(MENAFN) The Pentagon has criticized Netflix for producing what it called “woke garbage” in response to the streaming platform’s latest show focusing on a gay man enlisting in the US Marines.

This series was released during an active campaign led by President Donald Trump and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth aimed at eradicating “woke culture” within the military ranks.

Kingsley Wilson, a spokeswoman for the US Department of War, told Entertainment Weekly that the Pentagon does not endorse Netflix’s “ideological agenda.”

She emphasized that the military remains committed to its principles and will not lower its standards, unlike Netflix, whose leadership she accused of consistently generating and promoting “woke garbage” to their viewers, including children.

Wilson further explained that the Pentagon is currently concentrating efforts on “restoring the warrior ethos.”

She stressed that military standards are “elite, uniform, and sex neutral,” emphasizing that the physical demands of carrying a rucksack or facing a human adversary are indifferent to gender or sexual orientation.

Last month, Secretary Hegseth introduced new military personnel requirements, mandating “male-level” fitness standards to prepare soldiers for “life and death” scenarios on the battlefield.

He asserted, “Standards must be uniform, gender-neutral, and high. If not, they’re not standards,” warning that any deviation from these criteria would endanger the lives of soldiers.

Earlier in February, the secretary of war dismissed the military’s motto “diversity is our strength” as the “dumbest” in its history. Meanwhile, the Pentagon has been struggling with recruitment shortages for several years.

A report published in June highlighted that 2023 saw the most significant recruitment deficit—15,000 fewer recruits—since the draft was abolished in 1973.

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