On Friday, February 21, Donald Trump and Pete Hegseth did the expected. They proved the depths of their racism and misogyny by removing the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Chief of Naval Operations. Not because they weren’t good at their jobs but because they were a black man and a woman. This was predicted by former Quaker House Chuck Fager in the article he wrote on January 15.
Trump and Hegseth couldn’t manage to find an active member of any branch of the military who could meet whatever standard they are holding leadership to. Instead, they have nominated white male retired Lieutenant General Dan Caine to replace Charles Brown as the Chair of the Joint Chiefs.
These actions were the latest in a week of moves against members of the military that included announcements of plans to fire at least 5,400 employees of the Department of Defense who were on probationary status and that at 8% of the military budget would be cut each year for the next five years.
Quaker House was founded as, and continues to exist, as a place of support and information for members of the military and their families. The second part of our mission statement is that we educate about “military issues.” As a manifestation of the Peace Testimony, we view our end goal as the end of wars and the need for militaries everywhere. But until that day comes, we are dedicated to addressing things that cause harm, or could cause harm, to those who have become part of the military.
Right now, with all the wrongful (and often illegal) actions of the current administration, we are particularly concerned with the ways that those actions are going to cause more injury to those Quaker House serves. 8% cuts to the budget are not going to come at the cost of fewer F-35s or cheaper missiles. They are going to come from more neglect to the housing provided to young troops. Hegseth’s orders to “end DEI” have led to the closure of programs addressing sexual assault which will lead to even more attacks on both women and men. 18% of the current military is made up of women, but Hegseth and Trump question their ability to contribute. No branch is going to meet their recruiting goals if they lose 18% of their potential audience.
A world safe from wars will also include a world without leaders who hate anyone they are afraid of. Quaker House supports everyone woman, man, members of the LGBTQA community, immigrant, or anyone else targeted by an administration who can only imagine a military made of white men like themselves.