[Wash Times] When you want to take a country down, the first thing you do is weaken its military. That's why "sequestration" turned out to be the perfect storm for the Obama administration. It provided the legal basis -- actually, an excuse, as in "the budget made me do it" -- for the unilateral disarmament of our military forces. Consequently, our forces have been degraded to levels not seen since prior to World War II, and in the Navy's case, not since before World War I. It should be remembered that sequestration was an Obama administration initiative.
Compounding this disastrous situation, with all the instability and challenges we face throughout the world, our once-proud and uncontested military forces have also been subjected to debilitating social engineering directives. This is being done under the mantle of "diversity." These include the removal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"; forcing women into all combat roles, including our Special Forces and Navy SEALs; and the integration of "transgender" personnel into the military. None of these directives enhance readiness or capability. Of course, the restricted Rules of Engagement our soldiers are forced to observe is another factor leading to the destruction of our military capability and effectiveness, as well as adding to the unnecessary loss of military lives.
The net effect has been to not only undermine the moral fiber of our military, but to adversely affect unit integrity, cohesiveness and most importantly, the "will to win." We most recently saw an example of this with the capture of our two 47-foot heavily armed Riverine Command Boats in the Persian Gulf on Jan. 12 by two lightly armed Iranian center console craft. "Humiliation" describes it best. This was the darkest day for the U.S. Navy since the North Korean capture of the USS Pueblo.
Another directive that will adversely affect combat readiness and effectiveness is the recent Executive Order 13653, which directs all government agencies, including the Department of Defense, to prepare for the "impacts of climatic change." The department last issued a broad directive on climate change in July 2015. President Obama has once again declared that climate change is our No. 1 national security threat. There is no doubt Russia, China, Iran and ISIS will certainly reinforce that view.
Consequently, the Pentagon has ordered all commanders down to the tactical unit level to incorporate "climate change" into every aspect of military operations, including combat, intelligence and surveillance, exercises, testing, procurement and whole hosts of other related areas, which are ill-defined. Mind-boggling.
The undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics wrote the directive, which was approved by the Deputy Secretary of Defense Robert O. Work. It is understood that this directive provides numerous orders to service secretaries and the Joint Chiefs of Staff on how the strategy to counter climate change is to be incorporated into current war plans, operational plans and operation orders. What the secretary should have already known is that our operational planners always factor in climate and prevailing seasonal weather conditions, including all aspects of terrain. The single objective is winning -- not satisfying some faculty-lounge, ill-conceived logic on debatable climate change. 
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