The individual that President Joe Biden is considering to lead the Defense Department’s Joint Chiefs of Staff had previously suggested that divisive “DEI” ideology would play a role in the personnel decisions of the United States Air Force.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) is a controversial ideology that undermines the concept of merit and advocates for discrimination based on factors like skin color and sexual orientation.
This approach leads to qualified individuals being overlooked for positions because they don’t meet the preferred standards of the organization.
Last week, several news sources reported that President Biden selected Air Force General Charles Q. Brown to succeed U.S. Army General Mark Milley as the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Brown had been nominated by former President Donald Trump in March 2020 to become the top general of the Air Force after serving as the commander of Pacific Air Forces. The U.S. Senate unanimously confirmed his appointment later that year.
Biden to pick Air Force Gen. Charles Q. Brown as new Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman https://t.co/AnpYhVDZz3 pic.twitter.com/U8KPhWdL3D
— New York Post (@nypost) May 5, 2023
When asked by Politico for comment on Brown’s nomination, a representative from the National Security Council refused to confirm the reports. They stated that President Biden would inform the selected individual of his decision and make a public announcement once a final decision has been made.
Mainstream media’s coverage of Biden’s decision has primarily focused on Brown’s skin color and the historic nature of his nomination. However, a closer look at Brown’s past reveals his efforts to promote DEI ideology within the U.S. Air Force.
In November 2020, Air & Space Forces Magazine reported that during a virtual discussion hosted by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, Brown stated that diversity had become a top priority in personnel decisions such as promotions and hiring at the higher level of the Air Force.
Brown said, “It was almost like, in some cases in the past, when you talk about diversity, folks were afraid to bring it up that you didn’t have a slate of diverse candidates, or there wasn’t an African American, Asian American, a woman on the slate. Now, it’s almost like they’ve got to be on the slate and be considered. And so, as an institution and as a nation, we are more apt to talk about diversity, more so than we have in the past. Now, we’ve got to get past talk. It’s what we do. It’s how we actually bring in individuals and give them the opportunity.”
As previously reported by The Federalist, the Defense Department has been pressuring military leadership to embrace DEI ideology since Biden assumed office. In May 2021, for instance, U.S. Naval leadership was directed to oversee all DEI efforts across the department, synchronize key policies and initiatives and devise a strategy to promote DEI throughout the organization.
