Woke Air Force Academy trains cadets on microaggressions, 'inclusive climate,' and rejects words like 'terrorist,' 'mom,' and 'dad'
The United States Air Force Academy is teaching cadets to embrace an "inclusive climate" that includes "all genders." The guidance focusing on diversity, equity, and inclusion calls for cadets to utilize "inclusive language" that bars words like "terrorist," "mom," and "dad."
According to Fox News, the presentation for the seminar that began last September at the Air Force Academy in Colorado is titled: "Diversity & Inclusion: What It Is, Why We Care, & What We Can Do."
The course concentrates on diversity, inclusion, stereotypes, bias, and microaggressions. 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 warfighting imperative," the presentation declares.
The Air Force Academy defines diversity as "protected categories," such as "race, ethnicity, nationality, color, religion (or lack thereof), sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, and pregnancy status."
One of the exercises asks cadets to list as many animals that start with the letter "G."
According to the Washington Free Beacon, cadets are asked, "How many G-Animals did you generate as an individual? How many G-Animals did your class/squadron generate? What does this activity show us about the power of combining our diverse perspectives?"
The U.S. Air Force Academy instructs 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."
Ironically, the online store for the brick and mortar gift shop located at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs sells "Air Force Academy Dad," "Air Force Academy Mom," "Air Force Grandma," and "Air Force Grandpa" merchandise such as hats, shirts, stickers, and mugs.
The academy tells cadets to use "transgender people/service members" instead of "transgendered."
The military training curriculum states, "Not The ‘N’, ‘R’, or ‘F’ words, nor ‘Terrorist’ (for nationality; it happened)."
At the end of the presentation, cadets are offered additional diversity and inclusion resources such as the "D&I Reading Room," "D&I Cadet Positions," and "USAFA Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Strategic Plan 2021."
An Air Force Academy spokesman 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."
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) 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."
He continued to bash the woke agenda, "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."
Rep. Mike Waltz (R-Fla.) – a Green Beret and Afghan War veteran – told Fox News, "Now we're instructing every cadet entering the Air Force to not say mom and dad, to not say boyfriend or girlfriend, and this kind of drive towards gender neutrality. I think the Air Force should be worried about the macroaggressions against America that are happening all over the world."
The Air Force Academy has reportedly seen applications drop this year by 28% compared to 2021. Officials believe the steep decline is because in-person recruiting has been limited during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Last month, the Department of the U.S. Air Force announced new demographic goals to make the aerial branch of the United States Armed Forces more diverse.
Military.com reported that the Air Force wants to have applications to be 67.5% white, 13% black, 10% Asian, 7.5% multi-racial, 1.5% American Indian and 1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander. There is also an "ethnicity" goal of 15% Hispanic applications and 36% of all applicants be female.
In 2014, the Air Force had an application pool goal of 80% white, 10% Black, 8% Asian, 1% American Indian and 1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander.