Military to Focus More on Fighting, Not Transgender Issues

Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley and Army Secretary Mark Esper have authorized memorandums that will allow soldiers to focus more on combat training versus being forced to attend social training.

Former mandatory training from the Obama-era like on drug abuse, media awareness, human trafficking, and transgender transition will now be optional because they “served as barriers to maximizing time … to build readiness and lethality,” according to Col. John O’Grady, who leads the Army’s training division. 

While liberal groups were quick to condemn the decision to eliminate mandatory training for transgender troops, the memorandum points out that the training has been already completed. 

Now soldiers will have more time to focus on being combat ready. 

“The Army’s regulations and policies that deal with training were pretty settled, and there were not a lot of detractors to it. … It was all the other [training] requirements that we levied on ourselves, or we had levied from other places” said O’Grady. 

Troops will also be spending more time in infantry training. 

Soldiers will complete the current nine-week basic training course and the six-weeks of “advance individual training” before being stationed but then will have an additional two weeks of advanced training.

Commanders will also be given the authority to make more decisions. 

“One of the things this did is reinforce to commanders out in the field that you have the authority and responsibility to ensure your units are as highly trained as humanly possible,” said O’Grady. 

The military is also modernizing and preparing for electronic warfare from hostile aircraft and drones.

“An important example of these improvements is the Army’s Rapid Capabilities Office. Established by the secretary and the chief in August 2016, the RCO is tasked to expedite critical capabilities to the field to meet combatant commanders’ needs using alternative contracting mechanisms to deliver technologies in real time to the warfighter,” writes Defence News.“In 12 months, the RCO developed an initial integrated mounted and dismounted EW sensor capability that has been deployed with U.S. forces in Europe. Another program that is proceeding rapidly is a vehicle-mounted, jam-resistant positioning, navigation and timing capability for GPS-challenged environments. The RCO is working on a long-range cannon concept that may be able to double the range of 155mm howitzers, as well as optical augmentation technology to detect an adversary’s anti-tank guided missile day/night sights and loitering munitions that can strike air-defense and artillery emplacements.”

These changes and technology improvements, along with the recently approved two-year budget increasing the military’s resources, will enhance military operations significantly. 

“The Army is on the mend. I can report out to you today, after two and a half years as the chief of staff of the Army, we are in significantly better shape than we were just a short time ago. And that is through the generosity of this Congress and the American people.” 

Author’s note: We are glad to see our soldiers focusing on combat tactics and that Trump is giving the military the revamp it needs.