‘ Destructive and contentious,’ professor argues
Variety, equity and inclusion and critical race theory issues then pervade U. S. Armed Forces education courses and programs, according to recently published studies.
The Center for American Institutions report from Arizona State University recently detailed the breadth of DEI training offered in all branches of the military and defense academies, as well as highlighting the growing budget for La training.
At the West Point, for instance, students is minor in diversity and inclusion research, taking classes titled” Social Inequality” and” Power and Difference” as well as sessions focused on female and queer theory, the study found.
At the U. S. Air Force Academy, La training is required and includes issues such as Black Lives Matter, white weakness, and the 1619 project, the study found. In comparison, U. S. background is an optional elective.
” The study exposes critical issues within our military advanced. The U. S. government now has a well-developed, taxpayer-funded DEI government dedicated to rooting out ‘ white opportunity’ and white power, and that allows for ( and sometimes teaches ) the overt censure of the United States, its foundation, its members, and its founding documents, alleging that they are all rooted in systemic racism”, the study’s executive description reads.
The 41-page report, which is entitled” Civic Education in the Military,” is the pinnacle of the findings of Professor Donald Critchlow’s year-long study.
” I want to make it clear that DEI training is not your typical training for sensitivity in the workplace.” It is destructive and divisive”, Critchlow told The College Fix via email.
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He said students are told to report on their peers about any conversation deemed racist through so-called “eyes and ears” programs, adding these efforts “replace trust with suspicion” and undermine teamwork.
” Critical race theory is found in classroom instruction as well]as ] in cadet training. Marxism directly informs critical race theory. According to him, it asserts that white people enjoy privileges as a race because of the systematic racism that our Constitution and history contain.
The College Fix requested a comment, but the Defense Department did not.
The U. S. Navy also was found to have extensive DEI training and programming. ” Highlights include introduction to DEI 101, Unpacking Your Bias, Emotional Intelligence, and Psychological safety and DEI Observances”, the report states. The report also notes the Navy promoted a” sailor’s drag show aboard a warship”.
The U.S. Air Force advises including personal pronouns in email signatures as part of DEI training because it might affect whether someone leaves the organization.
” Traditionally, young people enlisted for many reasons, with a major one being patriotism – to protect the family, country, and faith. That patriotism, if held by a white male, now raises suspicions of white supremacy”, the report states.
According to the report, “only 100 members of the military were deemed extremists out of a force of 2.1 million,”” a search for white supremacists– seemingly the only extremists that interest the military” has failed. The problem is that Department of Defense officials have not issued a clear definition of what “extremism” is, and what “associations, expressions, and attitudes are prohibited”, it added.
Over the past few years, DEI training’s budget has also grown significantly.
” The DOD ‘s]Department of Defense ] allocation for DEI projects jumped from$ 68 million in fiscal year 2022 to$ 86.5 million in fiscal year 2023. The Pentagon is requesting$ 114.7 million for fiscal year 2024″, according to the report.
” However well-intended these mandates for DEI training, the ramifications of these programs pose long term consequences on multiple levels”, the report states. ” Most importantly, our soldiers, our sailors, our Marines, and airmen, as well as service academy cadets and midshipmen, are being indoctrinated into a belief that they should defend a nation that is racist, sexist, homophobic, and transphobic to its core”.
According to Critchlow, Congress can go after receiving DEI training in the military and our service institutions. Defunding them is the solution. Much more is at stake than in our universities”.
He contends in the report that” civil education programs that convey the strengths of our country, an appreciation of our nation’s founding principles, and professed ideals – achieved and aspirational” should be replaced by DEI programs.”
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IMAGE: United States Air Force Academy / X
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