By Linda L. Austin | Coronado Eagle & Journal

The Calvert Task Group website leads with a picture of the group’s book, “Don’t Give up the Ship,” and accompanying words: SAY GOODBYE TO DEI IN THE MILITARY. RETURN TO MERITOCRACY!

The book’s title interweaves a subtitle: “Woke Politics Are Endangering Our Military And Our Nation.” The content of the book is defined on the cover with no hesitation.

The short essays explain the backgrounds and beliefs of the authors and highlight various aspects of concern for the military and the nation, warning citizens to become involved.

The website states, “The Calvert Task Group’s mission is to support and defend the Constitution of the United States, the Navy and Marine Corps, and the United States Naval Academy. We affirm the Navy’s traditional values of honor, courage, and commitment, and that are now under threat.”

The Calvert Task Group (CTG) came together in 2020 after the 1969 class of Naval Academy graduates had celebrated their 50th anniversary.

The book’s Introduction states, “Their conversations had turned from enjoying their retirement years to a genuine concern for what appeared to be a real erosion of values of the institution of the Naval Academy and its mission to develop the leaders of tomorrow.”

The consensus was that the vocal minority was creating a situation where “hate, division, and disruption” were overpowering the traditional beliefs of faith, family, and country and were espousing a policy of divisiveness with their defund the police, all whites are racists, and racial diversity with no concern for excellence, all of which was leading to a destruction of military readiness and a disregard for the military missions.

The 17 authors include 12 Naval Academy graduates, 2 Air Force Academy graduates, and three graduates with military backgrounds from other U.S. colleges.

The intent of the book is to create an atmosphere of awareness and to focus on the direction the country is headed in with the hope that the reader will take a stand and be involved in reversing the course.

An excerpt from “The Boat School Boys” by Richard A. Stratton asserts that the Academy graduate

“is a citizen, a person formed in the heroic mold, who we hope will never have to be a hero but who we are confident has the fortitude to go into harm’s way to protect the republic. The product is the person who will do the right thing for no other reason than it is the right thing to do.”

The Academy standards are stressed in the Oath and the Reef Points essays. Reef Points, a small booklet the plebe, the first-year student, always carries with him, has sections to memorize and be ready to quote to an upperclassman.

The Starting Point essay states, “The oath of office that we took is a requirement stated in the Constitution and says that we swear to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.”

CTG feels that the Constitution, nation, and Armed Forces are being challenged.

Reef Points chapter continues,

“…who of us would have thought that we would be in the midst of a new kind of warfare? Who of us could have envisioned the omnipresent dangers inherent in the viruses of Critical Race Theory, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Black Lives Matter, and specious allegations of endemic white supremacy which are infecting our culture?”

The method of warfare for CTG may have changed to a war of words and thoughts.

Long-time Coronado resident John Bowen (CHS ‘64), one of 17 essayists, is quick to point out he contributed only one of the 63 essays. With the title of his essay “Goodbye DEI, Welcome Back MEI,” he explains MEI stands for Merit, Excellence, and Intelligence, character traits traditionally admired in our society, the military, and the Naval Academy.

DEI represents Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, which promotes hiring a diverse population instead of hiring for competence and merit.

Bowen’s essay states. “We are now able to see the pendulum beginning to swing away from DEI in the business world as company managements have come under pressure from stakeholders to abandon the senseless push for diversity at the expense of performance and profitability.”

Bowen, in an interview, said, “We’ve got a guy who’s got a federal holiday named after him, Martin Luther King. I Have a Dream speech 1963: ‘I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.’ With that quote, we got a day off In January every year to honor him, so… what I mean is that either MLK did he get it wrong? Is that what you’re saying? He either got it right, or he got it wrong. Well, we believe he got it right, and that’s why there’s a federal holiday after him.”

The book is dedicated to Abraham Lincoln, with his words at the beginning of the book. “We the people are the Masters of both the Congress and the Courts, not to overthrow the Constitution, but to overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution.”

Bowen quotes that in his essay to end the book. The essays point to hope and a vision for the future, that people will become aware that meritocracy will promote a stronger nation with strong leadership.

“Don’t Give Up the Ship” may be purchased from Amazon, and it is also available in the Coronado Library. The Calvert Task Group is open to Service Academy graduates and anyone who is interested and supports their mission.

First published in the Coronado Eagle & Journal