“Having transgender operations paid for by the U.S. taxpayer is one of the stupidest things I’ve ever heard of because it doesn’t do anything to help America project power or to fight and win its wars. Nothing. There’s no upside to it whatsoever,” the congressman said.
- Overturn the liberal agenda of Navy Secretary Ray Mabus, a Democrat and former governor of Mississippi.“It’s the politicization of the Navy and trying to chip away at the war-fighting mentality,” Hunter said. “Liberals like Ray Mabus are offended by the war-fighter mentality. You can call it ‘manliness.’ You can call it ‘roughneck,’ kind of people who fight America’s wars. I think they offend liberal sensibility, the liberal sensibilities of the Obama administration and Mabus in particular.”
- Ship naming.Hunter also has blasted Mabus’s theme of naming warships after liberal Democratic activists, such as farm labor leader Cesar Chavez and gay rights advocate Harvey Milk. He said it is not too late to remove those names in favor of naval combatants or trailblazers.“There are a lot of great people you can name ships after that would give the sailor pride to sail on that ship. Harvey Milk isn’t one of them,” Hunter said.“Why not go the Medal of Honor route?” he said. “If they are going to break tradition, why not go, ‘OK, we’re going to name them all after war fighters or great sailors or great leaders within the Navy or great explorers — people that had an impact when it comes to ocean-going?’ There’s plenty of people to name ships after.”