Why Tulsi Gabbard Is The One To Fix The DNI

In the wake of 9/11, the decision was made to create a new position, the Director of National Intelligence (DNI). Amid strong indications that members of the Intelligence Community were not sharing information and working together, it was believed a single individual needed to be given the power to get them on the same sheet of music. It was intended that this individual, the DNI, would be supported by a small staff of probably no more than 100 people.

As is so often the case in Washington, it did not turn out that way. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) ballooned in size. There are now roughly 2000 people in the ODNI. That is salaried federal employees. No one can tell you how many contractors there are. A good guess would be another 2000.

The ODNI not only grew in size, it veered off into all sorts of unintended directions. In recent years one of its primary obsessions has been with DEI and the installation of what amount to commissars in all corners of the Intelligence Community. The final step into the theater of the absurd came when Avril Haines the former owner of a small Fells Point bookstore that specialized in readings of erotic literature, was named to be the Director of National Intelligence.

It is long past time to restore common sense to the ODNI and to remember what the DNI was supposed to do. Fortunately, the individual named by the President to hold this position, Tulsi Gabbard, seems well-suited to do both. Most bio’s of Gabbard key on her service in Congress and her decision to leave the Democratic Party. What they don’t talk about nearly enough is her own service down range and her commitment to America’s veterans.

In April 2003, Gabbard enlisted in the Hawaii Army National Guard. She was at the time already a serving member of the Hawaii House of Representatives. She did not step into some pre-arranged cushy staff job. She enlisted, and she went through basic training like everyone else without any of her drill sergeants even knowing who she was.

The next year, although she had filed to run for reelection, Gabbard volunteered for a 12-month deployment to Iraq with the Medical Company, 29th Support Battalion, 29th Infantry Brigade Combat Team. She pulled out of the race and stepped down from office to serve in a war zone. The Army sent her to Iraq where she served with Charlie Med at the Anaconda Logistical Support Area in Baghdad and earned the Combat Medical Badge.

In an interview later, Gabbard described her decision to go to Iraq this way:

“That summer, the Hawaii National Guard's 29th Brigade Combat Team was called up for a deployment to Iraq. I was in a headquarters medical unit and heard very quickly from my commander. He said, ‘Hey Tulsi. Good news. You don't have to deploy. You're not on the mandatory deployment roster because somebody else already filled the slot. So you get to stay home.’

I said, ‘No, I'm not staying home. That's crazy. There's no way that I'm going to stay back and watch all of you guys go and deploy to Iraq, while I sit here in this fancy office.’ We went back and forth, he pushed back a little bit, and I pushed back some more. He realized I wasn’t budging. They had a different job in the medical unit that needed to be filled, so I volunteered and took it. I withdrew from my reelection campaign and went to our pre-deployment training at Fort Bliss, Camp McGregor, and Dona Ana, for all the training cycles. We trained there for a few months, then deployed to Iraq for a year after that.”

After returning from Iraq in March 2007, Gabbard graduated at the top of her class from the Accelerated Officer Candidate School at the Alabama Military Academy—the first woman to do so. She was commissioned as a second Lieutenant and then returned to her National Guard unit as a Military Police officer. She then volunteered to return to the Middle East.

She served in Kuwait from 2008 to 2009. She worked closely with the Kuwaiti military and was given an award by them on her departure.

Following her return from Kuwait Gabbard continued to serve in the Hawaii National Guard and was promoted to Major on October 12, 2015. In 2020 she transferred from the National Guard to the U.S. Army Reserve. She was assigned to a California-based unit in the United States Army Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations Command (Airborne). Gabbard was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel on July 4, 2021. As a Civil Affairs officer, Gabbard deployed to the Horn of Africa as part of a Special Operations mission.

When asked to explain the impact her service in the Army has had on her view of conflict and national defense Gabbard had this to say.

“When it comes to war, just from my own personal experiences, coupled with a study of history, I'm asking very simple but important questions… What is our objective? What are we trying to accomplish? Can we ensure that objective serves the best interests of the United States and the American people? Unfortunately, again, we have leaders who don't know history, who are not interested in learning from it, who are not motivated by a desire to truly be of service — and these are the people making decisions about foreign policy, about peace and war, and about our men and women in uniform. We could speak for hours about different examples… Afghanistan. Regime-change in Iraq. Regime-change in Syria. There are so many different examples that you and I and our peers have lived through. And, frankly, our friends who have not lived through these wars. Look at how our policy leaders and even some of our military leaders have devastatingly failed us and failed the country.”

Donald Trump has made clear that he is committed to a strong defense. He has also made clear that he is done with unnecessary wars. He understands the human cost we pay. He understands the national security establishment is supposed to serve the American people and that for too long it has not done so. He knows that the agencies that are supposed to serve the American people are increasingly run by people who have never themselves been in harm’s way or heard a shot fired in anger. He knows that needs to change.

“We will clean out all of the corrupt actors in our national security and intelligence apparatus, and there are plenty of them,” Trump said in 2023 while laying out his priorities for a second term. “The departments and agencies that have been weaponized will be completely overhauled.”

Donald Trump

Tulsi understands what our national security agencies are supposed to do, not in some abstract way but in the way only those who have been on the ground in the middle of a war do. The DNI was supposed to keep Americans safe in their beds at night. Tulsi remembers that, and for that reason above all others, she is the one to fix the DNI.