Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) is demanding that the United States Air Force take action to halt its “woke” diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility plan.
On Tuesday, Gaetz wrote a letter to Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall, accusing him of prioritizing DEI initiatives over national security. He contrasted recruiting figures under the Trump administration with those under the Biden administration, which has put an emphasis on DEI initiatives.
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“Under former President Donald Trump’s 2020-21 recruiting policies, the [Department of the Air Force] hit its staffing and recruiting goal. Contrast that with last year under the Biden Administration, where the Army, Navy, and Air Force fell short of their recruiting goals,” Gaetz wrote.
“The DAF is a key contributor to the misapplication of defense priorities, with DEI memoranda that send command signals to recruit a certain number of Americans based on superficial characteristics, like race or sex. According to your memo, the DAF sought to recruit in FY 2022 8.5% black men, 4.5% black females, 6.5% Asian men, and 0.5% Native-American females.”
“Unfortunately, the recruiting numbers would suggest a failure of DEI and social-experimentation programs,” he continued. “Your policies have resulted in numerous recruiting shortfalls of a historic manner; for example, the recruiting numbers from FY 20224 and FY 2023, were some of the weakest recruiting numbers in the history of the DAF. Additionally, the public has observed the politicization of the DAF, resulting in waning public sentiment and trust in the military as an institution.”
The Florida Republican pointed out that in the 18-page, 5,500-word DEIA policy document, “combat” was only referenced once, while “national security” and “merit” didn’t receive any mentions.
Gaetz concluded by requesting that the Air Force “step back and reflect on the current state of the DAF” and terminate the DEIA working group.
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“Please do not just rely on the standard DoD echo chamber that will reaffirm the status quo. Rather, please take this moment to steer the DAF back toward an America-first outlook that removes the social-experiment element from the DAF and reorients the team toward addressing the threats of our near-peer adversaries,” he concluded.
Gaetz is one of several congressional Republicans who have sounded the alarm over the alleged weakening of the military through its newfound stress on progressive values, pointing to factors such as plummeting recruitment figures over the past few years.
