Starting at West Point, Kamala Harris says the military’s strength lies in diversity
Vice President Kamala Harris on Saturday became the first woman to address a graduating class at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, taking the opportunity to praise the diversity of the U.S. armed forces at a time of battle over military identity.
In an 18-minute speech, Ms. Harris noted that the country’s military had evolved over the past 75 years from an institution once dominated by white men to one more open to women and minority groups. While she didn’t mention the significance of her own historic performance, her presence at the mic on the field at New York’s West Point spoke for itself.
“To the class of 2023 and to all the cadets here today, you stand on the broad shoulders of generations of Americans who have worn the uniform, including many barrier breakers and pioneers,” Ms. Harris told the graduating cadets in their gray and white gala uniforms. “In fact, this year you are celebrating the 75th anniversary of the integration of women into the military, as well as the desegregation of our military.”
“These milestones are a reminder of a fundamental truth: Our military is strongest when it fully reflects the people of America,” she continued.
Her speech came at a time when the armed forces were trying to forge a new identity. Army bases in the South, named after Confederate generals, are being renamed, and President Biden last week ordered General Charles Q. Brown Jr. , meaning that for the first time the top civilian and uniformed leaders of the Pentagon will be black men.
Some conservatives, such as Senator Tommy Tuberville, Republican of Alabama, and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo have complained about what they call an “awakened army” that is too fixated on the narrow prisms of race and gender. Mr. Tuberville, who is holding back senior officer promotions over a new abortion policy at the Pentagon, said this month that the Biden administration’s efforts to promote diversity hurt recruiting and complained that Democrats are “attacking our military and saying we need to get rid of the white extremists, the white nationalists, people who don’t believe in our agenda.”
Ms. Harris made no direct reference to those complaints, although her defense of diversity in the ranks sounded like a rebuttal of sorts. Founded in 1802, West Point reflects the changes in the wider military. When the Class of 2023 entered four years ago, 23 percent were women and 34 percent members of minority groups.
West Point and the other service academies are traditionally addressed at the commencement by the President, the Vice President, or a senior military officer. Until Saturday, the Army’s premier educational institution had never had a woman as the keynote speaker at its graduation. Mr. Biden plans to address the start of the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs on Thursday, and Mr. Austin spoke at the start of the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, on Friday.
Much of Mrs. Harris’ speech contained the usual tributes to the graduates and warnings about the dangerous world they would face as newly commissioned officers.
“You graduate in a world that is becoming increasingly restless and where established principles are under threat,” she told them, referring to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and China’s aggressive actions in the Pacific, among other things.
“Our army is the strongest in the world,” she added. “Our military is a force that guarantees global stability and our national security. And it is this pillar of our strength that you cadets have committed yourselves to lead. Essential to our strength, then, is the role you will play in defending the highest ideals of our country.”