In a letter sent to Austin on Friday, Cotton pressed the defense secretary on why the Pentagon is seeking to abandon the use of “himself” and “herself” in its Manual of Military Decorations and Awards to “describe heroic or distinguished actions” by military personnel. Rather than use grammatically accurate language to refer to the awarded individual, the manual will now allegedly employ the invented term “themself.”
“(Rank) First M. Last, Jr., United States (Military Service), distinguished themself by superior meritorious service in a position of significant responsibility as (position and duty assignment), from (month year) to (month year),” the new model language allegedly reads. …
“I also would welcome a reply that this whole episode was just a practical joke, or a decision you immediately reversed when it came to your attention,” Cotton wrote.
[It’s a joke, all right, but it’s a joke on Austin and the rest of the Pentagon’s panderers. And it’s a measure of how far we’ve fallen to cult-speak. — Ed]
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