One of the US Army’s top civilian officials blamed low recruitment numbers on conservative criticism of the military becoming too woke.  

On Tuesday, Army Secretary Christine Wormuth told the press the US Army is not woke. Still, an army of preparedness and the gradual, consistent criticism of the military being perceived as such negatively impact recruitment efforts.

Wormuth’s repudiation comes as the US Armed Forces face the worst recruitment crisis since abandoning the conscription model five decades ago. 

The US Army has been hit hard, missing its target of 60,000 new troops by 15,000, failing to meet its objective for the fiscal year 2022. 

Wormuth, however, did make note that one of the factors that contributes to a decrease in trust in the Armed Forces is a shared concern across political lines regarding the politicization of military executives. 

She went on to say that when generals, colonels, etc., are pulled into politicized disputes, their overall appearance is made out to be more political than they are. 

Under Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin III, the military has increasingly become politicized, starting with the Biden administration’s campaign to purge “far-right extremism” within its ranks. 

The introduction of critical race theory, in addition to a consistent emphasis on racism, was defended by Gen. Milley, calling it necessary for the military to function as a cohesive unit. 

Governor of Florida and presidential candidate Ron DeSantis has been vocal about how wokeness attributed to the recruitment crisis. 

DeSantis said there seems to be a significant focus on political ideologies and topics such as gender pronouns, including a strong emphasis on diversity, equity, and inclusion, which, in his opinion, led to a sharp decline in recruitment numbers.