Forced LGBT Armed Forces Day

Wear purple soldier! Wear it Purple Day, as you can probably guess, is an annual LGBTIQA+ awareness day based in Australia. Supporters wore purple on Friday 25 August to celebrate diversity and the LGBT+ community. Typically, Australian Defence Force personnel, who come from all walks of life, wear military uniform when on duty. I don’t think that’s controversial nor surprising. However, according to ABC News, on Wear it Purple Day, Australian Defence Force Academy recruits were banned form wearing uniform as that would be seen as some sort of protest against the LGBT community. Yes, this is modern-day Australia where soldiers aren’t even allowed to wear uniform.

An instruction purportedly sent to ADFA cadets on Wednesday, and seen by the ABC, states: “Please remember it is Wear It Purple Day tomorrow and the dress is civilian attire. No one is to wear uniform! Please ensure personnel remember this as wearing of uniform tomorrow will be seen as an active protest against LGBTQIA+, which is not in line with Defence policy. Additionally, anyone in uniform will be required to explain why they have chosen to disobey a direct command from the Commanding Officer. Guidance from the executive officer is that wearing uniform will be considered a protest against Wear it Purple Day, which does not align with the ADF value of respect. You are very welcome to wear civvies with absolutely no purple if you wish! This will be viewed as a neutral stance rather than an active protest and that is absolutely okay. One current ADFA member said that wearing civilian attire is virtually never permitted while studying at the officer training establishment. Some students have complained that they felt pressured to wear purple clothing on Friday.

Shadow Defence Minister Andrew Hastie, a former military officer who also graduated from the academy, stated, “The ADF leadership should only be insisting on adherence to its values: service, courage, respect, integrity and excellence. To go beyond those values and ram home a political agenda — as they have with Wear it Purple Day — is to trample on our diggers and their freedom of conscience. That is not the spirit of ANZAC: it is coercive behaviour, and it is unacceptable.”

In 2021, then Defence Minister Peter Dutton outlawed the ADF from holding LGBTI events, however, one year later in 2022, the new Defence Minister and Deputy Prime Minister in the Albanese government, Richard Marles, ordered that the directive be reversed and the ADF are now free to fly the rainbow flag once again.

Now, one year on, ADF Academy recruits are being ordered to not wear uniform and pressured to participate in LGBT activities that they do not wish to participate in. Is this inclusion, or is this coercion?

ADF ACADEMY CADETS CLAIM THEY WERE PRESSURED TO REMOVE UNIFORMS FOR WEAR IT PURPLE DAY
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-08-27/adf-academy-cadets-claim-they-were-pressured-to-remove-uniforms/102780562

DEFENCE DECLARES WAR ON POLITICAL CORRECTNESS, BANS MORNING TEAS AIMED AT PROMOTING INCLUSION AND DIVERSITY
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-05-21/defence-chief-angus-campbell-political-correctness-morning-teas/100156436

PETER DUTTON’S BAN ON ‘WOKE’ DEFENCE EVENTS OVERTURNED
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-08-23/woke-defence-morning-tea-ban-overturned/101362596

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