Pentagon distributes 'climate literacy' questionnaire to service members, civilian employees

The Defense Department is asking active-duty service members and civilian employees about where they receive their climate news and whether they know enough about climate change to do their jobs properly.

The agency sent out its "2022 Climate Literacy Pulse Check" questionnaire to thousands of people, Fox News reported on Tuesday.

"As we train and educate our service members to fight and prevail against our adversaries, so too must we ensure our service members have the knowledge to ensure mission success in the face of a changing climate," Pentagon spokesperson Cmdr. Nicole Schwegman said. The department declined to state how many personnel received the questionnaire. 

Schwegman said the questionnaire was "not a survey" and it was "fully anonymous" and could be answered "at-will."

Alabama Rep. Mike Rogers, the top Republican on the House Armed Services Committee, said: "The Department of Defense should not be wasting our service members’ time with surveys on climate change. ... The military should not be distracted from its mission of maintaining the most lethal and capable force in the world."