Ron DeSantis Reflects on His Navy Career and Cautions about the Changing Nature of the Military

During an appearance on ‘Fox & Friends’ on Memorial Day, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis highlighted the urgent necessity to restore morale in the U.S. military, citing the increasing influence of leftist policies and ideologies.

DeSantis outlined his proposed plan to bring about change if he were to win the presidential election in 2024, emphasizing that the current state of the military differs significantly from when he served.

“I see a lot of emphasis now on political ideologies, things like gender pronouns. I see a lot about things like [diversity, equity and inclusion]. And I think that that’s caused recruiting to plummet,” he explained. “I think it’s driven off a lot of warriors, and I think morale is low.”

In 2004, DeSantis enlisted in the United States Navy and rose to the rank of lieutenant. Throughout his military service, he was stationed in Guantanamo and Iraq. Following his active duty, DeSantis worked as a special assistant U.S. attorney in Florida until 2010. He continued to serve in the U.S. Navy Reserve until 2019.

“The military I see is different from the military I served in,” he explained. 

DeSantis expressed his intention to introduce a program aimed at addressing the challenges posed by China. However, he emphasized that the top priority at present is to enhance recruitment efforts and restore trust in the institution.

“Why would you have wanted to join the Marine Corps back in the day? Why did everybody else who joined the Army?” he asked. “I remember being in Iraq, and we were in Fallujah, and it was not going well. And yet people were still willing to sign up knowing they’d get sent to Iraq because they believed that this was something special.”

“I think we’ve lost that a little bit.” 

If elected, the candidate for the 2024 presidential election vowed to implement significant reforms right from the start of his term.

During the weekend, DeSantis convened with families who were affected by the events of 9/11. He conveyed that they expressed ongoing frustrations and a persistent yearning for justice even after more than two decades have passed since the attacks.

“They’ve been made promises in the past about getting help, and then basically some of our elected leaders have reneged on those promises. And so I think that they’ve been punched in the gut a number of times,” he said. 

Despite being in Florida and having no direct ties to New York City, DeSantis revealed that his own military career was motivated by the events of 9/11.

“It had a profound effect on our country,” he said. “Obviously, to see that right there, the raw emotions from people that were directly impacted was very, very powerful. And it moved my wife and I very much.”