Tag Archives: secretary of defense

Air Force Bans White, Hispanic, Asian Airmen from 33-Person Mission

At Robins AFB, Georgia, the US Air Force recently celebrated the progress of a merit-based military by selecting a 33-person flight crew based solely on the color of their skin [emphasis added]:

“We have finally been able to come together and fulfill an entire African American aircrew,” [Capt. Dewey McRae] said. “Taking that a step forward, we not only had enough people for the actual mission crew but were able to fill additional seats with instructors and evaluators, taking a full jet of African Americans to represent the combat Air Force.”

In their own words, they worked for “years” to create a mission that prohibited Airmen who weren’t African-American from being onboard — even to Read more

Mikey Weinstein Ties Capitol Riot to Military Christians

In his latest effort to ride the coat tails of trending news, Michael “Mikey” Weinstein contends he has warned for years about what led to the riot at the Capitol in early January.

In Weinstein’s words to the US Air Force Academy: “We told you so.”

We warned you that this radical, right-wing influence found not only at USAFA, but tolerated or even endorsed by senior officers throughout the Air Force, caused a toxic leadership environment and eroded unit cohesion, good order, morale, and discipline. We constantly worried and warned that these seemingly (to some) innocuous events would lead to embarrassment for our Air Force Academy or worse — and that’s exactly what’s happened.

As proof, Weinstein cited retired LtCol Larry Brock, who was prominently photographed in the Capitol building during the riot.

As with some of Weinstein’s prior claims of validation, however, this one also requires a time machine to be true. Brock graduated with the USAFA Class of 1989 – more than Read more

Former SecDef Explains Transgender Policy: We had no choice.

President Obama’s Secretary of Defense Ash Carter has been doing interviews to hawk his book, Inside the Five-Sided Box: Lessons from a Lifetime of Leadership in the Pentagon, and spoke with the Military Times in September. In the interview he explained away the complexities, morality, and responsibility of some of the key DoD decisions with the simple “we had no choice.”

On the continuing presence of US troops in Afghanistan [emphasis added]:

I really do believe we’ve been on the best course, and the only course available to us.

On integrating women in combat arms within the US military [emphasis added]:  Read more

US General: Transgender Delay is Due to Medical Issues, Science

Transgender activists were caught off guard on Tuesday when the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said the “delay” in transgenders being allowed to enter the US military wasn’t due to feelings, religion, or bigotry — but science and medicine.

Testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee for his reappointment as Vice Chairman, US Air Force Gen Paul Selva said [emphasis added]

Our decision to delay the accessions of transgender individuals into the services was largely based on a disagreement on the science of how mental health care and hormone therapy for transgender individuals would help solve the medical issues that are associated with gender dysphoria.

Read that carefully. Gen Selva said the current treatment for the medical condition currently called “gender dysphoria” not only isn’t settled, there’s disagreement that it even works.

(That comes as no surprise to transgender activists, Read more

Is the US Military Forgetting about Post Traumatic Growth?

A fascinating piece at the Australian military’s The Cove asks an important question: With all the focus on PTSD, are we forgetting post traumatic growth?

Highlighting only chronic illness amongst veterans however, risks creating an unhelpful sense of expectancy that illness will follow service…

This illness narrative does not align with the experiences of many veterans from both historic and contemporary operations, who have endured varying levels of trauma, but grew from these experiences.

Author Tim Robinson notes the idea has been around for awhile, and James Mattis — now Secretary of Defense for the US military — has proffered it as well: Read more

Cadet Cole Manders: I’m Successful Because I’m Gay

Last week the Foundation for Moral Law published a letter to Secretary of Defense James Mattis opposing the nomination of Col Kristin Goodwin as the next Commandant of Cadets at the US Air Force Academy:

“I oppose this nomination because Col. Goodwin does not set a proper moral example for youth…The person responsible for the education of cadets at the academy is a role model and an exemplar of proper deportment and conduct…

By nominating an open lesbian who proclaims that she is married to another woman, the Department of Defense states its disregard for the fundamental moral order established by God, thus breaking trust with the millions of Christians who voted for the new president in hope that the ungodly policies of the previous administration would be repudiated.

Elaine Donnelly, president of the Center for Military Readiness had previously made a similar objection.

In response, USAFA Public Affairs officer LtCol Allen Herritage said Read more

SecDef Nominee Gen James Mattis Reassures and Worries LGBT Advocates

Retired US Marine General James Mattis sat through hearings with the US Senate yesterday on the path to his confirmation as Secretary of Defense. Gen Mattis is hailed as a no-nonsense, non-political straight-talker, yet his answers to the Senate Armed Services Committee managed to create opposite reactions from allies in the homosexual movement.

Josh Israel at the left-leaning ThinkProgress declared “Defense nominee Mattis won’t say if women and LGBT people should be able to serve,” while the infamous Ashley Read more

Military Atheists, Sexual Activists Torn over Mattis as SecDef

Military and veteran atheists, transgenders, and homosexuals are in conflict over President-elect Donald Trump’s decision to nominate retired Gen James Mattis for Secretary of Defense.

Military atheists have been generally supportive of Gen Mattis, noting he was wildly popular as a leader and, speaking to their primary concern, never gave them reason to worry over issues of religion.  (As an example of the conduct that helped his subordinates respect him, consider how he reacted when his pilots landed at the wrong airport.)

This has put some atheists at odds with their sometimes allies in the LGBT movement, who see Mattis as a potential means for Trump to undo their “progress” over the past few years — though they can’t directly connect it to a religious issue over which to complain.

That said, Don Branum, a former US Air Force Academy Public Affairs staffer who has implied he was improperly treated for speaking his views against Christians, still managed to claim Mattis is  Read more

1 2 3