The Gen. Mark Milley, the outgoing chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has defended the US military from right-wing accusations that it has become “too woke.”
“No, not at all,” Milley told CNN’s Fareed Zakaria in an interview that aired Sunday. “And I’m not sure what that word really means,” added the top US military officer.
Milley described the US military as “exceptionally strong” and “powerful” with its readiness ratings “better now than they have been in years.”
“This army is many things, but wake up, it is not,” he said. “So, I take exception to that. I think people say those things for reasons that are their own, but it’s not true. It is not correct. It’s not that there are some things out there that could fit into that category but it’s not a broad description of the US military as it is today.”
The Conservatives have argued against the military’s efforts to counter extremism and his teaching of critical race theory. Milley has previously criticized as “offensive” the claims promoted by former President Donald Trump, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and former Fox News personality Tucker Carlson among others.
Also in the CNN interview, Milley spoke about his “mistake” in getting involved June 2020 photo-op with then President Donald Trump amid anti-racism protests.
The US military should be apolitical, he said, recalling how he walked away from the incident as soon as he realized what was happening. There was “no place for a school uniform to be at a political event, period,” he added. “We don’t want our army to be involved in domestic politics.”
Milley must leave office when his statutory term ends on October 1. His successor will come currently unknownthanks to Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s (R-Ala.) one-handed, month-long blocking military nominations and promotions from moving forward in the Senate to protest the Pentagon’s policy that allows service members to take time off to seek abortion care in other states.
Watch the video here:
