The United States Air Force Academy is going “woke” in the way they are teaching their cadets. There are now lessons on building an “inclusive climate” that includes “all genders,” with guidance focusing on diversity, equity, and inclusive language.
That doesn’t sound all that bad until you discover that some of the language that they no longer use includes words like “terrorist,” “mom,” and “dad.”
Fox News reported on the presentation that began last September at the Air Force Academy in Colorado. It is titled: “Diversity & Inclusion: What It Is, Why We Care, & What We Can Do.”
The course of study focuses on diversity, inclusion, stereotypes, bias, and micro-aggressions. The seminar tells cadets to ask themselves, “What can I do to foster inclusion?”
The presentation states: “DEI conversations are often not easy; we will navigate the discomfort together.”
“A diverse and inclusive force is a war-fighting imperative,” the presentation declares.
The Academy defines diversity as “protected categories,” such as “race, ethnicity, nationality, color, religion (or lack thereof), sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, and pregnancy status.”
The U.S. Air Force Academy teaches cadets to only use “person-centered” language and words that “include all genders.” The presentation urges cadets not to use gendered terms such as “mom,” “dad,” “girlfriend,” and “boyfriend.”
A spokesperson for the Air Force told the Washington Free Beacon, “As part of the Diversity & Inclusion Cadet Leadership Program, this conversation was developed by cadet leaders and USAFA staff to introduce all cadets to Department of the Air Force definitions of diversity and inclusion, as well as how these concepts enhance our warfighting effectiveness.”
“USAFA develops leaders of character that can lead diverse teams of Airmen and Guardians inclusively, to enhance innovation and win future conflict,” the spokesperson continued. “It is the diversity of Airmen and Guardians coming from all corners of our nation who perform the Department of the Air Force’s hundreds of critical mission sets that make us the best, most innovative Air and Space Forces the world has ever known.”
Republican Senator Tom Cotton from Arkansas took issue with this new teaching. He told Fox News, “Young kids don’t join the military to learn how to use the right pronouns. They join the military to learn how to kill the bad guys and defend this country.”
“And if the Biden administration wants to know why recruiting numbers have collapsed, why we have a recruiting crisis, they just need to look at their own policies,” Cotton proclaimed. “The recruiting crisis is very dangerous for our country, and it will be dangerous for many years to come if we don’t turn it around quickly.”
Cotton wasn’t finished, “We need to turn the page at the Pentagon and make it clear to America’s young men and women that we want them to join the military because we want them to defend this country, not go to social justice training seminars.”
