Kehoe, Schmitt, Trump and Hegseth have a warped view of the US military | Opinion

As a 24-year veteran, it is quite clear to me that President Donald Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth know little about the United States armed forces — and, as a result, do not know how to lead or manage our military. I suspect the same of Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe and Sen. Eric Schmitt.

On May 24, Trump spoke at the U.S. Military Academy commencement at West Point and railed against the U.S. military engaging in any activities except fighting America’s wars, warning: “Those days are over.”

Trump is flat-out wrong. Since the American Revolution, our military has always been engaged in missions other than war fighting. Why? Because it benefits our national security. During the Revolution, the Continental Army engaged in military-civilian affairs with Native Americans.

After World War I, the U.S. pretty much packed its bags and went home. We kept some troops in Europe for a while, but instead of helping Germany recover from the war, we did little — and Adolf Hitler rose to power. Fast-forward to World War II. We kept troops in Germany, helped rebuild it into a strong democracy and after the war, the Berlin airlift kept that city from entirely falling into the hands of communism.

Trump told Fox News he was sending the National Guard to Memphis, and said, “By the way, we’ll bring in the military too, if we need it.” Apparently Trump does not understand that service members in National Guard, Army Reserve, Naval Reserve and other reserve forces are military.

Gov. Mike Kehoe and Sen. Schmitt are also intent on misusing Missouri’s National Guard. Recently, Schmitt touted the deployment of the Guard to Washington, D.C., and cited it as a model for deploying to Kansas City. Such a deployment would hurt morale by forcing members of the Missouri National Guard to leave their homes, families and jobs for an unnecessary deployment. On the same day that Schmitt made his statement, Kehoe authorized the Missouri National Guard to assist Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.

Reservist standards same as full-time members

Members of the National Guard and other reservists go through the same basic training and advanced individual training courses as the full-time members of the military. Reservists wear the same uniform, abide by the same regulations, meet the same height-weight standards and must pass the same physical fitness test as full-time members of the military.

Hegseth wants to implement a single fitness test that all members of the military must pass regardless of gender, and force all members of the military must do physical training every day. That is unnecessary and inane.

Each branch of the military has a separate fitness test. All physical fitness standards are based on age and gender. The Army’s test requires a 17- to 21-year-old man to do 42 push-ups in two minutes, 53 sit-ups in two minutes and run two miles in 15 minutes, 54 seconds. By comparison, women in the same age group must do 19 push-ups, 53 sit-ups and do the run in 18 minutes, 54 seconds. A man in the 57-61 age group must do 18 push-ups, 26, sit-ups and run two miles in 20 minutes. Members of the military who are on a permanent or temporary medical profile may take an alternative fitness test.

One first wonders if those in the 57-to-61 age group will be required to do the same number of push-ups and sit-ups as a 21-year-old. Will those on a permanent medical profile because of suffering a service-related injury be allowed to perform an alternative test? Is it really necessary for a chaplain to pass the same test as an infantryman? Will the Army, Air Force and all other military branches have the same test and height-weight standards?

The new test requirements would also adversely affect commanders and likely result in widespread cheating. For example, take two captains in the army who each command a company of 150 men. Both are up for promotion to major. Capt. Able’s company has a 95% pass rate on the fitness test, while Capt. Beta’s company has a pass rate of 75%. I guarantee that by hook or crook, Capt. Beta’s pass rate will be 95% the next time the test is given. Those counting push-ups and sit-ups will assist a friend who cannot quite do enough to pass the test. Scales will be adjusted so some service members weigh less.

A beard does not make a soldier

Hegseth says he does not want to see a bunch of fat generals or members of the military with beards. Currently, soldiers can have a neatly trimmed mustache and those with medical proof they have a skin condition can have facial hair. Sikhs and other religious groups whose religion requires them to have facial hair can also get an exemption from the clean-shaven regulation. Are we really going to forcibly discharge competent, hardworking service members because they do not have a clean-shaven face because of their religious beliefs or medical condition? A clean-shaven soldier is not braver, more loyal to his or her country or a better fighter than one with facial hair.

These new regulations that Hegseth and Trump are imposing on the military would also make our military more male and less diverse. More important, their new regulations would eviscerate the military’s numbers by forcibly discharging thousands of service members, some of whom were wounded in combat and have served for years in the military and have not quite reached retirement age.

In particular, the reserve forces would be impacted adversely by these ridiculous new regulations. Army National Guard and Army Reserve soldiers, and all other reservists (yes, Mr. President, they are members of the military) must pass the physical fitness test twice a year. Yet reservists drill one weekend a month, which means they must do their fitness training on their own time and without pay.

With the new regulations — and Trump constantly deploying reservists on short notice — many brave American service members are going to question whether serving is worth the cost to them and their families.

Tom Arnhold of Olathe is a retired attorney, judge and a 24-year veteran of the Kansas Army National Guard, where he served as a JAG officer.