A former U.S. Space Force officer said Saturday morning that diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) is implemented through an “independent chain of command” at the Air Force Academy.
Former Space Force Lt. Col. Matt Laumeyer was relieved of his command position in 2021 after speaking out against the military's DEI initiatives. To tell After losing his pension, he told “Fox & Friends Saturday” guest Joey Jones that the academy “has a diversity and inclusion cadet, and they report to a different chain of command.” Jones, a former Arizona State University cadet, study The investigation, which found that military academies encourage reporting “private conversations that challenge DEI principles,” asked Laumeyer if he had had a similar experience. (Related: 'Congress must step in': Judicial Watch warns against West Point CRT)
“If you think about it, I've actually experienced that myself, where a fellow commander said he knows my politics and would be happy to call me back as installation commander if I continued to personally criticize diversity, equity and inclusion efforts,” he said, “But this issue goes far beyond anything I've experienced personally and professionally in the military workplace.”
“At my alma mater, the United States Air Force Academy, we have cadets who value diversity and inclusion and wear special insignia within their cadet squadrons, purple braids on their shoulders, and report to a separate chain of command on diversity and inclusion issues,” he continued. “This is reminiscent of the Soviet political commissars installed in the Soviet Union and other Marxist revolutionary movements throughout the last century.”
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Laumeyer called DEI a “very dangerous, very divisive ideology” and said it is “treated like a protected religious worldview that others must align with and support in word and action or face consequences.”
The former commander began the show by talking about how he was allegedly fired over his own concerns.
“Unfortunately for the American people and all of our service members, opposing diversity, equity and inclusion efforts has been viewed as politically partisan over the last few years,” Laumeier told Jones. “Of course, anyone who has looked at this issue knows it shouldn't necessarily be viewed as a partisan issue. I had no interest in being politically partisan while I was in uniform and commanding Space Force forces, but of course, senior military leaders, particularly under this administration, because of the climate of fear they have created for themselves, have decided that they should treat my criticism of diversity, equity and inclusion efforts as partisan and hold me accountable for speaking out against them.”
The Air Force Academy did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.
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