West Point Grad Congressman Says He Has 'Zero Time' for Complaints About Woke Military, Focused on China (Connecting the Dots: West Point, Pat Ryan, Georgetown University, Veterans Affairs & Soros Funding, All Networking)
24 Jan 2023
Military.com | By Rebecca Kheel
Military News
The first West Point graduate
to represent the academy in Congress -- a Democrat -- is warning Republicans
against using the military academies in their planned war on
"wokeness."
In an interview Monday with Military.com, Rep. Pat Ryan, D-N.Y., argued
political attacks such as GOP accusations of "critical race theory"
infiltrating the military academies undermine public trust in the military and
distract from preparing the services to compete with China.
"Especially at a time of great global risk and
change and uncertainty between China and Russia and everything else, we need to
be the adults in the room here. We need to be the ones thinking not about
scoring political points or what's gonna get you more likes on Twitter or hits
on Fox News," he said.
"I have zero time for the political distractions and
BS, and I will very aggressively call that out," he added. "The
ultimate irony to me, a lot of people calling this out haven't spent a single
day in uniform, and I think that certainly shows in how they've conducted
themselves."
Ryan, a self-described "red shirt freshman" who
expects to return to the House Armed Services Committee this Congress after his
short stint at the end of last year following a special election, spoke with
Military.com by phone about his military and veteran priorities this year. He
spoke a day after holding a ceremonial swearing-in at the U.S. Military
Academy at West Point overseen by Senate Majority
Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., who nominated Ryan to the academy two decades
ago.
Ryan highlighted preparing for competition with China,
conducting oversight of the new military toxic exposures law, and getting a
bill he first introduced last year related to Department of Veterans Affairs home loans across the finish line as among his top priorities.
Ryan, an Iraq War veteran, was first elected to Congress
in a special election in August in a race that gave Democrats hope the expected
"red wave" of the November elections wouldn't materialize -- hopes
that were borne out when Republicans won a narrower House majority than
expected and Democrats retained control of the Senate. Because of
redistricting, Ryan ran this time in an adjacent district in the general
election that includes West Point, making him the first academy graduate to
represent the school in Congress.
With their narrow House majority, Republicans have vowed to target "woke"
military policies, a term they apply to a wide range of policies they disagree
with but most often refers to efforts to make the military more welcoming to
minorities, women and nonconforming genders.
Republican attacks on wokeness in the military have also
pulled in the military academies. An infamous exchange between Chairman of the
Joint Chiefs Gen. Mark Milley and Republicans on the House Armed Services
Committee in 2021 centered on allegations that critical race theory was being
taught at West Point. Critical race theory is an academic framework largely
confined to graduate-level courses that examines the intersection of law and
racism but has become a label the GOP applies to any discussion of racism in
America.
Ryan dismissed such attacks as a "distraction"
from the more important issue of ensuring the military academies are training
leaders and building a military force that's ready for competition with China.
Ryan offered few specifics on what Congress should be
doing to advance the military's China strategy, though he commended some steps
the military has already taken, such as the Marine Corps' reorganization of forces in
the Pacific. In general, he said will be looking for "more
creativity" and "a fresh set of thinking" during the upcoming
budget cycle when it comes to tackling threats from China.
He also said he thinks the newly created House Select
Committee on Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese
Communist Party, one of the only House proposals to receive widespread
bipartisan support so far this year, will be an important "clearing
house" for lawmakers to craft a "comprehensive strategy" on
China. While he would like to serve on the committee, he acknowledged his
junior status makes it unlikely he will be appointed to the panel.
"I have a three-year-old and a one-year-old, two
boys, and at the end of the day, if we don't get this right, this being the
competition with China, I fear that they could fight in a World War-style
conflict with China that would be devastating for the whole world," he
said.
Meanwhile, Ryan pointed to his experience as a veteran as
he discussed conducting oversight of the PACT Act, the
sweeping measure passed last year that expanded health care and benefits for
veterans exposed to toxic substances during their service. One area he wants to
keep an eye on is whether more symptoms and medical conditions need to be added
to the list of illnesses presumed to be connected to service after the bill
added 23 diseases.
Ryan himself enrolled in VA health care for the first
time in December after the PACT Act allowed post-9/11 veterans who didn't
previously enroll to do so. He said he found the experience harder than it
needed to be since he was missing some paperwork and, rather than being able to
show someone the copy he had in his email, he had to print out a hard copy and
fax it.
"It's 2023, and I have to fax something to get access,"
he said. "You think about the number of people who might already be
hesitant to go, then you go and it's not as smooth as it should be, and it just
further dissuades people from getting the ultimate care they need or should
have. So I'm not knocking the great people that work at the VA because they
work hard and they really believe in the mission. But we've got to bring it
into the 21st century in terms of a lot of the technology and the
approach."
More immediately, Ryan said he's pushing for passage of
his bill to expand VA home loan eligibility to more Guardsmen and reservists.
Specifically, the bill seeks to ensure that any day Guardsmen and reservists
are on federal active-duty status, including for training, counts toward home
loan eligibility. Right now, Guardsmen are eligible after 90 days -- 30 of
which must be consecutive -- of "full-time National Guard duty," but
Guardsmen have said there are gaps in the law that cause them to be denied
loans.
The bill passed the House in September, but was not taken
up by the Senate before the end of the year. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H.,
introduced the companion bill in the upper chamber in December, and Ryan
attributed the holdup in the Senate just to the fact that there was not enough
time left in the year, adding that he's hopeful it will become law now that
there's a full congressional session to take it up.
"I still think in a very divided moment politically,
we are going to be able to come together around issues of national security, of
taking care of veterans and military families, and I remain optimistic that we
can do that," he said. "When there are other members and other folks
who are in it for their own, whatever reasons of ambition or whatever reasons
are causing them to politicize this stuff, we have to call them out. So I will
certainly be doing that on behalf of all my fellow service members and veterans
because we are more than those that have put their life on the line and those
that are in harm's way right now."
Pat Ryan (politician)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pat_Ryan_(politician)
Early life and career
Ryan was born and raised in Kingston, New York, the son of Patricia L. and Kevin M. Ryan.[5] He
earned a Bachelor of Science in international politics from
the United States Military Academy in
2004 and a Master of Arts in security studies from Georgetown University.[6] Two
of his West Point classmates are fellow Congressmen John James and Wesley Hunt. His
wife is Rebecca Ryan (née Grusky).[7] He
was previously married and divorced.
Connecting the Dots:
Barry R.
McCaffrey was a professor at the U.S. Military Academy (West
Point) and a director at the Atlantic Council of the United
States (think tank).
Andrew
Goodpaster was a superintendent for the U.S. Military Academy
(West Point) and a chairman for the Atlantic Council of the
United States (think tank).
Daniel W.
Christman was a superintendent for the U.S. Military Academy
(West Point) and a director at the Atlantic Council of the
United States (think tank).
George A. Joulwan was
a professor at the U.S. Military Academy (West Point) and is a
director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank).
Open Society Foundations was a funder for the Atlantic Council
of the United States (think tank).
George Soros is
the founder & chairman for the Open Society Foundations.
Eric K. Shinseki was
a director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank)
and the secretary at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
Togo D. West Jr. is
a director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank)
and was the secretary at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
Chuck Hagel was
the chairman for the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank),
a professor at Georgetown University and
the deputy administrator for the U.S. Veterans Administration.
Rep. Pat Ryan earned his Master of Arts in security studies from Georgetown University and a Bachelor of Science
in international politics from the United States Military Academy (West
Point) in 2004.
Madeleine K.
Albright was a professor at Georgetown University, an
honorary director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think
tank), the president for the Center for National Policy and an
advisory board member for the Truman National Security Project.
Tammy Duckworth
is an advisory board member for the Center for National Policy, an
advisory board member for the Truman National Security Project and was
the assistant secretary at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs for
the Barack Obama administration.
R. Hunter Biden is a
director at the Truman National Security Project and Joseph R.
Biden Jr’s son.
Kamala D. Harris is
an advisory board member for the Truman National Security Project
and the Vice President for the Joseph R. Biden Jr Administration.
Resources: Past
Research
West Point Now Teaches
Critical Race Theory (Connecting the Dots: West Point to Soros) (Past Research on West Point)
THURSDAY, JUNE 23, 2022
https://thesteadydrip.blogspot.com/2022/06/west-point-now-teaches-critical-race.html
Veterans Affairs
Secretary Expresses ‘Regret’ For Disneyland Comments (Past
Research on Veterans Affairs)
WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2016
https://thesteadydrip.blogspot.com/2016/05/veterans-affairs-secretary-expresses.html
White House chief of
staff Ron Klain for the Biden administration (Connecting the Dots: Ron Klain,
Truman National Security Project, The Third Way, Gun Control & The Soros
Funded Think Tanks, All Networking) (Past Research
on Truman National Security Project, Kamala Harris & Hunter Biden)
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2022
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