ml-thoughts

LtCol Lohmeier’s Thoughts on Capitol Hill Hearing: This is War

Former Space Force LtCol Matthew Lohmeier recently spoke at a talk on X about his thoughts regarding the Capitol Hill hearing he testified at, “The Risks of Progressive Ideologies in the U.S. Military”.

Listen to it here or read the transcript below:

TRANSCRIPT

LtCol Matthew Lohmeier
“I was asked several weeks ago to testify at the National Defense Subcommittee hearing that is part of the House Oversight Committee. That committee is chaired by Representative Glenn Grothman from Wisconsin, and, of course, you might be aware that Representative Jim Comer chairs the House Oversight Committee, and Mike Waltz is also a part of the Oversight Committee.

Neither Jim Comer nor Mike Waltz are necessarily required or obligated, as far as I understand it, to be in that subcommittee hearing, but both of them came.

I just wanted to share briefly with the group some dynamics that I didn’t expect and share a few observations. And then I’m happy to answer questions.

I noticed that when the hearing started, I’m sure it’s kind of standard, you had the chairman of the committee, Glenn Grothman, and the ranking member, Robert Garcia, Democrat from California, was in his seat. The committee chairman was in his seat, and literally no more than a handful of other congressmen in the chairs already, a few from the Republican side, one or two from the Democrat side.

I’m not throwing spears just yet, but just to say I was unprepared for that, I figured that some would choose to bow out altogether, like Congresswoman Cori Bush from Missouri, and that, in fact, turned out to be true. She never showed.

But what kind of surprised me is that for a hearing that lasted quite a long time–it was expected to be 90 minutes but it was well over 2 hours.

We had both Republicans and Democrats, predominantly Democrats, show up just a few minutes before they were expecting to give their monologue and maybe ask a few questions, and then they got right back up and left the hearing.

The takeaway for me was that there’s a genuine lack of interest, especially from Democrats, to even confront this issue and hear feedback from those who have been called as witnesses for these hearings.

That was evident also when the ranking member, Robert Garcia, closed his testimony at the very end of this hearing by saying, hey, you’ve already lost this battle. He said, I can’t believe we’re even taking time, wasting time to discuss what you allege is wokism in the military, what you allege is a culture war.

There’s this animus from the Left that shouldn’t surprise anyone.

But here’s an important point that I wanted to make that is, I hope, useful in that it gives us an understanding into their strategy.

I watched what happened both before the hearing, outside of that hearing room where I met General Seidule and his son that he brought to the hearing. I saw him go back into a separate private room with Democrats who would be a part of the hearing, and their staffers, I presume, to discuss a game plan.

Based on how the Democrats approached this entire hearing, if you listened to the entire hearing, one thing that you would have noticed was that they seemed to be deliberately focused on the decades past and not on the present moment.

That was evident in some of the lines of questioning. It was evident in their talking points, and it was evident in what General Seidule was prepared to talk about. He talked about his lengthy 30 plus year military career, and he talked about policies like equal opportunity. They talked about integration of races in the military during the Truman administration.

And it’s like, no one is here to argue these things! No one is here to talk about those progressive policies from early in the Cold War. But that’s what they focused on.

Because, and this is the important point, I get the sense that they recognized ahead of time that if they had remotely competent witnesses show up to attack wokism, to attack Critical Race Theory, to attack DEI initiatives and their consequences, they wouldn’t have much of an argument to make.

So what they wanted to do is shame the witnesses into looking like we were there to fight against women in the military or fight against gays being in the military at all. And of course, that isn’t the case. That was one observation I’ve had as I’ve reflected on what I felt and what I saw in the room.

The other point I want to make, I guess I’ve already hinted at, is I was rather dismayed. I mean, I already don’t like Leftist, Leftism, Progressivism, Neomarxism–pick your label.

But to have the tangible feeling to sit in the room and to feel their disgust for conservatism, Republicans in the room, and to hear them thank General Seidule for his service, but deliberately ignore Will Thibeau and I in their gratitude, I mean, it shows that they’ve got a really vitriolic animosity for our values, our worldview.

Again, I know that’s not surprising to anyone, but I saw firsthand that they are determined to wage a battle and they defend it like it’s a religious worldview.

It shouldn’t surprise you also that the same animus is felt and apparent in some of the Republican members–and in my view, rightly so.

That’s some overall highlights for me, takeaways. I’ll tell you, some of the clips that Jordan has posted on her Twitter feed have received a lot of attention. So thank you for that, both on a personal note as well as just overall for getting the messaging of that hearing out.

The House Oversight Committee has been doing a good job putting out clips from the hearing as well. They’ve gotten a lot of views. I mean, Donald Trump Jr. was saying, hey, everyone needs to watch this stuff.

So we’ve had million plus or millions of views in the last 24 hours on specific issues in that hearing. And I’m under no illusion of thinking that’s going to stay at the forefront of anyone’s minds. I know that there’s all sorts of other news going on that’s equally as important.

So I think that’s probably all I should say.  I’m happy to entertain any questions.

Question 1
Matt, I have a question for you. You mentioned the animosity from the representatives. Did you have any feedback from General Seidule afterward? I mean, did he seem to understand what you were saying?

One of the favorite clips of mine that I posted was where you just completely wrecked whatever he said about how he had never seen CRT at West Point or in his 30 year career. You were able to reference the fact that even in your book, you researched that policy proposal from West Point graduates that quoted him throughout their proposal.

So I’m just curious. I saw his face when you said that. I think a lot of other people saw his face in his reaction to that. What was the feedback or if he even had any after the hearing? Did he say anything to you? Because I think most of us understand that the representatives are not going to meet us halfway. But it is very disconcerting when service members like a general who served 30 years, when they are also projecting that animosity towards our values.

LtCol Matthew Lohmeier
Good question. So I’ll share a couple of thoughts. I went out of the hearing room into the hallway and happened to run into General Seidule before the hearing began and met him and his Army veteran son and we had a cordial exchange. I knew the kind of preparation and research I had done on him and what I was hoping to get to say.

So because he seemed like a kindly fellow and I really don’t have—I mean, I have animosity, I have a really strong disliking and frankly, a hatred for evil, but I just have a tender spot for humans. I couldn’t help but feel bad for the guy even before the hearing started because I was going to attempt to land some blows. I let him know that in advance.

I said, it’s apparent to me, having read your written submission of your testimony, that you and I have a different view on things, and I’m going to make that plain today, but I don’t mean any hard feelings by it, but this needs to be argued. He shook my hand and said, thanks, good to meet you. He didn’t appear nervous whatsoever until–and the reason I point that out is he didn’t appear nervous initially.

But I was sitting in the middle of that table, as you’re aware, and when I got about 30 to 45 seconds into my written oral statement that I wanted to make up front, I noticed he was visibly shaky.

He was picking up his papers and his hands were shaking because I think for the first time it dawned on him that the issues that Will and I were there to directly confront and attack, he didn’t have a good response for.

I think he knew, hey, me and my fellow colleagues up there on the stand have a game plan, but boy, if we go down this road, we don’t really have a good leg to stand on.

And he surely wouldn’t have anticipated that that 40-page policy proposal from West Point graduates was going to come up.

This is kind of a fun anecdote that this group will appreciate. I had spent a little bit of time every day this week preparing for that testimony, trying to turn over new rocks and learn a little bit here and there about things I hadn’t considered for a very long time.

And like a lightning bolt out of a clear sky, I had the thought to go look in my book at that 40-page policy proposal.

Because I saw in my book–it’s only like three pages in my book–that I had quoted a few of these activists. What they were advocating for sounded an awful lot like what General Seidule had been asked to do by Lloyd Austin as recently as a year and a half ago.

So I decided I’d pull up that 40-page proposal and go spend a little bit of time studying it. And I was so glad I did. So I consider that a direct gift from heaven.

I had no thought to look at that, and it just literally was a thought that was planted as clear as day in my mind. So I think we had some help to communicate, some ideas.

My wife was prayerful, others were prayerful. She laughed and teased me after the testimony was over because we have a very conservative family that doesn’t like vulgarity. And I use the word bullshit and something else in the hearing, and my wife said, I was praying for you, that you’d be led by God in what you said, and as soon as I heard you say bullshit, I wondered, God, did you plant that in his mouth as well?

But all of that to say we were prayerful. We took this very seriously.

The feedback I’ve received by private email and through my website and through direct messaging, I’ve been pleased that people who genuinely care about their country and who are patriots in every positive sense of that term and who love God and who desire to see an apolitical military and save their country, they’ve been reaching out, saying, hey, we love you. Thank you. God bless. That means the world to me.

And I’ve got some hate messaging as well, which I don’t really care about very much. So thanks for that question, Jordan.

Question 2
Thank you Colonel Lohmeier, God bless you for what you did. I thought you owned that General to your left. I know that’s not a good operative word, but field grade officer versus general officer, definitely you took the W on that one. But my question is,  the documents. I can’t remember the congresswoman’s name that was questioning you during the clips that I think were shared, probably more than others, but she wanted to take a lot of the documents that you provided, enter them into the records. But she also said she would follow up. Do you know if there’s any plan, tangible, objective plan, for not only the West Point report that you talked about, but also some of the other documents that you had?

LtCol Matthew Lohmeier
My understanding was, and I think they said it at the beginning of the hearing, but I don’t remember the time frame, whether it was 48 hours or 72 hours or two weeks, whatever it was, that members and their staff had a certain time to reach back out to witnesses to bug them for things. I figure probably at the beginning of the next week is when I’m going to look for some follow up.

I did have a follow up call with the chairman of the committee, Glenn Grossman. He wanted to talk for a while after the hearing and share some personal anecdotes and also ask for more clarification on some points that I shared. So that follow up has happened.

I believe it’s possible that it was Congresswoman Virginia Fox  that said perhaps she was going to want to enter some poll data that was compiled by the Heritage Foundation with Congressman Mike Waltz. These folks already have all of this stuff, and I’ll happily submit it again so it can be entered as a part of the record for that hearing. But I’m going to give them the opportunity to reach out so that if there’s multiple items that they’ve requested, I’ll just send everything at once.

I do want to make one more point, though, just for this group. We’ve got warfighters on this call. We’ve got people who are champions. How do I put it? Because I knew that the hearing went fairly well for us, I was asked a number of times how you feel you “owned” the general, is what you just shared.

I’ll tell you, I had really mixed feelings about it. That’s just like the real human element of me.

This is war. This is really a war. It’s not turned violent, but there’s a war that’s ongoing. There’s a lot of rhetoric that’s employed. There’s animosity, there’s hatred.

I feel like I dealt a few blows to a few people who I don’t hate. But it’s easy in civil wars to hate people. In fact, that’s exactly what it turns into.

I left the room feeling like I had done what I was supposed to do and also that I didn’t regret anything.

And that men and women had to go home to their families and live with some wounds for a little while, and that bothered me.

I even reached out to a veteran, in fact, who I respect greatly, and said, yeah, I feel a little bit bad about this. He tried to console me and said, hey, this is necessary, whether any of us like doing some of this or not. Sometimes it’s fun and sometimes we really like it.

That was a reflection of just the nature of conflict, and it gets a lot worse than this. So it’s kind of good to get used to the feeling.

But I do have to run now, and I’m going to jump off and go take a Newsmax call. Will and I are going to join a panel and talk about this very hearing. Thanks for letting me join.


https://starrs.us/matthew-lohmeier-congressional-testimony-statement/

https://starrs.us/west-point-grads-crt-screed-against-usma-influenced-by-former-wp-history-teacher/

11JAN24-hearing1

Hearing Wrap Up: DoD’s Progressive Agenda Hinders U.S. Military Readiness

(Press Release) The Subcommittee on National Security, the Border, and Foreign Affairs held a hearing titled, “The Risks of Progressive Ideologies in the U.S. Military.”

Members discussed with subject matter experts how politically driven Department of Defense (DoD) priorities infiltrating curriculum and training are affecting military readiness.

Members also discussed the military’s prioritization of progressive Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs and other social priorities versus other military needs which are driving down morale and recruiting numbers.

Key Takeaways:

The DoD has infused progressive ideology into the curriculum and training of the U.S. military, which has no relevant purpose to warfighting. Despite recently failing its sixth consecutive audit, the DoD is requesting more funding to expand its unhelpful and non-essential DEI based program.

  • Matthew Lohmeier— Former Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Space Force—broke down the DEI initiatives being pushed on service members and the desire for these initiatives to be removed: “Servicemembers who wear the uniform of their country do not want to see these things in the military workplace or at their bases. In most cases, this is true regardless of their race or political worldview. Despite that reality, Pentagon officials requested $140 million to expand woke Diversity initiatives in FY2024, up from $68 million and $86.5 million in 2022 and 2023, respectively, and all but three members of this subcommittee voted in favor of it. There are few things taxpayers such as myself feel is less essential to the mission of our military than expanding Diversity mandates and indoctrination.”

The DEI agenda being forced into military procedure has opened the door for race and sex-based quotas superseding the merit-based system. This is a direct factor in the growing issue of the U.S. military missing recruiting targets.

  • Will Thibaeu— American Military Project — warned of the threats of continued politicization of the military: “History is littered with examples of militaries whose consideration of political ideology precipitated a collapse in military professionalism, all of which served as a precursor to the collapse of their respective nations. America should not wait to find out if we can outrun the drumbeat of such history.”

Member Highlights:

Subcommittee on National Security, the Border, and Foreign Affairs Chairman Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-Wis.) examined the harmful ideologies being promulgated by military bureaucracy.

Rep. Grothman: “Is this bureaucracy necessary? Could you comment on it? What do they do?”

Mr. Thibaeu: “It’s a good question what they do Mr. Chairman. The problem that I have is the policies that result from such a bureaucracy. And there is, like you alluded to in your opening remarks, a lot of well-intentioned training, perhaps some of which is necessary. But what is not necessary is race and sex-based quotas that are prevalent in at least two branches of the military. And if it’s a bureaucracy that serves to fulfill those policies that I think do more than simply educate people about bias or promote equal opportunity but in fact promote a system of race and sex-based discrimination, that is problematic and they shouldn’t be receiving any money.”

Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) zeroed in on the non-mission critical, progressive ideology that does nothing to enhance military warfighting capabilities.

Rep. Foxx: “Would learning about whiteness and white rage help promote unit cohesion or a team centered culture?”

Mr. Lohmeier: “The answer is: anyone who is focused on warfighting doesn’t naturally think to talk about these things in the military workplace. We are focused on a particular mission in defense of the country and to deter conflict and to win our nation’s wars.”

Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) discussed what has happened in recent years to decrease lethality and morale in the military due to DEI initiatives such as decreased in standards sheerly for diversity’s sake.

Rep. Biggs: “Mr. Lohmeier, what has happened over the last three years that has caused lethality to deteriorate in the military?”

Mr. Lohmeier: “There’s been an overt politicization of the military workplace and the forcing of trainings that are anti-American, that criticize our founding fathers, that allege that white supremacy is a problem within the military ranks which has never been proven and all of that rhetoric that occurred when Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin took office, led to a bunch of moaning and complaining behind closed doors of our service members and I heard it as a commander.”

Rep. Mike Waltz (R-Fla.), who waived onto the subcommittee hearing, discussed how authors of DEI and CRT initiatives describe methods that are inherently racist because they use race to take or give positions within the military away, leading to a zero-sum game.

Rep. Waltz: “What these authors say is that ‘if you are white you are incapable of not being racist’ that in and of itself, is racist sir. And by the way, these [authors] were lecturers at the Air Force academy. That is divisive, destructive, and wrong. Finally, we have data that shows as Mr. Lohmeier has testified to, 62% of active-duty military members are seeing a politicized military. 65% would recommend their child not join, and now we are in a recruiting crisis. This is why these hearings are so necessary.”

Watch the hearing. (Starts at 21:00 mark)

tyse2

West Point grads CRT ‘screed’ against USMA influenced by former WP History teacher

At the Capitol Hill hearing on progressive ideologies in the military originally had two witnesses, Matt Lohmeier and Will Thibeau.

At the last minute, the Democrat side of the committee brought in as their witness retired Army Brig. General Ty Seidule, former head of the history department at West Point (where he taught for 20 years), author of the book, “Robert E. Lee and Me: A Southerner’s Reckoning with the Myth of the Lost Cause”, and proud member of the DOD Renaming Commission.

The General was rather shockingly naive and unaware in his statements about the radical leftist agenda push in the military and service academies and seemed to be living in a bubble. It appeared he was hearing for the first time the facts that Matt, Will and other Republican politicians were presenting.

For example, he didn’t know the different between equal opportunity and equity (the “E” in DEI). See here.

He said that West Point was not teaching Marxist-rooted Critical Race Theory (CRT), even though so much has been written on this in the past three years, including over 600 pages from FOIAs. See all articles: https://starrs.us/category/west-point/

But the biggest shocker was something Matt brought up about the General’s influence on a 40-page “anti-American, race-baiting, communist screed” that a group of West Pointers wrote right after they graduated, accusing West Point of being institutionally racist. The paper references throughout– as justification for their CRT beliefs–articles and lectures by their history professor, Gen. Seidule.

As background, during 2020 graduation week, several Black Cadets in the 2020 graduating class raised concerns on the state of racism within the Corps of Cadets to the Superintendent.

Shortly following graduation, a group of nine left-wing 2018 and 2018 USMA graduates wrote the paper titled “An Anti-Racist West Point,” and sent this paper to The Secretary of the Army, Chief of Staff of the Army and USMA leadership. Within days of its distribution, it went viral and the paper circulated on social media outlets.

“This is a call to action. The United States Military Academy has not taken the necessary strides towards uprooting the racism that saturates its history. We are calling upon West Point and its leadership to redress three major failures:
1. Systemic racism continues to exist at West Point.
2. Anti-racism is not part of the curriculum at West Point.
3. The conditions for an anti-racist space are not present at West Point. . . . .

Note that according to CRT, it’s not enough to not be racist, you must actively be an “anti-racist” and go along with their CRT agenda–or you are a racist. (See our Resources for many sources to help explain CRT)

In July 2020, USMA Superintendent LTG Darryl Williams directed the Inspector General Office to conduct a special inspection following this complaints of racial misconduct at West Point.

The Report of Special Inspection Assessment of Race or Ethnicity Based Treatment of Cadets at the United States Military Academy (pdf)

The inspector found:

  • There are no structural barriers to reporting EO complaints
  • There are inaccurate perceptions about handling of misconduct, discipline and honor cases for minority Cadets
  • Black Cadets tend to earn lower Military Development grades than their White counterparts
  • There was no evidence found of institutional racism

Watch Matt refute the General’s statement about CRT not being taught at West Point:


Congressman Waltz presses former West Point History instructor to define Equity

(Press Release) On Thursday, U.S. Congressman Mike Waltz (FL-6) questioned Brigadier General Ty Seidule (Ret.), former head of the history department at West Point and House Democrat witness, on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives at U.S. service academies and the definition of equity during the House Oversight & Accountability Committee hearing on the Risks of Progressive Ideologies in the U.S. Military.

Watch the full exchange:

“You testified earlier that you have not seen Marxism, Critical Race Theory, you do not know where it is in the military or where it is at West Point. Is that accurate?” Waltz asked Seidule.

“I had not heard of it until it became a national issue,” responded Seidule.

When asked if he was aware of it being taught at West Point, Seidule said he did not.

Explaining what Critical Race Theory is, Waltz said, “The theme is that white people are enraged, not a hundred years ago, not fourty years ago, which you are talking about with the sixties and seventies. It’s today. White cadets, white people are enraged by Black advancement.”

“I think, Congressman, the great thing about education is you can get a variety of different perspectives. It is not training, which is what some of my colleagues have talked about. I am talking about education. You want to hear the broadest representation of every viewpoint,” said Seidule.

“This is the very clever approach of the Left to conflate history with current day training.” Waltz asked, “would you agree that Critical Race Theory is a foundation for DEI?”

“No, I would not,” Seidule said. “DEI goes back to equal opportunity in the early part of the 1970s.”

Waltz went on to ask what the difference between equity and equality is. Seidule did not directly answer the question, so Waltz asked again, “What is equity?”

Seidule responded, “I don’t know what it is, Congressman.”

“Diversity, equity, inclusion is part of everything. There’s a DEI office in the Pentagon… you don’t know what equity is? You can’t testify to what equity means?” Waltz continued,

“Well, I will tell you since you don’t know, it is equal outcomes for all, which is a hallmark of Marxism. DEI is Marxist based, as is Critical Race Theory.”

“Let’s progress since, I mean, apparently, the expert doesn’t know what equity is in DEI,” said Waltz. “I would like to enter in for the record class composition with racial goals for West Point. You just testified under oath you were in the admissions office.”

Seidule responded, “I wasn’t in the admissions office, I was on the admissions committee for one year and I know there were no quotas, is what I said, Congressman.”

“So, we are going to parse over quotas and goals?” asked Waltz.

Waltz then pointed to the document and said, “This is from the superintendent and here are the goals. It has African Americans, Hispanics, Asians, Women with percentages. We have ‘red’ here for when they missed those goals.”

Seidule countered that “some athletes are there… and the largest number of people that are recruited at West Point are athletes at 25%.”

Waltz continued, “When you say your directive is to advance one group based on the skin color, you have to take those slots from another group based on their skin color. It’s a zero sum… The athletes get broken down by their skin color in this chart that you just said doesn’t exist.”

“Here’s a memorandum from the Secretary of the Air Force with White, Black, Asian, American Indian. I mean, I think my wife, who is an Army veteran and who is Arab, didn’t have a place, I guess, in this chart,” said Waltz. “Here you have current percentages and a mandate to increase those percentages, you have to take those slots from someone else based on ethnicity.”

Waltz pointed to a poster of the “key proponents of CRT” and summarized the quotes, “What these authors say is that if you are white, you are incapable of not being racist. That in and of itself is racist, sir. By the way, these were lecturers at the Air Force Academy. That is divisive and it’s wrong and it’s destructive.”

Waltz continued, “We have data that shows, as Mr. Lohmeier has testified to, 62% of active-duty military members are seeing a politicized military. 65% would recommend their child not join. Now, we’re in a recruiting crisis. This is why these hearings are so necessary.”

“You are right, Mr. Seidule, in that Congress drives change. This Congress has banned Critical Race Theory in the military in this defense bill, we have eliminated the hiring of divisive DEI bureaucrats.”

“WE are going to drive this change to get our military back to a meritocracy with equal opportunity for all.”

“You cannot fight racism with more racism and you have to have data.”

“Do you have any data that shows that a more or less diverse submarine, bomber, brigade, is more or less lethal?” asked Waltz. “I’m talking about the crew.”

Seidule was unable to answer the question.

“Do you have any data that shows by percentage a more or less, let’s say bomber crew, let’s say brigade, whether it’s fifty percent Black, ten percent Black, thirty percent Jewish, any of these societal factors, data that drives readiness?” asked Waltz.

Seidule was unable to provide the data in question.


https://starrs.us/records-show-critical-race-theory-propaganda-at-west-point/

https://starrs.us/west-point-teaching-marxism/

https://starrs.us/teaching-cultural-marxism-at-west-point/

ETC ETC ETC: https://starrs.us/category/west-point/

 

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Video Excerpts from Capitol Hill Hearings

Videoclips from the Capitol Hill hearing where Matthew Lohmeier presented testimony and answered questions: The Risks of Progressive Ideologies in the U.S. Military


SHOCK MOMENT: Anti-DEI Witness Sounds Off After Fiery Clash With Jamie Raskin


‘Does The Color Of Your Skin Matter When You’re In The Trenches?’: Mace Questions DEI In Military

Comments on video:
“As a Veteran, I’ll say color didn’t mean shit in the Army in the early 2000s while I was in. My Drill Sergeant told us we are all one color, green, and I can tell you that when you’re in a foxhole with someone, that man is your brother and vice versa.”

“Same here bro. I joined the Army in ’81 and 2x a warrior. During my service we look at each other as an American warriors and nothing else. I wouldn’t serve under a WOKE DRAG QUEEN MILITARY TODAY.”

“Being it’s the weekend before we celebrate Dr. King’s birthday, we went from him saying “it’s not the color of your skin, it’s the content of your character” to “the only thing that matters is the color of your skin”. He must be rolling over his grave.”


‘Is That Not A Quota?’: Anti-DEI Witness Slams Air Force Diversity Goals
At last Thursday’s House Oversight Committee hearing, Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX) questioned witnesses about DEI in the military, and Lt. Col. Matthew Lohmeier (Ret.) slammed the diversity goals of the Air Force.


Pat Fallon Questions Witness About Pervasiveness Of White Supremacism In The Military
At Thursday’s House Oversight Committee hearing, Rep. Pat Fallon (R-TX) questioned witnesses about DEI in the military.


Katie Porter Asks GOP Witness If He Agreed With President Truman’s Action To Integrate The Military
At a House Oversight Committee hearing on Thursday, Rep. Katie Porter (D-CA) spoke about DEI in the military.
(Mixing “Trump” for “Truman” twice, the Congresswoman has Trump living rent-free in her brain)


Scott Perry Takes Shot At Goldman At Hearing On ‘Risks Of Progressive Ideologies’ In The Military
At a House Oversight Committee hearing on Thursday, Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA) spoke about DEI in the military.


Painful, the cluelessness. From a comment on the video: “Never have such loaded softball questions been answered with such obviously scripted political drivel.”

Lawmaker Asks Retired Military General Point Blank If Antifa Is ‘Infiltrating’ The Military
At a House Oversight Committee hearing on Thursday, Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA) spoke about DEI in the military.


Powerful statement by Congressman Higgins during the hearing on progressive ideologies in the military on Capitol Hill, 11 January 2024:

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Matthew Lohmeier Congressional Testimony Statement

Former Space Force Lt. Col. Matthew Lohmeier gave this statement at the “The Risks of Progressive Ideologies in the U.S. Military” hearing for the Subcommittee on National Security, the Border, and Foreign Affairs on 11 January 2024:

Good morning. My name is Matt Lohmeier and I’m an Air Force Academy graduate, former F-15C fighter pilot, and was a Lieutenant Colonel and commander in the Space Force.

In 2021, I was fired from my command in the Space Force for trying to reverse the trend of the overt politicization of the Uniformed Services.

Specifically, I criticized the military’s diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) trainings, which, at my own base, were illegally occurring despite an executive order from the commander-in-chief.

I watched these trainings divide our troops ideologically and, in some cases, sow the seeds of animosity towards the very country they had sworn an oath to defend.

I submitted a formal written complaint to the Space Force Inspector General (see Exhibit 5) detailing that such violations were occurring, including illegal race-based discrimination, but my complaint was never investigated and was later dismissed by then-Lt Gen Stephen Whiting, whom the Senate just confirmed for his fourth star.

After two months, I received a written dismissal of my complaint from General Whiting (see Exhibit 6).

After my complaint was dismissed, I wrote a book explaining that the DEI industry, which is steeped in critical race theory, is rooted in anti-American, Marxist ideology, and demonstrated its divisive impact on our troops.

I explained that DEI initiatives and trainings were dividing our armed forces precisely because CRT was created by those who harbored the intention to undermine and destroy the fabric of American society.

I warned that our recruitment and retention would plummet if we continued to foist such a divisive ideology on the men and women in uniform.

Personally, I have always advocated for a non-political military work environment.

Today, I’m here to testify about the ongoing Marxist-inspired efforts to subvert and weaken our military and broader American society.

We often refer to these efforts as wokeism; it is a culture war. Yet, even in this committee, there are differing views about whether there is such a thing as a “culture war” under way.

Some members of this committee have been outspoken critics of DEI initiatives, CRT, drag shows on military bases, and LGBTQ pride celebrations and woke military recruiting videos—all things that are components of an ongoing culture war.

Ranking member Garcia, on the other hand, asserted as recently as two weeks ago in a tweet that the culture wars are “phony” and are merely a political talking point of Republicans (see tweet from December 31, 2023).

But I assure you that Congressman Garcia’s view is NOT the view of many men and women in uniform who labor under the constant burden of race identity politics in the military workplace, and what appears to them to be the destruction of the merit- based system, whether deliberate or incidental.

It’s nothing if not incredible for a member of this committee to assert the culture wars are “phony” while another member of this committee is a member of the so-called progressive ‘Squad,’ was herself a Black Lives Matter organizer and activist (an organization whose publicly avowed ideology is Marxist), and whose ambition for a seat in Congress was, in her own words, “to accomplish a mission”—no doubt a social and cultural mission, as she says she “doesn’t need to take off her activist hat to legislate in Congress.” She claims her activism has been her “guiding force.”

Servicemembers who wear the uniform of their country do not want to see these things in the military workplace or at their bases. In most cases, this is true regardless of their race or political worldview. Despite that reality.

Pentagon officials requested $140 million to expand woke Diversity initiatives in FY2024, up from $68 million and $86.5 million in 2022 and 2023, respectively, and all but three members of this subcommittee voted in favor of it.

There are few things taxpayers such as myself feel is less essential to the mission of our military than expanding Diversity mandates and indoctrination.

Such aggressively opposed ideological worldviews competing for institutionalization through policy epitomizes and formalizes what is properly termed a culture war.

It is an American-Maoist culture war.

The fact that these debates now infect the US military workplace is an offense to people like me who love their country and all people—regardless of race, gender, or background.

I’d like to briefly draw attention to two of a handful of exhibits I have submitted for the committee’s review and for entry into the official record of today’s hearing.

THE FIRST of the exhibits is a 100-page document (see Exhibit 1) which includes real-world unsolicited feedback from military servicemembers, veterans, and parents about the consequences of this administration’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives.

It is, I imagine, merely a small part of the overall discontent and disappointment experienced by those who presently serve.

I submit it for the record because to spend even a few minutes with the document is to get a sense for the ways in which the innocuously labeled “DEI trainings” are hurting morale, dividing and distracting troops, disincentivizing Americans from service, and thereby destroying our recruiting and retention efforts.

Further, it is destroying the image of the United States military, which is a critical component of the proper communication of national strength to both allies and enemies alike. We now appear weaker because we are weaker (see Exhibit 7).

THE SECOND exhibit I’d like to mention is a letter signed by 185 retired General and Flag Officers (see Exhibit 2) that is dated May 20, 2023, and was previously sent to then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, as well as other House leaders. I have confirmed that those to whom the letter was addressed received it.

For the same reasons as those I’ve previously stated, the letter “requested that Congress, pursuant to its Constitutional powers .. . take legislative action to remove all diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs from the Department of Defense (DoD).”

It also requested that Congress “ensure that no DEI related policies, programs, and funding are included in the 2024 NDAA.”

These leaders warned:

“As our Nation faces looming threats from ‘foreign’ adversaries/enemies, our military is under assault from a culture war stemming from ‘domestic’ ideologically inspired political policies and practices. IF NOT STOPPED NOW, they will forever change the military’s warrior ethos essential to performing its mission.”

Despite their request and warning, and despite some genuine efforts of some members of the House, the Congress ultimately DID NOT use the power of the purse to put an end to DEI policies, programs, and funding in the recently approved NDAA.

The men and women who sent that letter raised the warning voice and tried their best to respectfully influence our Nation’s lawmakers.

Both of these exhibits I have mentioned are publicly available at the STARRS.US website.

I said in my book that if we did not abandon the diversity and inclusion trainings, then we would see unprecedented “recruitment and retention woes.”

That has been true and we have seen as a Nation that it is not getting any better.

I also said that unless we abandon our present hate-filled and divisive path, and repent as a nation, we will destroy ourselves.

I reaffirm that view here today, and I’m grateful to answer any questions the committee may have for me.

Exhibits
1. “What Military Service Members, Veterans and Parents Are Saying: Evidence that the CRT/DEI/Woke agenda being pushed in the military is harming morale, recruitment and retention” (100 pages)
2. Flag Officers 4 America Letter, dated May 20, 2023
3. Lt Col Lohmeier_Summary of Military Record (ranked #1/753 Space Force officers at time of promotion to Lt Col)
4. Lohmeier_Civilian CV
5. Lt Col Lohmeier_Space Force IG Complaint Citing Marxist Teachings
6. Lt Gen Stephen Whiting’s Dismissal of the IG Complaint
7. Heritage Foundation’s 2023 Index of US Military Strength Report

Full Statement with Exhibits (pdf)

 

Watch his statement (starts at 35:48 mark):

11jan23hearing

Matthew Lohmeier Testifying on Capitol Hill on Dangers of CRT/DEI ideology in the military

Matthew Lohmeier was called to testify at the January 11, 2024 hearing, “The Risks of Progressive Ideologies in the U.S. Military”, which is to explore the politically driven DoD priorities that are affecting military readiness and examine the military’s prioritization of progressive programs such as DEI programs and other social priorities versus critical military needs.

Matthew Lohmeier Congressional Testimony Statement (pdf)

Watch: (jump to 21:00 minute when hearing starts)


BACKGROUND:

Grothman Announces Hearing on Progressive Ideologies in the U.S. Military (January 4, 2024)

WASHINGTON—Subcommittee on National Security, the Border, and Foreign Affairs Chairman Glenn Grothman (R-Wis.) will hold a hearing titled “The Risks of Progressive Ideologies in the U.S. Military.”

The subcommittee hearing will explore the politically driven Department of Defense (DoD) priorities that are affecting military readiness and examine the military’s prioritization of progressive programs such as Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programs and other social priorities versus critical military needs.

“Our military has one primary function: defend Americans and American interests at home and abroad. At least this was the primary function until the Biden Administration force fed progressivism into the branches of the armed services.

“Due to an avalanche of foreign policy blunders by the Biden Administration, the world is a less safe place.

“The men and women who bravely serve within the military must stay focused on combat readiness, not left-wing objectives which serve no military purpose.

“It is imperative to extract this poisonous and unhelpful thinking from our military and return the armed services to their core functions,” said Subcommittee Chairman Grothman.

WHAT: Hearing titled “The Risks of Progressive Ideologies in the U.S. Military”

DATE: Thursday, January 11, 2024

TIME: 10:00 a.m. ET

LOCATION: 2154 Rayburn House Office Building

WITNESSES:

  • Will Thibeau, Director, American Military Project
  • Matthew Lohmeier, Space Force Veteran, Author

The hearing will be open to the public and press and will be livestreamed online at https://oversight.house.gov/.


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Hearing Date: January 11, 2024 10:00 am 2154 Rayburn

The Risks of Progressive Ideologies in the U.S. Military

Subject: The Risks of Progressive Ideologies in the U.S. Military
Date January 11, 2024
Time 10:00 am
Place 2154 Rayburn
National Security, the Border, and Foreign Affairs

Witnesses and testimonies:

Lt. Col. Matthew Lohmeier (Ret.)
Document

Brigadier Gen. Ty Seidule (Ret.)
Document

Mr. Will Thibeau
Document