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EXCLUSIVE: Retired Army Officer Says He Was Barred From Publicly Recognizing ‘Woke’ Policies Are Harming Recruitment

November 13, 2023

The Pentagon is aware of how progressive policies are contributing to the U.S. Army’s falling short of its recruiting goals, but those on the inside are prohibited from publicly acknowledging this, according to a recently retired Army major.

More than a year after replying on behalf of the U.S. Army Recruiting Command to an inquiry from The Epoch Times about the Army’s recruitment struggles, retired Maj. Charles “Chase” Spears reached out again.

Mr. Spears wanted to share an unbridled explanation of the state of recruiting in the Army, which finished 2023 with 55,000 new recruits, significantly short of the 65,000 it had aimed for in the fiscal year.

Mr. Spears attributed the declining interest in the U.S. military in part to “concerns over the encroachment of social progressivism in the ranks [and] a lack of confidence in senior leadership.”

“The Department of Defense [DOD] is well aware of that data. Those are the kinds of concerns we were absolutely not allowed under any circumstances to acknowledge,” he said.

He described the recruiting shortfall as “an exceptionally sensitive topic.”

“In the military, when you’re answering questions, you have to answer them according to what we call Public Affairs Guidance (PAG),” he said. “PAG basically gives you issue-specific information and talking points that are cleared for public engagement.”

Unable to speak about these issues, Mr. Spears said he was “disappointed” and “frustrated.” He often wondered whether there was “an ulterior motive” for denying him the ability to share the information.

On the one hand, he said, the DOD emphasized “maximum disclosure with minimum delay, as long as it doesn’t jeopardize the security of a mission.” But to the contrary, he said, “[the DOD’s] denial of sharing facts has only empowered the gorilla in the room and gotten in the way of its mission.”