Rep. Barry Moore, R-Ala., told Newsmax on Thursday he is hoping Air Force Gen. Charles "CQ" Brown, President Joe Biden's nominee to replace Army Gen. Mark Milley as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will take the military in a better direction than under Milley's leadership.
"We've been struggling under the previous command leadership and just hitting our recruitment goals," Moore, a member of the House Judiciary and Agriculture committees, told "American Agenda."
"It's important that we have leadership that shows that they really are for the soldiers, are supporting soldiers' rights. And we've got to quit going woke because that breaks everything it touches, and the military needs to focus on fighting and defending, doing the job that they're called to do."
Milley, appointed by former President Donald Trump, had a controversial four-year term as the top military adviser to the president. He and Trump sparred over the use of the military to quell the riots sparked by the death of George Floyd in 2020.
There also was a COVID-19 vaccine mandate that led to the discharge of thousands of military members who refused to comply, plus the chaotic withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, and the military's lurch toward a woke mentality.
"I think [Milley] made the [military] too political," Moore said. "We need people in positions based on job performance and not pronouns, and I hope that this general will take leadership, like the president himself said, to be courageous to do the tough thing.
"That doesn't always mean going along with the administration. It means speaking of what you believe is right for your men. It makes sure that you have a force that's ready to fight and do the job."
Moore said one of the first things Brown should do is advocate for reimbursing military members who were forced out for not following the COVID-19 vaccine mandate and reimbursing their pay.
"Mistakes were made in the last few months and maybe even years under this administration [that] have certainly hurt our ability to recruit young people," Moore said.
"If we're going to lead from the top, we need to listen to those people down through the ranks who have been in the military, who know what it's all about, and not work the chain up. But look down and get information from people below you rather than just trying to go along with the administration, who really are not always qualified to make these decisions."
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