As the U.S. military moves away from divisiveness in pursuit of unity and the tyranny of forced COVID-19 shots, many are more than willing to help Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth continue to achieve his goals.
The Gateway Pundit spoke to Michael Rose, Executive Vice President and General Counsel of Stand Together Against Racism and Radicalism in the Services (STARRS). The attorney is currently investigating 118 cases that fall into one of two unique categories.
“Each of these cases either involves those being punished as a result of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) ideology, or for refusing to take the COVID-19 or anthrax vaccine,” he explained.
The cases in Rose’s possession are “only the tip of the iceberg.” He hopes others who have been subjected to adverse Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) or administrative action for one of the above reasons will take the time to reach out to the organization by filling out a short online survey.
Rose provided two examples attributed to the presence of DEI ideology in the military. Considered an “outstanding Office of Special Investigations (OSI) agent who had received awards for performing his job well,” he said an Air Force captain was removed from command after participating as a member of a promotion board.
“He objected to a black person being promoted over a white person,” Rose explained. But here’s the truth of the matter: The junior officer’s decision had absolutely nothing to do with race. He believed “the white person had clearly superior qualifications,” the STARRS attorney shared.
Basing his decision on the merit of the individual rather than his skin color has left the junior officer being identified as “anti-DEI” and accused of “creating a toxic environment.” He subsequently filed a complaint to the Inspector General, an Article 138 complaint and a congressional complaint. Now, Rose pointed out, “the military is trying to discharge him.”
Sadly, these complaints may do little to reconcile his situation. “While federal law allows any member of the military to file a complaint for abuse against their commander,” Rose said, “the military typically winds up discharging the people who file Article 138 complaints, then they turn around and dismiss the complaints, saying they’re moot because the service members are no longer in the military.”
In a second example, Rose said, an individual attending the Coast Guard Officer Candidate School (OCS) in New London, Connecticut, has been removed from the program and discharged from the Coast Guard for allegedly making inappropriate statements, including using the “N-word.”
After investigating the matter—which the candidate adamantly denies—Rose and a team of colleagues determined the accusations were not true. Two retired General officers and two retired Coast Guard Admirals said they believed the officer candidate and support his becoming a Coast Guard officer.
According to the attorney, “He was doing fine in the program until someone decided they didn’t like the fact that he’s conservative.”
For him, the offensive, false accusation had little to do with anything but removing a good candidate from the program. He questions the due process for the accused, advocating for a full impartial investigation.
To provide an example of a service member being punished for refusing to take the COVID-19 shot, Rose shared the story of a former candidate of the Naval Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) program at Georgia Tech University. “After two years in the program, he lost his ROTC scholarship because he wouldn’t take the COVID vaccine due to his religious objections and had to borrow $70,000 to finish his degree in business finance.” Interestingly, the Navy also sent him a demand to repay $35,000 for his first two years in the program.
The Navy’s demand and the language coming out of Department of Defense are contradictory in Rose’s opinion. On the one hand, President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth are calling for service members to return to service as a result of determining the shot mandate was “unlawful as implemented.” But on the other hand, this officer candidate is claimed to owe tens of thousands of dollars to the Navy for his objection to the shot.
“He’s in limbo,” the STARRS’ attorney pointed out. “Because he was in ROTC, and not active duty, there’s no mechanism to get relief except to go through a lengthy process with the Board for Correction of Naval Records.” What does the Department of Defense have to offer for ROTC candidates booted over the now-rescinded, unlawful shot mandate?
For Rose, it’s past time to “cut through the bureaucracy” and develop remedies for these kinds of situations. These wrongs must be made right, and there must be accountability.
Working as a Team to Restore the Military
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth shared a memorandum throughout the Department of Defense (DoD) on January 29, establishing that “the most qualified individuals are placed in positions of responsibility in accordance with merit-based, color-blind policies.” In the memo, he announced the creation of the “Restoring America’s Fighting Force Task Force” to rout out policies that favored sex, race, or ethnicity over lethality and readiness. According to the memo, “The Task Force will provide an initial report to the [Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness] of actions taken by DoD to terminate DEI initiatives by March 1, 2025, and a final report no later than June 1, 2025.”
On May 22, a DoD news release quotes Acting Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, or USD (P&R), Tom Dill as saying “USD (P&R) would stand down the RAFF task force [following the final report] with the status of mission complete.”
Given this announcement, Lt. Gen. Rod Bishop (Ret.), STARRS Chaiman of the Board, recommends following this task force with “Project Sentinel”—a combined effort of DoD and veterans which would work together to ensure that “this DEI monster that has caused so much divisiveness across our military never raises its head again.”
He continued, expressing to TGP that “as all of us who have studied Marxism understand, this indoctrination, this march through our institutions, has been ongoing for decades. The ideology will not die so easily. It will just mutate in some form or fashion so we need to be continually vigilant.”
Bishop admitted, “The orders have been outstanding and the Restore America Fighting Force Task Force has led a valiant effort to ensure the directives are being carried out across the Services.”
But here is where STARRS and other partnering organizations can assist: “We are more than willing to help the Defense Secretary ensure DEI is truly eradicated with little chance of reemerging in another administration.” One focus area could be the establishment of a “Duty, Honor Country Commission” which would perform a “deep dive” into how the service academies may have drifted over the years away from what should be their foundation.
For example, he asserted, all academies should be emphasizing the Constitution, the history of their services, the importance of integrity, and the Oath of Office in their course of instruction. “Warning signs tell us challenges here abound, [and] a serious review of the academies has not been conducted in decades and their Boards of Visitors which should have been providing oversight have been handicapped with politically-driven reviews and other political interference,” according to him.
Additionally, referring to the examples shared by Rose, Bishop argued that there must be easier, more efficient, mechanisms for individuals to restore their records and their military status if they have been negatively impacted in any way—especially as they relate to DEI and the COVID-19 shot mandate. To address these shortfalls, STARRS has assembled a team of civilian and retired military lawyers and judges who are ready and willing to work on behalf of those who have been harmed. “Restoring the careers of worthy patriots to prevent irreparable damage should be a top priority,” said Bishop. “We call it Operation Rescue.”
Thirdly, he suggested a review of basic training, ROTC programs, other service schools, and especially our war colleges. “We need to ensure our instructors and instruction emphasize the warrior ethos, accountability, lethality, and the importance of readiness—no more distractions on social justice issues,” Bishop offered.
This focus is “essential to provide a bright future for America’s fighting forces and ensure they can accomplish their mission—to win our nation’s wars if deterrence fails. Not just today but for years into the future,” he shared, adding, “We have a number of PhDs with extensive military experience working on this initiative.”
And finally, to restore trust after years of distrust associated with the military’s anthrax and COVID-19 vaccine mandate policies, Bishop recommended DoD and/or Congress create a Commission on Military COVID-19 and Anthrax Policies (COMCAP).
This Commission would consider appropriate remedies for those who suffered under the vaccine mandate policies and most importantly it would take steps to ensure illegal vaccine activities of DoD will not be repeated for a third time. It would also ensure that physical injuries that can be attributed to the vaccine itself are covered under the Toxic Exposure Risk Activity (TERA) provision of the Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act. This would ensure service members physically harmed by the vaccine receive lifetime care through the VA.
SecDef Hegseth can use resources like STARRS and other partnering veteran organizations to assist in ensuring America’s fighting force is truly restored and remains that way.
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