Republicans demand answers from West Point over pronoun 'play acting' training session
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
FIRST ON FOX: Republican Reps. Michael Waltz of Florida and Jim Banks of Indiana demanded answers from West Point regarding the school's role-play exercise for cadets on "respecting the pronouns people prefer."
Fox News Digital exclusively obtained Waltz's and Banks' Tuesday letter to West Point superintendent Lt. Gen. Steve Gilland regarding a leaked "facilitator guide" for role-play exercises involving academy cadets.
The exercises are meant to serve as training "for Cadets to gain competence in their bystander intervention skills" — including when someone disagrees with the progressive pronoun orthodoxy.
Republican Reps. Michael Waltz of Florida, pictured above, and Jim Banks of Indiana demanded answers from West Point regarding the school's role-play exercises for cadets on "respecting the pronouns people prefer."(CQ-Roll Call/Getty Images)
"Over the last two years we've seen a disturbing trend taking place at our military academies that puts politics over service," said Military Readiness Subcommittee Chairman Mike Waltz. "We have an obligation to ensure military academies such as West Point are prioritizing the education and training of future military officers rather than implementing the political priorities of the Biden Administration. Every minute our soldiers spend in sensitivity training is a minute they could be at the rifle range. Chinese and Russian soldiers certainly won't be focused on what pronoun a U.S. soldier uses."
"Cadets were forced to participate in preferred pronoun play acting during training time allotted to prevent sexual assault in the military," Banks, the chairman of the Military Personnel Subcommittee, told Fox News Digital.
"This exemplifies how divisive and radical left wing ideologies are creeping into our service academies at the expense of consensus and reasonable goals," the Indiana Republican Senate candidate continued. "Chairman Waltz and I will continue to hold accountable partisan officials who are poisoning our military with wokeness."
According to the "facilitator guide" obtained by Fox News Digital, the fourth role-play scenario for West Point cadets is titled "It's Not That Complicated" with the topic of "Understanding and respecting the pronouns people prefer."
Republican Reps. Michael Waltz of Florida and Jim Banks of Indiana, pictured above, have been outspoken about the politicization going on in the military that has gone as far as to cover a portrait of Jesus Christ at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy.(CQ-Roll Call/Getty Images)
Four "characters" are included in the role-play: Cadet Baker, who is holding a cell phone and has a "friend who prefers gender neutral pronouns;" Cadet Acevedo, who is a "friend supportive of respecting pronouns;" Cadet Adams, the "instigator" who "thinks that using 'correct' pronouns is wrong;" and Cadet Cruz, who is "argumentative" and "agrees with Adams" that "pronouns are weird."
The facilitator of the group is instructed to read the scenario:
"It's dinner at Grant, and the four cadets are sitting at a table. CDT Baker gets a phone call from a friend and takes the call. CDT Baker messes up the way he refers to his friend on the phone and it becomes apparent that the friend is identifying as gender neutral. CDT Adams and CDT Cruz start joking about it. CDT Acevedo squashes the joking and/or tries to educate them."
Specifically in the scene, Cadet Baker "must be on the phone and struggle with getting the pronouns right for the friend on the phone" and the "other characters crack jokes and start talking about the concept of pronouns."
The role-play comes to an end when either the "arguing gets heated and clearly nobody is going to change their mind;" one "of the Cadets storms off because they can't handle the interaction;" or the "Cadets agree to change the subject, respect Baker's opinion, and let it go."
Other role-play scenarios include "Friends in High Places" when dealing with someone receiving preferential treatment; "Dirty Money" when dealing with "sextortion" and helping a friend seek legal help; and "A Stinky Situation" for confronting "a peer about poor hygiene."
In the letter, the lawmakers thanked Gilland for his work developing the next generation of Army officers and wrote they "recently obtained a document for training exercises during a 'Dean's Weekend' at West Point that we feel disrupts and distracts from the education and training that is needed to shape our future military leaders."
The lawmakers noted "that these training courses were mandatory for all cadets, led by cadets, and supervised by faculty."
"The facilitator guide displays an instructional role play scenario centered around misidentifying gender-neutral pronouns. As Chairmen of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Readiness, and the Subcommittee on Military Personnel, we are concerned these kinds of exercises distract from the core mission of West Point in developing future wartime officers and further erodes trust in our military with politicized, social trainings," they wrote. "According to the document, 'The Department of Defense Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office (DoD SAPRO) has mandated that USMA assess the effectiveness of our prevention programming. The survey we are asking you to take today will support our ability to do this.'"
"It is unclear to us as veterans how an exercise regarding preferred pronouns pertains to sexual assault prevention in the military or service academies," the lawmakers added.
The Republican lawmakers wrote they "feel an exercise of this nature is problematic, dismissive of mainstream viewpoints, and unnecessarily creates conflict between cadets with opposing cultural views, all of which negatively affects unit cohesion."
"Moreover, this exercise represents yet another instance of West Point leadership implementing policies and directives that encourage cadets to focus on their differences rather than subordinate them to collectively accomplish the overall mission and purpose," they wrote. "The first is the antithesis of a team, the latter is the essence of a team."
Waltz and Banks wrote the "training scenario follows a pattern of disturbing developments out of West Point and other service academies over the past few years surrounding the politiz concepts being taught at the Academy."
They also pointed to the April 2021 guest "lecture by Dr. Carol Anderson of Emory University in February 2021 that featured a slide titled 'Understanding Your Whiteness and White Rage.'"
The lawmakers hit Gilland with a litany of questions, including on confirming the "authenticity of the Cadet Facilitator Guide and role play scenario" they highlighted as well as "whether Critical Race Theory is still included in a course syllabus at the academy.
Waltz's and Banks' letter comes as the military under President Biden's leadership continues down the lefthand path of wokeness.
The Republican congressmen have been outspoken about the politicization going on in the military that has gone as far as to cover a portrait of Jesus Christ at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy.
West Point did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
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I submit Gregory Peck as Douglas MacArthur making that famous farewell address at West Point:
If one listens to the key portion of the address, it becomes obvious that it wasn't what MacArthur feared might directly happen, rather it was the outside influence of a woke ideology which has gone mainstream and is now found everywhere in our society. They will all turn over in their graves (all those who fought for this country.) The question is what will we do to stop this evil?
I dont know about MacArthur, but our wars have been fought for freedom for ourselves and others. Freedom to be "woke' included.
Forcing people to be woke is the problem. Nobody fought for that.
A certain group of feel superior when they can disrespect and denigrate those they don't see as equals. They call them derogatory names, make them punchlines of jokes and bar them from participating in life. I can see why the larger acceptance of "others" is triggering to these certain people. They are running out of people to feel superior over.
GI joe learning who to blow...
BINGO
…from the seed:
“…during training time allotted to prevent sexual assault in the military…”
Acknowledging a serious problem, taking steps to address it, and making the institution and their charges better for it.
Who’s doing the politicizing again?
I get a mandatory class annually, Sexual Harassment/Assault Response and Prevention (SHARP). No big deal.
pronouns are the cause of sexual assaults?
Gender pronouns hasn't been part of the classes that I've had to take but I haven't had the class yet this year. When the gender identity rules changed as soldiers were allowed to serve, I had one class on it's implementation. I'm Ok with calling people what they want to be called althjough it stills feels a bit weird to me.
“…pronouns are the cause of sexual assaults?”
Perhaps it is the very lack of a pronoun that contributes.
If the abuser could see their victim as a she or he or even they instead of an ‘it’’.
This seems a rather simple, logical, and proactive attempt at humanizing rather than objectifying …and avoid having to deal with the aftermath.
I know of no human adult who doesn't use pronouns.
That is an incredibly weak argument.
“I know of no human adult who doesn't use pronouns.”
It would be easy to say you missed the entire point, confused the whole argument, and haven’t addressed the issue, but I never want to be confused with those that continually stoop to those sloppy standards.
Ah, turning a new leaf!
Congrats and welcome!
Swap 'smart' with 'funny' and then apply to self.
You said the lack of pronouns may have contributed. I pointed out that there is no lack of pronouns.
”The world is made for people who aren’t cursed with self-awareness.” ~Annie Savoy from Bull Durham
AND the world is peopled with folks who claim one thing then walk it back.
Lol ..... quoting fantasy, to make your point regarding reality.
Classic!
That is definitely the answer! Drop all pronouns. From now on all soldiers are referred to as "it". Doesn't matter what they identify as; once they sign up they are an "it". That way they are all equal and Brandon/Democrats can end this BS.
This BS isn't going to turn them into better fighters. It isn't going to promote teamwork. It isn't going to make them better tacticians. Definitely isn't going to give them the experience to think on their feet in combat. Or make them obey orders and respect military rank/authority. It might cause those looking to enlist to turn around and walk away. Considering how far down the US military is on their recruitment numbers- it is pretty much a guarantee it is already having that affect.
Only in GOP land is being polite considered to be evil.
Hey, feel free to call men women and women men.
Just don't expect everyone to go along with that lunacy.
Quite true. Military bases have Fox News on recreational tv's constantly.
Guess who volunteers John?
Americans ?
Predominately Conservative Americans
If your claim is true, then your response is to screw the minority?
Really? You actually think military TV's only have Fox News? For somebody "educated" you don't seem to know a lot about our military and it's facilities.
The bases I worked at have continued with CSPAN/CNN/CBS/ESPN - very few with Fox.
I see that as well.
Doing your usual "conjecturing" I see.
Maybe in the late 90's and 2000's not so much anymore.
Progressives continue to sissify the military. It sure wasn't this bad when I served my four years, long, long ago.
Have you served your country, John?
I know a guy who usually dresses as a woman, is quite passable and pretty when he wants to be, and goes by he/him pronouns, a guy who's quite masculine and goes by they/them, and a woman who dresses like a man and definitely caucuses with the men and prefers she/her. That's just in my extended family. I find it all rather silly especially they/them which is both confusing and plural to me. It doesn't bother me though. It doesn't hurt me to address them in a way that they feel comfortable with. Perhaps the army should go to their own, gender neutral pronouns and call everybody in the army soldier or something like that.
Or, we just could call a man a man and a woman a woman.
What people want to be or think they are sometimes doesn't match up with the realities.
Remember follow the science?
Well, I am sure he will be branded to the equivalent of "Uncle Tom" by our more liberal friends.
Yeah, I get it. Credo quia absurdum.
Apparently the person who wrote this scenario doesn't really know how the military actually conduct themselves. Very little is off limits when it comes to the jokes a servicemember will make.
This lack of knowledge really shows when reporting incidents and how certain situations are really handled. But I have seen several times where a process is taught in training but when it comes to application, things are very different.
Yep and I give you:
Our resident wokesters will go full woke on this article as well. Working hard on their death from within plan. Working it ....
Anti 'woke' hysteria is the new woke ... good job Ron, go get 'em. Snert.
Lol, Ron has wokesters on the defensive ....... classic.
Bravo Zulu Ron ... keep it up.
So republicans want officers who are not gentlemen?
No.
That is a rather absurd question.