The "Wokeification" of the Military: What Biden Pushed Through While in Mental Decline and Why It Needs to Be Reversed

By DOD Watch | May 27, 2025

While President Joe Biden was in office - amid growing concerns about his cognitive decline - his administration quietly implemented a sweeping set of policies that fundamentally reshaped the U.S. military. Behind the scenes, under the guise of “modernization” and “inclusivity,” the Department of Defense became a testing ground for divisive Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives and ideologies.

While President Trump and Secretary Hegseth are working to reverse some of these policies, there is more work that needs to be done, with many of these policies still in place today, especially with recent revelations of Biden’s complete lack of mental acuity. 

Here are 20 of the most striking DEI-driven moves the Biden administration pushed into the armed forces:

1. Created a Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer at the Pentagon

This new position was tasked with embedding DEI into every branch of the military, from recruitment to leadership.

2. Launched a Pentagon-Wide DEI Strategic Plan

The 2022–2024 DEI plan set aggressive goals for equity-based hiring, promotions, and education.

3. Renamed Army Bases Tied to Confederate Figures

Nine military bases were renamed, erasing historical names in favor of politically correct alternatives.

4. Ordered a Military-Wide Stand-Down to Address “Extremism”

This move forced all units to pause operations for ideological training, raising questions about misplaced priorities.

5. Reinstated Transgender Service

Biden reversed Trump-era policies, allowing transgender individuals to serve openly and access taxpayer-funded gender-transition procedures.

6. Introduced Gender-Neutral Physical Fitness Standards

This undermined longstanding combat readiness benchmarks by forcing men and women into the same standards, or worse, lowering them.

7. Expanded Parental Leave for All Genders

While family leave can be valuable, the military’s primary job is warfighting - not mimicking corporate HR trends.

8. Mandated Diversity and Inclusion Training

DEI training became required at all levels, a move that many see as ideological indoctrination rather than leadership development.

9. Expanded DEI Offices at Service Academies

Institutions like West Point and the Naval Academy are now embedding DEI throughout their training programs.

10. Overhauled Promotion and Evaluation Systems

Promotion systems were reworked to “identify bias,” which risks replacing merit with identity politics.

11. Collected Data on Race, Gender Identity, and Sexual Orientation

This data is used to engineer demographic outcomes rather than letting performance and ability speak for themselves.

12. Prioritized Pride Events and Identity Celebrations Over Combat Readiness

Devoted time and resources to hosting events centered on personal and sexual identity, such as LGBTQ+ Pride Month celebrations, over combat training and sharpening warfighting capabilities. 

13. Encouraged Use of Pronouns in Uniform

In some units, service members are encouraged (or pressured) to announce and include pronouns, a practice imported from college campuses.

14. Added DEI Metrics to Commander Reviews

Leadership performance is now partially judged on how well one meets diversity goals.

15. Expanded Women’s and Reproductive Health Services

Resources have been redirected to “gender-specific” care and politically charged issues like abortion travel reimbursement.

16. Rescinded Restrictions on CRT-Related Materials

Biden lifted Trump-era bans on divisive materials linked to Critical Race Theory, opening the door to radical ideologies in the ranks.

17. Flooded Social Media with DEI Messaging

Military recruiting campaigns now lean heavily on identity themes, not patriotism or strength.

18. Supported Affinity Groups Based on Identity

The Pentagon backed racially and sexually based “affinity groups” to promote solidarity at the cost of unit cohesion.

19. Prioritized Climate Planning 

Instead of focusing on coordinating a successful Afghanistan withdrawal, top Pentagon officials prioritized a major climate initiative. 

20. DEI-Focused Leadership Development

Leadership development programs incorporated DEI principles to prepare leaders to manage diverse teams effectively.

What’s the Cost of All This?

While Biden struggled with public speaking gaffes, memory lapses, and declining approval ratings, his administration quietly transformed the most respected fighting force in the world into a progressive social experiment. The mission of the military - to deter and defeat enemies - took a backseat to optics, social engineering, and political appeasement.

These policies didn’t just appear overnight. They were planned, pushed, and implemented by bureaucrats and appointees with an ideological agenda. 

Who benefited from these changes? Was warfighting improved? Are our enemies less afraid of us now or are they more emboldened? We need a complete review and reversal of every DEI policy still embedded in the Pentagon.

The military must refocus on what it does best: fighting, winning, and defending this country not chasing ideological fads.