A voice that lived through Marxism can strip away illusions in seconds. STARRS & Stripes host Commander Al Palmer, USN ret, sits down with Mihaela Fletcher—born in Romania and grew up under communist dictatorship driven by Marxist ideology fully indoctrinated throughout the country.

Mihaela unpacks how grand promises of equality under communism curdled into scarcity, fear, and silence. From ration books and surveillance to Ceausescu’s cult of personality and a violent regime collapse, her story reveals what enforced ideology looks like on the ground.
Mihaela expected better when she became a Romanian diplomat at the UN, but found the same familiar communist patterns: a scandal-ridden aid machine that failed the people it claimed to serve. Declared persona non grata after getting engaged to a U.S. officer, she moved to America and started over—earning advanced nursing degrees and rediscovering freedom through competence, accountability, and service. That’s where our conversation turns homeward: school grade inflation, lowered admissions bars, and administrative policies that pressure faculty while pushing ideological litmus tests. In healthcare and the military, diluted standards aren’t abstract; they put patients and missions at risk.
We connect her lived experience to the stakes inside our armed forces. Integrity, service before self, and excellence are more than mottos when bullets fly. With a military veteran husband and a son at a service academy, she’s clear about what keeps warriors ready—merit, discipline, and truth. We talk about shielding academies from ideological capture, defending rigorous selection and training, and building environments where every cadet can grow in merit and excellence without demeaning quotas based on divisive identities.
Too many young people today who never lived during the Cold War nor were taught about it have gravitated towards communist ideology (see NYC) out of ignorance and naivety. Share this episode with them and tell them about our nation's fight against Marxist ideology worldview during the Cold War and how to recognize the Marxist push to destroy our country.

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For more information about STARRS, go to our website: https://starrs.us which works to eliminate the divisive Marxist-based CRT/DEI/Woke agenda in the Department of Defense and to promote the return to a warfighter ethos of meritocracy, lethality, readiness, accountability, standards and excellence in the military.
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