Air Force Chief of Staff has no problem with USAFA DEI training not to say Mom or Dad

At a House Armed Service Committee hearing, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Brown responded to Rep. McClain and Rep. Gaetz with his opinion on the infamous “don’t say Mom and Dad” DEI training slide at the Air Force Academy.

He seemed to think there was nothing wrong with it and responded with the typical woke DEI words. Parents and citizens responding to Gaetz’s tweet on four social media platforms did not agree with the General and were quite upset, saying it’s part of the Marxist end goal to break up the family.

Transcript of video below.

STRANGE: The Air Force is actively telling service members to not recognize parents as “moms and dads.”

How does the term “mom and dad” impair cohesive team building? The answer is it doesn’t.

This is yet again another useless ploy by Woke Pentagon officials to force-feed… pic.twitter.com/CQUM8ITxEG

— Rep. Matt Gaetz (@RepMattGaetz) April 27, 2023

All Slides: USAFA DI 07 Sept 22 Training (pdf)

Click on enlarge slide discussed above:

Transcript

Rep. Lisa McClain

I have in front of me the slides on the diversity training and the equity and the inclusion training. How much money and time do we really spend on that? Can we get a better sense to help educate everyone?

Gen. Charles Brown, USAF Chief of Staff

I can provide you exact information for the record, but I will tell you, most of our training, most of our focus is on the readiness of the force. And part of that readiness of the force is to ensure that they were building cohesive teams and part of cohesive teams to get to know our airmen [inaudible] .

Rep. Lisa McClain

And I appreciate that. And one of the things it talks about in one of your slides, is not to recognize people as Moms and Dads. I mean, as a mother, I take a little bit of offense to that. It also talks about not using the word terrorist. Can you explain why we wouldn’t use the word terrorist and Mom and Dad? I think you got to get that message out, because I think a lot of people are really frustrated, and they feel like we’re polarizing as opposed to coming together.

Gen. Charles Brown, USAF Chief of Staff

What I would tell you is that what I perceive is we’re misreading some of the aspects of the things we’re trying to do as we move the Air Force forward, and then we look at how we build cohesive teams.

Rep. Matt Gaetz

General Brown, I do have to ask you a question that sort of stems from what Ms. McClain was asking about. She showed you this curriculum from the Air Force Academy, and she asked you why the terms Mom and Dad were disfavored, and you said that you’re working to build cohesive teams. So just wondering, how do the terms Mom and Dad impair cohesive team building?

Gen. Charles Brown, USAF Chief of Staff

Part of leadership is understanding the people you are privileged to lead. And as you have that opportunity, you get to know them. And every one of us grows up differently and has different experiences, different backgrounds, and we can’t assume when we engage with them. And so from that perspective, you’ve got to build that team and to build that trust with our airmen, because that trust is part of the cohesion that gives you the strong team to be able to go execute what the nation asks us to do.

Rep. Matt Gaetz

I understand better than most that families at times aren’t defined by blood or even paperwork. And I know you have to recruit folks from different family environments into the Air Force, but do you think maybe it puts downward pressure on recruiting some of the people who do have Moms and Dads and do use the term Mom and Dad if in the curriculum of the academy, it seems to disfavor those terms?

Gen. Charles Brown, USAF Chief of Staff

No, I don’t.

Rep. Matt Gaetz

And what’s your basis for that belief?

Gen. Charles Brown, USAF Chief of Staff

Because I think part of leadership is dignity and respect of those your privilege to lead.

Rep. Matt Gaetz

You don’t think it disrespects people?

Gen. Charles Brown, USAF Chief of Staff

I do not.

Rep. Matt Gaetz

You don’t think it disrespects Moms and Dads when they send their young children becoming adults into the academy, and then they see that Mom and Dad are disfavored terms. Do you agree that Mom and Dad should be disfavored terms?

Gen. Charles Brown, USAF Chief of Staff

I think we need to respect the fact that they have either parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles that sometimes raised young people.

Rep. Matt Gaetz

Sure! I know folks who’ve been raised by aunts and uncles, and none of them have ever told me that when they hear someone else call their parent Mom or Dad, that that upsets them. Do you know of people who feel excluded when others refer to their parents as Mom or Dad?

Gen. Charles Brown, USAF Chief of Staff

I don’t. Either way, whether it’s aunts, uncles, moms and dads, I’ve not come across anyone.

Frank Kendall, Secretary of the Air Force

If I could, the point of that slide I’m familiar with, it came out of the Air Force Academy. It was actually created by cadets for training, and it’s not very artful, but the point was that it was not to diminish Moms and Dads. It was to just make people aware of that particular family configuration is not the….

Rep. Matt Gaetz

I don’t know, Mr. Secretary. It says that you want to use parents, caregivers or guardians INSTEAD OF Mom and Dad. So when you say instead of, it kind of does seem to disfavor. And I appreciate not every slide is perfect. And if you’re saying this isn’t artful and we’re not going to try to disfavor Mom or Dad or make people feel bad, I think that would progress to hear.