Dear General Milley,
As the President of Stand Together Against Racism and Radicalism in the Services (STARRS, Inc.), I represent thousands of veterans, concerned citizens, and supporters who would like to draw your attention to what we consider a grave national security issue – the infiltration and acceptance of racist and radical ideologies in our armed forces. We are shocked by this development and can no longer sit silent and allow our military to become a tool for political activism.
You and I, along with many STARRS’ supporters, served in a military that was apolitical. We assumed it would always remain so. We took the oath and remain steadfast servants of the United States, accountable to the American people to “support and defend” the U.S. Constitution. We were strictly forbidden, by statute, from participating in political activism. Unfortunately, this is changing under your leadership.
We find it inexcusable that the “woke” political agenda has found its way into the military. Most concerning is the indoctrination of our soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen and guardians in the principles of Critical Race Theory (CRT). This theory segregates people by skin color into racial oppressors and those they oppress and presumes the legacy of past discrimination can only be remedied today by discriminating against the oppressors-whites. This is documented by the core authors of CRT. We are observing these radical ideologies rippling through the force and seeing the damaging effects on readiness and morale.
As a matter of social science, the elements of CRT are unsound. CRT, and its elements, are not rooted in facts. Instead, they are merely activist assertions dressed up in deceitful language. They also run counter to our Constitution and the 14th Amendment. Additionally, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits any discrimination based upon race or ethnicity. Why would we subject servicemembers to theories that violate the law?
Even more alarming, these theories work to destroy the trust, unity, and cohesion that are so vital for effective teams. By judging members of our armed forces by skin color, and openly advocating for new forms of racism and discrimination, the promoters of CRT pit certain groups against others. Their goal is “equity” – equal results for all races – which is antithetical to the ideals of meritocracy that recruits, develops, and promotes the best.
General Milley, I know the SECDEF has said that the military does not teach CRT. Unfortunately, that is not accurate. The tenets of CRT are appearing in classrooms, guest lectures, training programs, and stand-down briefs. We have hundreds of examples to prove the point, which we will gladly share with you to help you understand the scope of this problem.
I know that you take seriously your duty to ensure our military is ready to fight and win our nation’s wars. Our fear, however, is that you are not fully aware of this more subtle “domestic enemy” who is doing more damage under your watch than any potential pacing threat. It is time to address this head on, uproot these racial and radical ideologies, and refocus the military you lead on the fundamentals of military training and warfighting – before our military suffers irreparable damage.
Our military has a proud history of leading the nation on the integration of race, ethnicity, and gender. Until recently, this integration has been productively aimed at creating a unified force to win wars. But something has changed. Our military is now pursuing a new kind of “diversity”. And this new “diversity” is driven by racial and gender discrimination. In other words, we are going backwards. This is already eroding morale, trust, unity, and cohesion, which will destroy military readiness. The time to act is now.
We at STARRS formally ask you to enact strong measures to permanently rid the force of these corrosive narratives and influences. Please know that we remain champions of the United States military and that we have a shared commitment with you in preserving the premier status of our U.S. Armed Forces.
Robert D. Bishop, Jr., Lt Gen, USAF (Ret)
President and Chairmen of the Board, STARRS
Stand Together Against Racism and Radicalism in the Services, Inc.
Thomas Burbage, Capt USN (Ret)
President of the Calvert Group
(Founded to Combat Wokeness at the United States Naval Academy)
Thomas Patrick Hueman, Col USA (Ret)
Leader of Army/West Point Officers & Air Force Officers
CC: The Honorable Lloyd J. Austin III
Secretary, Department of Defense
CC: Senator Jack Reed, Chairman, Senate Armed Services Committee
Senator James lnhofe, Ranking Member, Senate Armed Services Committee
Representative Adam Smith, Chairman, House Armed Services Committee
Representative Mike Rogers, Ranking Member, House Armed Services Committee
Attachment: Co-Sponsor List
CO-SPONSORS FOR LETTER TO CJCS, GENERAL MILLEY:
ARMY GENERAL OFFICERS:
Marvin Covault
Former Chief of Staff, AFSOUTH
LTG (Ret), US Army
Joseph Arbuckle
Former Cmdr, USA OSC, Rock Island
MG (Ret), US Army
Paul Vallely
MG (Ret), US Army
West Point Class of 1961
Chairman -The Stand Up America
US Foundation “Civis Praesidio”
George (Larry) Gunderman
MG (Ret), US Army Reserve
West Point Class of 1962
AIR FORCE GENERAL OFFICERS:
Thomas G. Mcinerney
LTG (Ret), US Air Force
Former Vice Cmdr, USAFE, Ramstein, GE
West Point Class of 1959
Larry D. New
MG, USAF (Ret)
Former Deputy Director, Force Protection, Joint Staff, Pentagon
Air Force Academy Class of 1976
John Miller
MG (Ret), US Air Force
WEST POINT GRADUATES:
Robert Riley
COL (Ret), US Army
West Point Class of 1952
James Wallwork
COL (Ret), US Army
West Point Class of 1952
Fred Rice
LTC (Ret), US Army
West Point Class of 1960
Steve Waldrop Entrepreneur
West Point Class of 1960
Robert Totten
COL (Ret), US Army
West Point Class of 1960
Arthur Bondshu
COL (Ret), US Army
West Point Class of 1962
Charles Shaw
LTC (Ret), US Army
West Point Class of 1962
Robert Phillips
COL (Ret), US Army
West Point Class of 1962
Thomas Murray
LTC (Ret), US Army
West Point Class of 1962
Charles Gordon Geiss
Economics Dept, Missouri U.
West Point Class of 1962
Todd Stong
COL (Ret), US Army
West Point Class of 1962
Trevor Dupuy
LTC (Ret), US Army
WP Class of 1962
Lawrence Waters
CPT (Ret), US Army
West Point Class of 1962
William Petty
Former President, Empire Comms
West Point Class of 1962
James Peterson
COL (Ret), US Army
West Point Class of 1962
Robert Bauman
Senior VP & Corp Sec’y, SEGURA Ins Cos
West Point Class of 1962
John Easterbrook
COL (Ret), US Army
West Point Class of 1962
Frank Westfall
West Point Class of 1962
David Francis
Former Partner, Oak Hill Partners
West Point Class of 1962
John (Sonny) Sloan
COL (Ret), US Army
West Point Class of 1962
James Weiss
LTC (Ret), US Army
West Point Class of 1962
John Wagner
Thomas Group, Consultant
West Point Class of 1962
Stacy (Bud) Reeves
COL (Ret), US Army
West Point Class of 1962
James Dunmyer
LTC (Ret), US Army
West Point Class of 1962
Andrew O’Meara
COL (Ret), US Army
Author, Liberty vs. Tyranny
Frank (Tony) Fiore
LTC (Ret), US Army
West Point Class of 1962
William (Bill) Dworsak
COL (Ret), US Army
West Point Class of 1962
Phillip Burns
MAJ (Ret), US Army
West Point Class of 1962
Melvin (Buzz) Kriesel
COL (Ret), US Army
West Point Class of 1962
Joseph Simoneaux
COL (Ret), US Army
West Point Class of 1962
Larry Richardson
COL (Ret), US Army
West Point Class Of 1962
Richard Barry
President, Secure Tech Group
West Point Class of 1962
Roger Telford
Former First Class Cadet
West Point Class of 1962
Richard Dickstein
Senior Engr Mgr, DE Corp
West Point Class of 1962
Robert Brogi
Former VP, Advanced Trans Systems
West Point Class of 1962
Tom Herre
COL (Ret), US Army
West Point Class of 1962
Arthur Lovgren
COL (Ret), US Army
West Point Class of 1962
Vince Murphy
Manager, Kimberly Clark
West Point Class of 1962
Steve Sperman
Former Managing Director, Telcordia Tech
West Point Class of 1962
Ed Dwyer, Ph.D.
West Point Class of 1962
Thomas Patrick (“Pat”) Hueman
COL (Ret), US Army
West Point Class of 1962
John Nerdahl
Former Human Resources Director, 3M Co
West Point Class of 1968
John Bantsolas
MAJ (Ret), US Army
West Point Class of 1971
Tony Lentini
Former VP, Energy Development Corp.
West Point Class of 1971
Jeff Lincoln
LTC (Ret), US Army
West Point Class of 1971
Stephen Marsh
LTC (Ret), US Army
West Point Class of 1971
Michael Roark
West Point Class of 1971
Sam Thiessen
COL (Ret), US Army
West Point Class of 1973
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