Incidents of this kind are nothing new; they have been happening since the 1990s and the first term of the Clinton administration. Remember the 1991 “Tailhook” scandal in Las Vegas?

The U.S. Navy and Marine Corps lost a number of very proficient and combat-tested aviators in that debacle, and as the Keltz incident proves, not much has changed in the nearly quarter-century which has elapsed since that time. The commissars of political-correctness – cultural Marxists all – still retain their stranglehold upon the military.

What jumps out at this reader is the behavior in evidence by members of the armed forces, then and now – in failing to speak out against these ideologically-motivated witch hunts. Even General Keltz can’t seem to summon the will to defend himself – at least not in public and on the record. It is well to remind your readers that general/flag officers are political appointees who serve at the pleasure of Congress; no individual can be promoted to general/flag rank without the approval of that body. True, such approvals are usually a formality, but they are nonetheless required for all such promotions.  In Keltz’s defense, he’s engaging in damage control at this point, and is probably trying to save his pension – even if it is too late to save his career. I hope that Keltz tells his side of the story publicly once his retirement is formalized, but I’m not betting on it. For reasons I can’t understand, men like Keltz – who have devoted their entire adult lives to the defense of the nation – are somehow reluctant to criticize the government or the military establishment – even when they have been offered up as sacrifices upon the alter of political correctness. Too many act like sheep being led to the slaughter – and not warriors.

Phrased differently, General Keltz evidently had the courage to fly in combat and a chest full of ribbons and decorations attesting to that service – but apparently that didn’t count for anything when it came time to defend himself from those attacking him over an incident which honestly cannot be reckoned as anything more than a tempest in a teapot. Perhaps I am being unfair to Keltz, but I’d expected a bit more of a fight from him. Why doesn’t he defend himself?

Apart from the lunacy of this affair and the tragedy of General Keltz’s falling upon his sword, the real take-away message here is that the tactics of the cultural left are effective and functioning as designed – i.e., the transformation of the military into an institution of cultural leftism is working. Although the military is today far-less conservative than it used to be, it has nonetheless remained one of the last bastions of traditional American values. As such, it has been in the crosshairs of the left for a long time. During the 1930s, Josef Stalin relentlessly-purged the Soviet military of many of its most-experienced senior officers – replacing them with personnel whose loyalty to the new order was not in doubt. Although their techniques are somewhat more subtle than those of the Stalinists, the methods employed by the present political regime are attaining the same result.

Of course, the effect is similar to snowball rolling downhill – the more hostile to traditional values the military becomes, the less attractive it is to those traditionalists still in uniform – or those who might be considering joining the armed forces in the first place.

It gives me no pleasure to say so, but unfortunately, the struggle to retain the old traditions and character of the armed forces is being lost. Here, as in so many other places, the traditionalists are in full retreat. That is the message I am getting from my contacts in the military community.