America recently witnessed major public events signifying defiant opposition to surrendering precious freedoms to rule by tyrannical kings.
I'm referring here to the 250th anniversary of the Revolutionary War Battle of Machias against submitting to British sovereignty under King George III after the U.S. Navy was established, followed U.S. Marine Corps engagements of British forts in New Providence, Bahamas the following year.
And yes, there were also more recent "No Kings!" rallies that garnered far more media attention, but with absent clarity of grievance other than somehow implying without example that President Trump somehow threatens to assert monarchial authority over free citizens.
Messaging themes of the two types of rallies stood in sharp contrast, with the War Department emphasizing strength against outside oppression through national unity, and those organized by liberal partisans apparently opposing popular policies of a twice democratically elected president.
As U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth told naval service members on Oct. 5, "Your diversity is not your strength."
Instead, Hegseth admonished, the Navy’s real strength comes from its "unity of purpose," "shared mission," and "oath to the Constitution".
Secretary Hegseth again highlighted this unity message at an Oct. 18 Camp Pendleton Marine Corps address titled "From Sea to Shore: A Review of Amphibious Strength."
"I look out at this crowd, I see a lot of different types of faces. The truth is your diversity is not your strength. Never has been," Hegseth said.
"Your strength is your unity of purpose."
Describing the Corps as a unique force within the military, set apart by its purpose and traditions, he said, "You are set apart for a distinct purpose. You kill bad guys and break things for a living. You close with and destroy the enemy for a living."
Hegseth went on to recognize the Marines' role in the nation's most pivotal battles, declaring, "In the most critical battles our nation has ever faced, it is often Marines, forged by unique traditions and tough-as-nails training, who land first.
"They volunteer to put themselves in harm’s way thanks to the blood and sweat of men who came before you."
Vice President JD Vance, a Marine veteran, echoed Secretary Hegseths' remarks at the podium.
Stressing the importance of rolling back aggressively woke and toxic Pentagon diversity culture initiatives over the last decade, Vance said, "It is not our diversity that makes us stronger. It is our common purpose, it is our common mission, and it is the fact that every single person here bleeds Marine Corps green."
Imagine the contrast when, according to a commentary/report of The Heritage Foundation, "In June 2020, then-Secretary of Defense Mark Esper ordered a redesign of military education to teach service members about 'implicit bias.' He also established an entire system of bureaucratic agencies dedicated to DEI." That initiative exploded under President Joe Biden.
In December of that year, a memo from the acting secretary of defense instructed Pentagon officials to "remove aptitude test barriers that adversely impact diversity" and "consider, where applicable, to address any potential barriers to developing racially diverse pools of candidates for . . . positions in senior leadership."
Ultimately, the memo instructed, the department must strive to "achieve a more diverse force at the senior grades” by developing a strategy to "achieve a talent pipeline that reflects … U.S. Census projections."
This essentially called for diversity quotas for military leadership positions based upon checking politically correct identity boxes at the expense of earned merit and proven competence to discharge life-critical duties.
The DOD’s budget for DEI then rapidly expanded under President Biden when in 2023 the Pentagon received $86.5 million for DEI programs, up from $68 million in 2022 and reached a staggering $114.7 million by 2024.
DEI training has included critical race theory (CRT), a Marxist ideology that views the world through an "oppressor versus oppressed" lens with indoctrination sessions and materials pushing divisive concepts such as White privilege, internal bias and systemic racism.
Together, CRT and Marxism worked to dishonor generations of valiant soldiers of all races and cultural origins who have fought together, suffered and died to protect united values we share over the past two and one-half centuries.
Evidenced by a recent upsurge in recruitment numbers, this renewed emphasis on unity of purpose and requirements to meet fitness and academic standards successfully appeals to a growing number of young Americans.
This summer the Army, Navy and Air Force all announced they had met their recruiting goals months ahead of schedule.
No, our military wasn't established to enforce rules by tyrant kings, but quite the opposite.
Instead, our fighting forces have one job, and one job only: protecting the United States from its enemies.
And yes, as our nation's renewed top-level Trump administration commitments to training and supporting our military forces for harsh and untidy warfare devoted to killing bad guys and breaking things are strongly resonating with seasoned veterans and fresh voluntary recruits who believe our nation's freedom is worth fighting for.
Larry Bell is an endowed professor of space architecture at the University of Houston where he founded the Sasakawa International Center for Space Architecture and the graduate space architecture program. His latest of 12 books is "Architectures Beyond Boxes and Boundaries: My Life By Design" (2022). Read Larry Bell's Reports — More Here.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.