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Disabled Combat Vet Blasts Woke Military

Our military exists to prevent anyone from imposing their vision of utopia on American citizens or its allies.

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The meritocracy that defined America’s strength and excellence for almost 250 years may be breathing its last. This meritocracy is the US military, and its undoing is coming from within as leaders embrace wokeness at the highest levels.

Long before Gen. Mark Milley defended himself and other military leaders from being called ‘woke, the force he would someday come to lead was the standard of the very thing the woke crowd decries: a meritocracy. This is a rare place where nationality, skin color and even gender are secondary to one thing: An ability to perform at an exceptionally high level in environments where safe spaces don’t exist.

I was honored to be able to see this performance first hand as a Marine Corps combat correspondent, attached to units across all branches of the US military through multiple combat tours. Despite what politicians and some senior leaders would have us believe; skin color becomes irrelevant when rounds are coming in. In combat, the only thing that mattered for us was the ability to execute our duties and count on teammates to execute theirs. Our performance, and not our diversity, is what got us promoted, accomplished our missions and kept folks alive.

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Make no mistake, the troops I served alongside were diverse enough to please the wokest folks on the planet. They were black, white, Hispanic, and Asian. They were heterosexual, gay, and bisexual. However, their shared mission overshadowed any differences or history of discrimination. As our military becomes caught up in the same arguments facing the society they protect and defend, there is a group of people who are watching gleefully as we place our focus on whether critical race theory should even be on military reading lists, and those folks are America’s enemies.

Having met and interviewed many of them myself, I can attest that our adversaries are not concerned with diversity. They’re concerned with winning at all costs through the focused application of destruction and violence. We shouldn’t forget why our military exists. It’s not to eventually evolve into the utopia many in our country are trying to reshape our nation into. Rather, our military exists to prevent anyone from imposing their vision of utopia on American citizens or its allies. The meritocracy our troops come from could teach all of us about accepting diversity as they continue to put their differences aside to accomplish a greater goal. Meritocracy still has a place in America and her defense, and those who wield it best are the very same people who have to look past race, ethnicity and every other ‘ism’ in order to come together – a lesson every company could benefit from. The men and women I served beside faced adversity together not because they were trying to undo past wrongs, but because they love what America stands for and the promises she holds for each of us.

Shawn Rhodes is a disabled combat veteran, former sergeant in the US MarineCorps, TEDx speaker and CEO of Bulletproof Selling. He can be reached at [email protected]

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Military

Lest We Forget

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This column is the text of a Memorial Day address I was asked to give at the Field of Valor in Moorpark, California. May it again inspire us all to never forget.
War is hell. Sadly, war at times is necessary. Men and women die is those wars, and on days like today, we remember those who gave up all their tomorrows to keep us free to have so many more.

What must one say in a Memorial Day speech or any day of remembrance? President Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address was only 272 words long, and yet it has been treasured for over a century as one of the best speeches ever given.

Even now, our debt to the heroic men and valiant women who died in the service of our country can never be repaid. They have earned our enduring gratitude. This is not Veterans Day, it’s not a celebration, it is a day of solemn contemplation over the cost of freedom and those who bore that cost.

I never served in the military. I was born at the end of World War II when my father was quartermaster of Tyndall field in Panama City, Florida. He was a major in the army air corp. My son and one of my grandsons have both served in the US Army. Thankfully, none of them gave up their lives in service to our land, but that may not be the case for some of you here today. it’s been said that as citizens of this great country, we need to regard all of our soldiers as our children, so that as our own beloved sons and daughters, we might feel deeply the loss of every last one of those who have died in service to our nation.

We not only remember; we honor them for their valor. In the words of General George S. Patton: “It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God such men lived.” I think we must do both.

So many mothers and wives, husbands and fathers, extended family and friends go about life every day remembering loved one no longer with us. They are reminded by pictures on mantels and mementos of a life not fully lived. At some level they understand that their soldier chose a life of service and understood the potential of their own death. So today, we also honor you, the families of those who lost loved ones, for you bear a burden that only you can comprehend. We are grateful for the love and support you gave your soldier.

General Norman Schwarzkopf once observed: “It doesn’t take a hero to order men into battle. It takes a hero to be one of those men who goes into battle.” With that in mind, may we not only remember those we honor today at this ceremony, but may we keep our soldiers who are deployed defending our freedom, and their families, in our thoughts and prayers.

There is no more fitting way to end this than with the treasured final words of Lincoln on the fields of Gettysburg in November of 1863. “The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us-that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion-that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain-that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom-and that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth.”

Let us echo the line from Lee Greenwood’s patriotic tribute: “And I’m proud to be an American, where at least I know I’m free. And I won’t forget the men who died, who gave that right to me.” It’s been said that our flag does not fly because the wind moves it. It flies with the last breath of each soldier who died protecting it.

God bless our great nation. God bless and embrace those who gave their all and the families who pay the continuing cost for that sacrifice. Finally, God bless each of you for taking the time to remember.


Consider purchasing Dr. Paulson’s newly released ”Joy Comes with the Morning” course today! Get ready to enjoy the 31 short, recorded messages on your computer or smart phone. Each message is designed to expand and enhance your joy-filled faith experience whenever you need or want it. Visit tomeapp.com/joy to start bringing more Christian joy to your morning today. Contact him at [email protected]

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American Freedom Tour

Meet the Man Who Has Memorized Every Soldier Killed in Afghanistan

Ron White decided to memorize every single US service member killed in Afghanistan.

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Ron White is a former naval intelligence officer. He also happens to be a two-time US memory champion. Yes, they actually hold championships for memory. You can hand Ron a completely randomly shuffled deck of 52 cards and after he looks at them for one minute, he can set them back down on the table and tell you the order of those cards both frontwards and backwards. That’s the kind of memory he has. As the founder of America’s Memory (check him out here), Ron decided to use that memory to honor our fallen heroes. Having served in Afghanistan himself, Ron decided to memorize every single US service member killed in Afghanistan. His story and his dedication to remembering his fallen brothers and sisters is incredible and he tells us all about it on the latest episode of the American Freedom Tour Podcast (which you can subscribe to here). Watch the video below.

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