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up front Monday 13 February 2023
Army sees safety, not ‘wokeness,’ as top recruiting obstacle

Continued from Front left takes away from the
Pentagon’s core missions,
The Army fell about 15,000 weakens the military and
soldiers, or 25%, short of its turns off recruits.
60,000 recruitment goal last But the Army says that on
year, when all the branch- average, only 5% of the
es struggled to meet re- respondents in the surveys
cruiting goals. listed “wokeness” as an is-
Army Secretary Christine sue, compared with 13%
Wormuth said the Army who say they believe that
has set a difficult goal for women and minorities will
this year: aiming to bring face discrimination and not
in 65,000 recruits, which get the same opportunities.
would be 20,000 more than Wormuth said the survey
in 2022. It’s difficult to pre- data is a tool to “assuage
dict how it will go, she said, the concerns that some
adding that recruiters need may have, whether influ-
to do all they can to sur- encers or members of Con-
pass last year’s numbers. gress, about wokeness or
“I would say it is a stretch the vaccine mandate —
goal,” she said. which is now rescinded —
Wormuth said she and and show they are not, by
Gen. James McConville, any means, primary drivers
the Army’s chief of staff, Army Secretary Christine Wormuth, testifies before a Senate Armed Services Committee on May of the recruiting challenges
believed they needed to 5, 2022, on Capitol Hill in Washington. Associated Press we’re experiencing.”
set a big goal. She said the information
“I think we are seeing some from the surveys also pro-
forward momentum. But it ings with The Associated say they are deterred from woke agenda that is driving vides insight on how the
is still too early to tell where Press but declined to pro- enlisting due to “wokeness.” down military recruitment Army needs to better ex-
we will likely land at the end vide detailed methodolo- In fact, concerns about dis- and retention” will be a top plain its benefits.
of this fiscal year. I know we gy, saying the surveys were crimination against women priority for him this year. His Fink, the Army’s marketing
will do better than we did done by a private research and minorities is seen as a spokesman, Buckley Carl- head, said the top three
last year,” she said. contractor and that licens- bigger issue, along with a son, said combating “wo- reasons young people cite
Guiding the Army’s efforts ing agreements limited more general distrust of the keness” at the Defense De- for rejecting military enlist-
are surveys intended to the public release of some military. partment will be a key issue ment are the same across
help pinpoint why young data collection details. Republicans in Congress, for the congressman. all the services: fear of
people dismiss the Army as Officials said that based on including Rep. Jim Banks, Banks and others have death, worries about post-
a career. the surveys, young people chairman of the House complained about the traumatic stress disorder
Those surveys were con- simply do not see the Army Armed Services subcom- Pentagon’s efforts to target and leaving friends and
ducted over four months as a safe place or good mittee on military person- extremism in the military, family — in that order. He
last spring and summer. career path, and believe nel, have pledged to tar- provide courses in critical said the Army wanted a
They involved about 600 they would have to put get “wokeness” this year. race theory and other ef- better understanding of
respondents, ages 16 to their lives and careers on Banks, R-Ind., has said “ex- forts to expand diversity. any additional barriers to
28, per month. The Army hold if they enlisted. posing and dismantling They say focusing on par- service, beyond those top
discussed the general find- Army leaders said very few the Biden administration’s tisan issues pushed by the three.q

AP source: Trump team turns over items

marked as classified

By ERIC TUCKER ing investigation. It was not are investigating whether
Associated Press immediately clear what Trump willfully hoarded the
WASHINGTON (AP) — Law- material was supposed to material and whether he or
yers for former President have been in the folder. anyone else sought to ob-
Donald Trump have in re- A Justice Department spe- struct their probe, court fil-
cent months voluntarily cial counsel has been in- ings show.
turned over to federal in- vestigating the retention by ABC News first reported the
vestigators additional pa- Trump of hundreds of docu- discovery of the additional
pers marked as classified as ments marked as classified documents.
well as a laptop belonging at his Florida estate, Mar- The person familiar with
to a Trump aide, a person a-Lago. FBI agents who the matter said a hand- This image contained in a court filing by the Department of
familiar with the situation served a search warrant at ful of pages with classified Justice on Aug. 30, 2022, and partially redacted by the source,
said Friday night. the property in August re- markings were found dur- shows a photo of documents seized during the Aug. 8 FBI search
The legal team also pro- covered roughly 100 clas- ing a search weeks ago at of former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate.
vided an empty folder with sified documents, includ- the Mar-a-Lago complex Associated Press
classified markings, ac- ing records classified at the that was supervised by
cording to the person, who top-secret level. A federal the Trump legal team, and in a box containing thou- to search for any other
spoke on condition of ano- grand jury has been hear- were promptly provided to sands of pages, the person classified documents that
nymity to The Associated ing evidence in the case the Justice Department. said. The Trump legal team had not yet been recov-
Press to discuss an ongo- for months. Prosecutors The documents were found had enlisted investigators ered by the government.q