A memo (below) sent out from the Department of Air Force Office of Diversity and Inclusion encouraged personnel to attend various pride events at the Pentagon in Washington, DC.
They reminded them that according to government regulations, they can travel for free to DC, paid for by their unit (which is funded by American citizens tax dollars):
“In accordance with the Joint Travel Regulation (JTR) Section 030201 “Conference Attendance and Participation”, Air and Space Force Commanders are authorized to utilize unit funds for their Air and Space personnel to travel to, and participate in, this year’s DAF Pride events if approved by their individual supervisory authority.
Service members or civilian employees may attend conferences at the unit expense to maintain and improve professional competency or to improve management of the Department’s functions and activities. Attendance is not mandatory at this event.”
In case personnel had difficulty trying to convince their supervisor to allow them to leave their duties and travel at government expense to the nation’s capitol (great tourist spot), a sample memo request was provided (below).
But how to justify official travel to pride events rather an activity having to do with, say, readiness and warfighting? The memo provides guidance for that too. Go under the mantra of “Diversity and Inclusion”:
“b. Air Force Instruction (AFI) 36-7001, Diversity and Inclusion.
It is the Air Force’s mission to “…develop and retain a high-quality, diverse Total Force, ensuring a culture of inclusion in order to leverage the diversity of the nation for strategic advantage in Air Force, joint and coalition operations.”
(Para 1.2) “Airmen, military and civilian, must be deliberately developed to apply diversity and inclusion competencies to the Air Force mission, in order to effectively achieve individual, organizational, and operational excellence.” (Para. 1.5)”
Do everything you can to twist and turn to justify using American taxpayer dollars to send yourself for free to DC.
Also notice that phrase, “Airmen, military and civilian, must be deliberately developed to apply diversity and inclusion competencies…” Sounds like a job for Military Political Commissars. Just like Communist Russia had.
LTC Matthew Lohmeier, who was the first to call attention to this on Twitter, said,
“Even if you’re not into all that Pride stuff, this is your shot at an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, DC with your friends. Why sit it out?! Be sure to visit with some members of Congress while you’re there to let them know how you got there.”
Yes, let members of Congress know you used government money which came from hard-working Americans to attend a non-warfighting event.
BREAKING: “Pride at the Pentagon”: Troops, don’t miss out on your opportunity to use taxpayer dollars to travel to Pride Month at the Pentagon beginning this Thursday, 8 June.🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️✊🏿 🧵 Check out the official memos in this thread… pic.twitter.com/WhrNLSxslb
— Matt Lohmeier (@matthewlohmeier) June 6, 2023
The Air Force has provided a pre-constructed Memorandum for servicemembers to use to request permission of their local commanders to leave their units on short-notice to travel out for the events. 🧵 pic.twitter.com/GLMEPkTSyb
— Matt Lohmeier (@matthewlohmeier) June 6, 2023
Click on graphic to enlarge:
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