The Department of Defense (DOD), is asking thousands of active-duty military personnel and civilian DOD employees if they have sufficient information about climate change to perform their jobs effectively. They also want to know where they get their climate data.

These and other questions were asked by the Pentagon as part of its 2022 Climate Literacy Pulse Check, according to Fox News Digital.

DOD sent the questions to thousands of people. It described it as a voluntary, short poll to assess whether the department was able to maintain U.S. security in the face of changing climate conditions.

Cmdr. Fox News Digital spoke with Nicole Schwegman, a spokesperson for the Pentagon. The Pentagon refused to disclose the number of service members who were sent the questionnaire.

“To ensure that the United States Armed Forces retain their warfighting edge and continue to be the world’s most deadly and capable fighting force, The Department of Defense collaborated with the Office of Management and Budget in crafting a brief, anonymous, at-will questionnaire (not a survey) to assess the extent to which the DOD workforce believes it is capable of executing the mission in a changing environment,” she said.

Rep. Mike Rogers, the top Republican in the House Armed Services Committee, disagreed. He said that the poll by DOD was a distraction from core mission of U.S Armed Forces.

In a statement to Fox News Digital, he stated that “The Department of Defense shouldn’t be wasting our servicemembers’ time with surveys about climate change.” “The military shouldn’t be distracted from its mission to maintain the most capable and lethal force in the world.”

The poll asks questions that aim to understand how climate change affects respondents’ work, and what respondents know about climate change.

Questionnaire asked respondents whether climate change would affect their work or organization’s mission, and whether they were “incorporating climate change considerations into their regular responsibilities.”

The program then asked several questions about their source of climate change information. It asked if they have the “right amount of knowledge/information on climate change” needed to perform their jobs, and it then asked where they go to learn more.

The internet is one possible answer to the last question. If that answer is chosen, the survey asks respondents to name specific websites. You can also choose to receive research reports from think tanks or other educational materials.

Another question is designed to ask respondents what additional information about “climate security” they would find helpful in their work. There are many options for responses, such as basic climate information, effects of climate change on military infrastructure, public health, energy efficiency, and changes in contracting requirements to account greenhouse gases.

The questionnaire asked about the respondents’ education level and their training, including briefings and work experience in planning and designing for climate change.

It stated that all data would be reported in aggregate and used to inform DOD education efforts and training efforts.