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At West Point Commencement, Kamala Harris Says Military’s Strength Lies in Diversity – UnlistedNews

Vice President Kamala Harris became the first woman to address a graduating class of the US Military Academy at West Point on Saturday, using the opportunity to extol the diversity of the US military at a time of struggle. for military identity.

In an 18-minute speech, Ms. Harris noted that the nation’s military had evolved over the past 75 years from an institution once dominated by white males to one more open to women and minority groups. While she didn’t mention the significance of her own historic appearance, her presence at the microphone on the West Point field in New York spoke for itself.

“To the class of 2023 and to all the cadets here today: You stand on the broad shoulders of generations of Americans who have worn the uniform, including many barrier breakers and pioneers,” Ms. Harris told graduating cadets. his gray and gray uniform. -White dress uniforms. “In fact, this year they celebrate the 75th anniversary of the integration of women into the military, as well as the desegregation of our military.”

“These milestones are a reminder of a fundamental truth: our military is strongest when it fully reflects the American people,” he continued.

His speech came at a time when the military has been trying to carve out a new identity. Army bases in the South named after Confederate generals are being renamed, and President Biden nominated General Charles Q. Brown Jr. last week to become the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to serve alongside Secretary of defense, Lloyd J. Austin III. , which means that, for the first time, the Pentagon’s top civilian and uniformed leaders will be black men.

Some conservatives like Sen. Tommy Tuberville, Republican of Alabama, and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo have complained about what they call a “military awakening” that is too fixated on narrow prisms of race and gender. Tuberville, who is holding up promotion to senior officers over a new Pentagon abortion policy, said this month that the Biden administration’s efforts to promote diversity were hurting recruiting and complained that Democrats were “attacking our military, saying we have to take out the white extremists, the white nationalists, the people who don’t believe in our agenda.”

Ms Harris made no direct reference to those complaints, though her defense of diversity in the ranks sounded like something of a rebuttal. West Point, founded in 1802, reflects the changes in the military in general. When the class of 2023 entered four years ago, 23 percent were women and 34 percent were members of minority groups.

West Point and the other service academies have traditionally been approached initially by the president, vice president, or a senior military officer. Until Saturday, the Army’s premier educational institution had never had a woman as a keynote speaker at graduation. Mr. Biden plans to address the Air Force Academy graduation ceremony in Colorado Springs on Thursday, and Mr. Austin spoke at the US Naval Academy commencement ceremony in Annapolis, Maryland, on Friday.

Much of Ms. Harris’s speech contained the usual tributes to graduates and warnings about the dangerous world they would face as new officers.

“You graduate to an increasingly unstable world where long-held principles are at risk,” he told them, citing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and China’s aggressive moves in the Pacific, among other challenges.

“Our army is the strongest in the world,” he added. “Our military is a force that supports global stability and our national security. And it is this pillar of our strength that you cadets have dedicated themselves to leading. Essential to our strength is the role it will play in upholding our nation’s highest ideals.”

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Sara Marcus
Sara Marcushttps://unlistednews.com
Meet Sara Marcus, our newest addition to the Unlisted News team! Sara is a talented author and cultural critic, whose work has appeared in a variety of publications. Sara's writing style is characterized by its incisiveness and thought-provoking nature, and her insightful commentary on music, politics, and social justice is sure to captivate our readers. We are thrilled to have her join our team and look forward to sharing her work with our readers.
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