Former Lt. Col. Space Force commander Matthew Lohmeier joins ‘Fox & Friends Weekend’ to discuss how DEI in the military is potentially impacting military readiness.
TRANSCRIPT
Fox Host:
In the military has our next guest, a former Space Force commander, lieutenant colonel, up in arms after he says he was fired and lost his pension for speaking out after serving in the military for over a decade. Matt Lohmeier ripped DEI training for dividing troops, decreasing morale, and ultimately affecting military readiness, which prompted action against him. Executive Vice president of STARRS Matt Lohmeier joins us now.
Good morning. Lieutenant Colonel, thank you for joining us. We were just talking in the commercial break there–you weren’t just fired from your position. You were also pushed out of the Space Force altogether. You lost your career over this?
Matt Lohmeier:
Yeah. You know, unfortunately for the American people and for all of the men and women in uniform, it’s been considered for a number of years now to be politically partisan to speak up against diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. And of course, anyone who’s looked into this matter knows it shouldn’t necessarily be considered a partisan issue. I wasn’t interested in being politically partisan while I wore the uniform of the country and was in command of a Space Force unit. But of course, senior military leaders, especially under the current administration, decided that because of the climate of fear that we had created for ourselves, they ought to treat my criticism of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives as partisan and, quote unquote, hold me accountable for speaking out against it.
Fox Host:
Now, one thing on my fact sheet here that I found really interesting a study, I believe it was by Arizona State University. And basically they found that part of the policy is that you’re mandated or required or encouraged to tell on others if they have a negative opinion of DEI. Did you experience that?
Matt Lohmeier:
In fact, come to think of it, I did experience that. A fellow commander informed me, that they’re aware of my kind of politics and that they’d be happy to turn me into the base commander if I continued to privately criticize our diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. But this problem has grown far beyond what I experienced personally and professionally in the military workplace.
That report that you’ve just mentioned from Arizona State University’s Center for American Institutions, specifically mentioned some of the things that are happening currently at our military service academies. My own alma mater, the U.S. Air Force Academy, has diversity and inclusion cadet officers who wear a special insignia within their cadet squadrons that were purple braided ropes over the shoulders. And they report to us a separate chain of command other than their military chain of command relating to diversity and inclusion issues. It reminds one of Soviet political commissars that have been established in both in the Soviet Union and other Marxist revolutionary efforts throughout the last century. So this is a very dangerous, very divisive ideology and we treat it any more like it’s a protected religious worldview, but not just protected, but one that others ought to step in line with and support in their words and actions otherwise face consequences.
Fox Host:
Lieutenant Colonel, you show courage by joining the military. You showed even more courage by sticking to your oath and standing up for things you believe are American and honest and true and detrimental to our readiness. I can’t thank you enough for your service. Real quick, want to read this: the U.S. Space Force has not returned our request for comment. So we have your perspective today, and we appreciate it. Lieutenant Colonel Matt Lohmeier, thank you for joining us.
Matt Lohmeier:
Thanks for having me.
What People Are Saying
Some comments from the comment sections
“Wow. I’m from Poland. When my dad served in the communist Polish People’s Army they had an officer like he described. The political officer whom everyone was afraid of. He had an authority over the commander and was subordinate to the Party. I’m shocked what’s going on in the USA.”
“This nonsense called DEI needs to stop. I as a brown guy survived without DEI, and don’t need any artificial quotas. Equal opportunity is what is needed.”
“It’s sad to see what Space Force has turned into, both of my parents used to work there. Ironically DEI under the Obama Administration was what caused my parents to leave their jobs.”
“My sister is going on 25 years Air Force…currently deployed…..her final one…..she is so disgusted…has been for 3.5 years….but has suffered for that full pension.”
“This is exactly why I got out of the Army as a senior leader–military went woke.”
“As an enlisted veteran, I agree with the commander. More over, this divisive training is one of the reasons many are not reenlisting and choosing to retire early, this is a huge problem for all branches, none are meeting their recruitment and retention targets. No-one wants to join an organization were your life depends on the people you are serving with, when these people are being advanced not on merit, but merely to meet a diversity quota!”
“I’m an Iraq veteran who served 13 years in the Army. I recently went to an air show at Hill Airforce Base and was shocked to see the gate guards with full facial hair, beards, goatees, mustaches, everything, and other uniformed Airforce personnel with facial hair(beards), other Airforce Airmen, their uniforms were wrinkly and messy, I turned to my fellow veteran and buddy and asked “what the hell has happened to the Airforce?”. I’m glad I’m not in the military now, they’ve been destroyed!”
“For those who have been in the military, who know the importance of esprit de corps, we know how bad it is. We know that it is degrading the effectiveness of every unit in every branch. Those currently in charge do not know. The biggest blame goes to Barak Obama because he pushed out or forced retirement for a huge number of old, senior officers at the upper echelons of the military because they wouldn’t go along with his program. Biden has just continued and exacerbated the situation. It is one of the reasons why recruitment goals are not being met across the board.” – Navy person
“Courage and loyalty go hand in hand. You can’t trust the process if the people responsible for the process are corrupt. That’s when Courage and Loyalty must, and are compelled, to stand. Our military know this. It’s ingrained in us. If you’re lucky, you can just criticize without being directly involved. Just like we in the military expose ourselves to bodily danger and you don’t.”
“My hope is, come November, a new President with be elected and turn this insanity around. DEI, CRT, and Trans are failed ideas. My own son got out of the Army after six-years due to all the HR classes peddling these theories. My apologies that our nation and woke officers have screwed you over. Keep your head up and bless you and your family.”
“When I was in the military, the last thing we thought about was race. Don’t force this trash on people.”
“DEI weakens the military. I saw this starting as I retired in 2020. I want the best person in each position, not someone who checks a color, gender, or sexual orientation box.”
“As a retired Army officer back in June 22, I’m thankful to have crossed the finish line, even with the mandatory COVID vaccine and “Extremism in the Ranks” mandatory training. But the fact is, the entire top structure of the military needs a drastic overhaul. The current stars need to be evaluated. Most have drank the Obama/Biden political kool-aid and need to be shown the door. Even as a Conservative, all military personnel need to be completely apolitical and devoid of any political influence. Yes, we should vote with our beliefs. But DEI and anything beyond promoting for merit should be prohibited. Command Teams shouldn’t be required or strongly encouraged to participate in EO/SHARP events. But if you don’t nowadays, you are considered unfit for command. We have to return to what our warfighters were trained for: warfighting.”
“As a retired Air Force Major, give me the courageous stand of Former Lieutenant Colonel Matt Lohmeier over the disgusting testimony of the former Chairman of the JCS when he testified to lawmakers about want to know more about “white rage”.”
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