THIS divisive wokery has been creeping into our Armed Forces for years.
When I left in 1987, we had an army twice its current size and free of diversity, inclusion and gender issues.
Your race, colour, gender, sexual orientation or any of a myriad other distinctions were irrelevant.
It’s whether you could do the job that mattered.
What drove our military, including friends of mine, to retake the Falklands in 1982 was the knowledge that those beside them would not flinch in the face of real adversity.
It’s called camaraderie and nothing to do with this new and worrying culture that is, without doubt, affecting morale.
As a member of the Defence Committee, I have seen this first-hand.
So, why splinter an essential bond, creating division where there is none?
With this is mind, therefore, I was not surprised at the Daily Telegraph’s scoop this week that there are no fewer than 93 diversity networks in the MoD.
This revelation came only a week after the Committee had published its report: Ready for War?
The short answer is, we are not.
Not only do we have a shortage of personnel, but more are leaving than joining, and who can blame them.
There are countless reasons, but this crushing of individuality, banter and, ultimately, belief in King and country, is definitely one of them.
Where all this has come from is quite hard to pinpoint.
But some very senior officers have been aware of this plague and done nothing about it.
No doubt, some feared a backlash, loss of seniority or worse.
If you recall, only last year the RAF was accused of discriminating against more than 150 white men in order to meet its “aspirational diversity targets”.
The Defence Secretary has promised a review and not before time.