US Marine Corps Embroiled by Culture War

By Anthony Barone

The culture war has touched the United States Marine Corps after Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) has blocked over 250 fast tracked military promotions in the Senate. One of the most controversial is the refusal to name a new Marine Commandant in the wake of Gen. David Berger putting in his retirement. Senator Tuberville is refusing to find a new Commandant, as well as move the 250 promotions through, in protest over the Pentagon’s abortion policy. The Pentagon’s post Dobbs abortion policy pays for the travel and time off needed to procure an abortion if the soldier in question is stationed in a state that restricts or bans the procedure.

Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Mark Milley and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin have said such a decision is disastrous for the Military. Defense Secretary Austin said of the delay caused by this protest “Smooth and timely transitions of confirmed leadership are central to the defense of the United States and to the full strength of the most powerful fighting force in history.” Tuberville reaffirmed his stances in a statement “The burden is on the administration to stop breaking the law. I will keep my hold, I will keep it on, until the Pentagon follows the law or changes the law. It’s that simple. Those are the two conditions that would get me to drop the hold. So, until these conditions…