Feb. 5, 2026: “National Insecurity is Center Stage”
Don’t miss this week’s blog post by IP attorney, author and podcaster Timothy Trainer
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After a year of Trump II, there are so many ways in which this administration has demonstrated to us (U.S.) and the world its fragility, fears, and insecurities. What is astonishing is how much this administration fears the very things millions abroad viewed as our strengths.
A recent headline made by our Secretary of Cosmetics, sorry, Secretary of “War”, regarding his threats to the Scouts is a perfect example. A Washington Post headline on February 3, 2026, reads, “Pentagon warns Scouts to make ‘core value reforms’ or lose military support:” Pentagon warns Scouts to make ‘core value reforms’ or lose military support – The Washington Post. The Pentagon takes the view that the Scouts do not embrace core values and will not retain support from the military unless it implements core values.
Whose values? Is there some committee at the Pentagon that determines what constitutes “core values”? Is there a room full of generals who do this? Are core values determined by a group of angry old white males? Nothing in the article tells us this.
One suggestion is for the Secretary of Cosmetics to learn more about the people who serve in uniform. According to some of the most recent demographic information available, nearly a third of active-duty military personnel (32.5%) self-identify as a member of a racial minority group (Black or African American, Asian, American Indian or Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, Multi-racial, or Unknown): 2024 Demographic Profile Active-Duty Members.
Something else that might shock the faux macho man is that women now account for about 17.9% of all active-duty troops: 2024 Demographic Profile: Active-Duty Members.
In 1994, a female F-18 pilot became the first American woman to fly a combat mission: Meet the First American Women to Fly Combat Missions | Smithsonian Voices | National Air and Space Museum Smithsonian Magazine. Perhaps someone at the Pentagon should read bedtime military history stories to our Pentagon chief.
The Pentagon chief, given his narrow-minded approach, is likely ignorant of the fact that in 2017 the Department of Defense released a new table of “Faith and Belief Codes” listing over 200 denominations and religious groups. How the US military embraced America’s religious diversity. This development acknowledges how diverse the military active-duty community is regarding religious affiliation.
Before attacking the scouts, Hegseth should understand the core values that make the men and women in uniform strong as a fighting and defense force. He should spend more time understanding the demographics of those serving in uniform because those people who are serving are representing core values, not his shallow values.
The saddest thing about this “core values” talk from the Secretary of Cosmetics (War?) is that he deliberately ignores and overlooks the fact that DEI was, in many ways, led by the military even if it was involuntary at the beginning. The diversity and inclusiveness within the armed forces began decades before Hegseth took his first breath. His constant attack on DEI simply reflects his own insecurities and those of his ultimate boss. Having lived the military life and served on active duty before Hegseth took his first step, his so-called “core values” are not in keeping with the tradition of the military’s diversity and inclusiveness and is a betrayal of the military’s post-World War II history.
Timothy Trainer in Washington, DC. Photo by AnnaGibbs.com
About the Timothy Trainer: Writing books is a passion for attorney Timothy Trainer, who for more than three decades focused on intellectual property issues in his day job. He has worked in government agencies and in the private sector and his assignments have taken him to 60 countries around the world.
Tim found time to pen a few non-fiction tomes, including his first book, Customs Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights; the 15th edition was published in 2022. Thomson Reuters’ Aspatore Books published Tim’s next title in 2015, Potato Chips to Computer Chips: The War on Fake Stuff.
Fiction was a genre he always wanted to try. In 2019, Pendulum Over the Pacific, was released by Joshua Tree Publishing. “This political intrigue story is set in Tokyo and Washington, D.C., and centers on trade tensions between the U.S. and Japan in the late 1980s,” Tim explains.
In 2023, his first series hit bookstores: The China Connection.
In 2025, he published the sequel, The China Factor, which ranked #63 on the Amazon Asian Literature list in May.
Click here to learn about all of Tim’s books.
