House

Crenshaw trolled after asking for examples of ‘woke ideology’ in military

by Dominick Mastrangelo - 06/03/21 12:01 PM ET

Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas) was mocked on Twitter after asking for examples of “woke ideology” in the U.S. military.

“Enough is enough. We won’t let our military fall to woke ideology. We have just launched a whistleblower webpage where you can submit your story,” Crenshaw said in a tweet late last week, sharing a link to an online whistleblower form through his congressional office. “Your complaint will be legally protected, and go to my office and [Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.].”

Some Republican members of Congress like Crenshaw, Cotton and Sen. Ted Cruz (Texas) have decried what they say is a growing trend of emasculation in the U.S. military as the armed forces work toward a more inclusive recruiting strategy.

Crenshaw, a former Navy SEAL told The Washington Post that he first grew concerned after the Navy changed its ethos to include gender-neutral pronouns, saying he has “heard countless stories of commands teaching critical race theory, encouraging neutral pronoun use, promoting liberal activist books. We are asking for whistleblower complaints to obtain more specifics, and more evidence, so Americans know what their military is up to.”

Crenshaw’s call for examples of “woke ideology” was met on Twitter with jeers and fictional accounts of disgruntled service members.

Whistleblow… what exactly…?

“My roommate is gay and redecorated our room. It’s fabulous, but I am afraid” https://t.co/VKe18n4hzI

— Maximilian Uriarte (@TLCplMax) May 30, 2021

Thanks for the help Dan! https://t.co/sUw6wMGhIg pic.twitter.com/xDX5qBzBD1

— Jonk (@JackSodemann) May 29, 2021

I submitted a whistleblower complaint asking @RepDanCrenshaw to stand up to Sen Cruz for attacking our military. Sen Cruz wrongly suggested that a US Army video focused on recruiting women was emasculating our military.

Feel free to submit your own complaints at the link below. https://t.co/YoyXC3of6x

— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) May 29, 2021

After Cruz criticized recent U.S. military ad campaigns for being “too soft,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin hit back.

“It is not too soft,” Austin said of the U.S. military. “It will never be too soft.”

Austin argued countries such as Russia and China would like to “capitalize” on talking points like Cruz’s.

“I will not lose one minute of sleep about what the Chinese leadership is saying or what Vladimir Putin is saying,” Austin said. “What I will focus on, and what I am focused on, is the defense of this nation and making sure that we have what’s needed to be successful.”