Decades of social engineering have transformed America's armed forces, prompting concerns about the Pentagon's warfighting capabilities and politicized culture. It's the reason President-elect Donald Trump picked Pete Hegseth as his nominee for secretary of defense: to restore lethality as the military's primary focus.

Fixing the Pentagon won't be easy, but it's imperative to restore America's fighting force.

On this episode of "The Daily Signal Podcast," former Army Ranger Will Thibeau shares firsthand accounts from his service and outlines the startling changes at the Department of Defense since then. Thibeau, who directs the American Military Project at the Claremont Institute's Center for the American Way of Life, diagnoses the problems—and what it will take to restore the military's core mission of combat readiness.

For anyone concerned about the future of American military power, Thibeau provides a perspective on what went wrong—and how to make it right.

You can follow Thibeau's work on X: https://x.com/WilliamThibeau

Read his report, "Identity in the Trenches: The Fatal Impact of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion on U.S. Military Readiness," at https://dc.claremont.org/identity-in-the-trenches-the-fatal-impact-of-diversity-equity-and-inclusion-on-u-s-military-readiness/

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