Standing in the dimly lit hallway of my Army barracks in 1984, an imposing silhouette loomed towards me like a predator hunting his prey. The sergeant major fixed his imaginary bayonet, ready for some unseen battle, and I was his enemy.
His battle-scarred, weathered face, red with anger, was inches from my own.
His commanding voice bellowing his disdain; the smell of his
hot coffee breath and the lingering stench of cigarettes floated around me.
I felt like puking.
His words wounded me as he pointed his finger towards my tiny protruding belly.
“What are you and it doing in my Army?”
His words reverberated down the narrow corridor, sounding like constant machine gun fire. As he hurled verbal hand grenades, I stood trembling in his overbearing shadow,
wondering whether he hated me, or simply the idea of me, a young, pregnant woman in uniform standing in a space built by and for men who never imagined they’d have to share it. Yet another long-held belief left rusting in the old footlockers of the Army past.
The Army is full of antiquated ideas, conceived during a time when some men weren’t
considered equal, and well, when women just ended up with the leftovers. Ghosts that clung to old Army beliefs, whose whispers echoed through jokes, jabs, and sneers.
Where the side-eyed glances reinforced the camaraderie of those who believe sameness was strength and overtly avoided those they didn’t want around.
I could easily identify racism. See, I grew up in the South where the air smelled of segregation and prejudice, but I hadn’t quite figured out this type of -ISM, you know….
sexism.
I learned to take the hits, the blows that crushed my dreams of equal treatment while serving my country, chalking it up to “the Army way of life.”
It was decades later at Fort Drum, NY, I felt again wounded, when laughter from an all-white male leadership team made it clear they, too, didn’t want me around,
a senior Enlisted leader, walking into their good-ole-boy pack.
While I cannot pretend to know what it’s like for soldiers of color to have to navigate those same intersections of being blamed for the failures of others to succeed and still being required to “always place the mission first.” I can attest to the feeling of helplessness when facing discrimination.
The military is a diverse group of volunteers from all walks of life, who are united to “support and defend the Constitution.” Many service members bring reminders of a tattered society that rages like a storm over deeply held supremacy beliefs. Those who view others' progress as a perceived threat to historically granted economic, political, and cultural privileges.
In the wake of these storms, lonely, isolated young service members, fractured by years of war, living on a digital diet of lost identity conspiracies, non-American rhetoric, and
influenced by a relentless barrage of online algorithms of hate, are being pulled into the undertow of those who preach supremacy and nationalism as a salvation.
As a result, the military is increasingly becoming a recruiting ground for white supremacist groups, jeopardizing order, discipline, and risking unit cohesion, readiness, and national security.
It was over a century ago that W.E.B. Du Bois observed that the American racial hierarchy
views whiteness as the social and civic norm by which others are judged.
When those beliefs are challenged, grievance becomes a tool to maintain order.
White anger, rage, and grievances are deeply embedded in American history,
from policies that reversed Reconstruction era gains to today’s debates over birthright citizenship. Thes patterns reveal a recurring cycle that stokes white anger over the progress of marginalized groups, often expressed through policies like redistricting, changes to voting laws, or dismantling DEI programs.
In today’s Department of Defense, there is an undercurrent that is promoting.
ideologies of a “white way of life” as part of the American identity, offering protections disguised as defending tradition, heritage, and meritocracy.
Yet the truth is America is changing, growing in diversity, and fighting for inclusion so that everyone can equally enjoy the Blessings of Liberty.