On Monday (July 17) National Security Council communicator John Kirby was in a press conference and he got asked, why is the military policy on abortion critical to military readiness? The question came after some statements about Sen. Tuberville’s hold on military promotions. The senator’s protesting the military’s new policy to give free travel for people that need reproductive care to states where abortion’s legal.
Kirby’s answer was so great I wanted to diary it! And it’s totally off the cuff & totally sincere. Here’s video and transcript. (Answer starts round 40:40- thank you PaulaG.)
Q: The administration has been critical of Senator Tuberville with his holds on military promotions because of social policy and saying that he is harming military readiness. On the flipside of that impasse — and this is something that Republican lawmakers have raised — why is the new DOD policy on abortion critical to military readiness?
MR. KIRBY: I’m really glad you asked that question.
Q: (Inaudible.) (Laughs.)
MR. KIRBY: No, I mean, I really am.
One in five members of the U.S. military are women. Twenty percent. We’re an all-volunteer force. Nobody is forcing you to sign up and go. People volunteer to go. You raise your right hand and you say, “I’m going to do this for a few years or even for my life, and it might cost me my life to do it.”
And when you sign up and you make that contract, you have every right to expect that the organization — in this case, the military — is going to take care of you, and they’re going to take care of your families, and they’re going to make sure that you can serve with dignity and respect no matter who you are or who you love or how you worship or don’t.
And our policies — whether they’re diversity, inclusion, and equity; or whether they’re about transgender individuals who qualify physically and mentally to serve to be able to do it with dignity; or whether it’s about female servicemembers — one in five — or female family members being able to count on the kinds of healthcare and reproductive care specifically that they need to serve — that is a foundational, sacred obligation of military leaders across the river.
I’ve seen it myself. And it matters, because it says we’re invested in you because you are being willing to invest in us. You’re investing your life, your family’s livelihood with us. We owe you that back in return.
I had a chance a couple of weeks ago to meet with some military spouses here at the White House. Some were active-duty members. Some were spouses. All were women. And to a one, they told me that abortion laws in this country that are now being passed are absolutely having an effect on their willingness to continue serving in uniform or to encourage — or discourage, in this case — their spouses from continuing service.
So, if you don’t think there’s going to be a retention and a morale issue, think again. Because it’s already having that effect.
I have a son in the Navy — I think you all know that — and son-in-law, too. They’re both stationed down in Norfolk on destroyers. You know, they’re proud to keep serving their country in the Navy. But, you know, the Navy told them where to go. They go — you go where you’re told. That’s the way orders work. You go where you’re assigned; you don’t get to choose.
And so, what happens if you get assigned to a state like Alabama, which has a pretty restrictive abortion law in place, and you’re concerned about your reproductive care? What do you do? Do you say “no” and get out? Well, some people may decide to do that. And what does that mean? That means we lose talent — important talent.
And we’re, again, an all-volunteer force. Recruiting is tough enough as it is with a very strong economy out there. We want to keep the people that we get, and we want to — we want to make sure that they can continue to serve.
So, it can have an extremely, extremely significant impact on our recruiting and retention. Not to mention, it’s just the right darn thing to do for people that raise their hand and agree to serve in the military.