GOP platform calls for better military pay, less 'social experimentation'

Troops would see a boost in military benefits and end “social experimentation” in the ranks under the the Republican Party platform adopted at this week’s convention in Cleveland.

The document, drafted over the last few months by conservative leaders, isn’t an exact blueprint for Republican candidate Donald Trump’s potential presidency but does offer broad outlines for the party’s priorities in years to come.

That includes Trump’s often-repeated theme of “rebuilding the military” and bolstering national defense. The platform laments President Obama’s two terms in office as bringing a gradual decline in military readiness, and calls for more defense funding and focus.

It also calls for an increase in military end strength — in opposition to Pentagon plans to trim its overall personnel numbers by thousands of troops in coming years — and argues for better pay and benefits to maintain morale.

“Military families must be assured of the pay, health care, housing, education, and overall support they have earned,” the platform states. “In recent years, they have been carrying the burden of budgetary restraint more than any other Americans through cuts in their pay, health benefits, and retirement plans.

“About 75 percent of enlistees come from military families. We cannot expect that level of patriotic commitment to continue among young people who have experienced the way their families have been treated.”
Party leaders also support shifting more resources and responsibilities to the National Guard and reserves, arguing those troops can help alleviate some of the stress placed on the active-duty force by more than a decade of a wartime operational tempo.

The Republican platform includes language supporting “the advancement of women in the military” but also opposes their inclusion in ground combat units and any requirement that they register for a potential military draft.

Pentagon leaders opened up all combat jobs to women earlier this year, provided they can meet gender-neutral standards for the work.
Officials also included language opposing “the use of the military as a platform for social experimentation and will not accept attempts to undermine military priorities and mission readiness.” The document does not specify what that includes, but comes just weeks after Defense Secretary Ash Carter outlined plans for allowing the open service of transgender troops.

“We believe that our nation is most secure when the president and the administration prioritize readiness, recruitment, and retention rather than using the military to advance a social or political agenda,” it states. “Military readiness should not be sacrificed on the altar of political correctness.”

Party officials also call for an increase in the size of the Chaplain Corps and says a Republican president “will not tolerate attempts to ban Bibles or religious symbols from military facilities.”

The full document is available on the party’s website.


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Leo Shane III covers Congress, Veterans Affairs and the White House for Military Times. He can be reached at [login to see] .