Identity-driven policies and rhetoric will only alienate the military’s largest group of recruits
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Like other militaries through the years, the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) has always been male-dominated. And as a country where the majority of the population is of European descent, the majority of its members were white. These facts should be indisputable.
But unlike any military before it, the CAF uses the historical identity of its members to promote a spirit of guilt and shame within the organization. While this does not solve the current conscription crisis, and it is doubtful that it ever will, this approach has solid support from military academic voices, the most recent example being Canadian Armed Forces College Professor of National Defense Paul -By Mr. Mitchell.
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“The idea that our military is ‘too woke’ misunderstands efforts to improve working conditions for historically underrepresented groups,” Mitchell said. I have written This week is the conversation edition. He argued that the military needs to look elsewhere because recruitment of white men is declining and visible minority populations are increasing.
He was partly defending the Canadian Military Journal, which was criticized last month for its ideological leanings. The magazine’s summer issue was filled with political critiques of identity.in one Articles about the serious “white” problem in the militarythe authors confirmed that systemic racism does occur, based on several qualitative interviews with non-white military personnel analyzed through the lens of racial, anti-Western philosophies.
“I wish to emphasize that institutionalizing whiteness requires sustained efforts by individuals to uphold white settler norms,” she wrote, placing widespread responsibility.
another article was suggested Military cultural norms should be changed along with ideological education. “Structural forms of power and privilege,” the paper argued, should lead to lessons about colonialism, racism, sexism, misogyny, ableism, and heteronormativity. Discomfort, which lowers morale, should be accepted in learning.
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The leftist theory-filled periodicals and our dear professors who defend them are nothing more than mindless culture war musings that have no effect. Their influence can be seen on the surface, such as in human resources materials and “anti-racism toolkits” that teach the left’s racial ideology as fact. The deeper changes reach into the heart of the bloated CAF bureaucracy. include An assessment that examines the “inclusive behavior” of “diversity and inclusion champions,” affirmative action officers in their roles, and members as of 2022. Embedded in all this is an understanding that masculinity, the ‘warrior ideal’, and colonial history are fundamentally important. It is harmful to military culture.
But if there’s any institution that should be comfortable as a male-dominated space, it’s our military. It is an organization tasked with fighting and defending, and like other professional standing armies throughout history, it tends to be drawn from a group that can do it: men. Men are prone to fighting for all sorts of reasons, and it is the military’s job to control these tendencies and maintain discipline for the benefit of society as a whole. That does not mean that women in the ministry have to fend for themselves, quite the opposite. They deserve to be treated with the same dignity as anyone else, and they should expect perpetrators of sexual harassment and assault to be fully prosecuted. You don’t have to demasculinize for that.
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Similarly, while the CAF is proud of its heritage as a descendant of the British system, it must ensure that those who harass or attack conscripted indigenous peoples and minorities are punished. Outreach can be done to make these groups aware of options, but leave it to civil sociologists to take a hard look at systems of power and oppression that cannot be quantified.
It’s strange that there is suddenly such an urgency to ensure that the Canadian military reflects the country’s demographics with perfect accuracy, since this hasn’t been the case for over a century.a 2007 survey The primary recruitment candidates were observed to consist of healthy men, between the ages of 17 and 20, with a high school education, from a rural or small city, and of Caucasian background. They also tend to come from families with a history of service. It turns out that the military was a good choice for people who wanted a stable career without devoting their twenties to an expensive education that offered no clear path to a decent income.
“Perhaps the only time the Canadian Armed Forces truly ‘reflected’ Canada was when conscription was in place during the two major world conflicts of the 20th century,” the study observes.
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The authors of a 2007 study concluded that demographic selection is likely a futile exercise. Identity goals that are unrealistically high relative to population are unlikely to be achieved for a variety of reasons, including the tendency of immigrant families to encourage their children to pursue careers in potentially high-paying professions. While rural white working-class people viewed services as class-enhancing, immigrants, especially recent immigrants, often did not see them that way. The authors argue that achieving artificially high diversity goals is inevitable and “will only further entrench perceptions of organizational inertia and systemic racism” at CAF, discouraging minority participation. I predicted that it would happen.
Scholars like Mitchell and his colleague Stephen Seidman; They argue that a culture shift that emphasizes diversity, equity, and inclusion is the key to increasing recruitment and retention, but it’s difficult to understand how to do so. Despite efforts to recruit new personnel and organize events, cultural events The headcount may be attractive to them. still at crisis level, CAF is short 16,000 people.The recruitment situation has not improved much in recent years, and new members are increasing. numbering 10,300 people in 2019-20, 4,300 people in 2020-21, 8,100 people 2021-22 In 2022-2023, the number will rise to 7,200. Retention rates are poor, with more people leaving than joining.
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“If you only think of the military as something for straight white people, you’re not going to attract the 60 to 70 per cent of Canadians who aren’t straight white,” Seidman said. To tell. told CTV last year.
Reaching out to newly added demographics to strengthen one’s power is nothing new. The Romans did it, the British did it, the French did it. That’s common sense. But importantly, this should not entail a complete adoption-based rejection. Canada foolishly did this. Aside from accepting rhetorical attacks on “whiteness” and masculinity, in reality lowered the priority of enlisting white men A similar alienation philosophy has been adopted in the UK since at least 2018 Recruitment will only decrease.one British military leader and tell the staff In 2021, the airline will stop selecting “useless white male pilots.” (China does not seem to have this complaint. We are happy to hire former Royal Air Force pilots. To train their communist counterparts. )
Combine the new cultural hostility towards the CAF’s recruiting base with how penny-pinching the military is. meal refund to Monthly living expenses adjustment, no wonder fewer people want to participate. Housing allowance was collected last year. Number of members: 7,700 Redistributed to new employees.members are set off Because they cannot afford basic things on their CAF salaries.
We want an army that is attractive to both our increasingly alienated traditional recruit demographics. and Immigrant? Prosperity, not left-wing racial propaganda.
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