At the 27 July 2023 hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee to consider the nomination of Lieutenant General Stephen N. Whiting, USSF, to be general and Commander, United States Space Command, the general was asked about DEI in the military and his firing of Lt. Colonel Matthew Lohmeier for calling out the Marxist-based CRT/DEI ideology making its way through the military.
No surprise that the general kept deflecting questions given to him by Senator Eric Schmitt (no doubt all service members are prepped on how to do this at hearings).
But the general stated that one “specific quote involving a specific political party” that was said during a podcast was the reason he fired Lt. Col. Lohmeier.
Lohmeier is a 2006 US Air Force Academy graduate and former F-15 fighter pilot who was a high-performing officer with an early promotion to lieutenant colonel. He graduated from the prestigious School for Advanced Aerospace Studies, and served as an aide de camp to the first Space Forces Commander. This respected leader among peers and subordinates had an excellent record and had been an incredible asset to both the Air Force and the Space Force.
He worked his concerns up through the chain-of-command and even filed an Inspector General complaint when his base commander defied the Commander in Chief President Trump’s cease and desist executive order on DEI trainings.
It is ironic that Matt’s book, Irresistible Revolution: Marxism’s Goal of Conquest & the Unmaking of the American Military, details many examples of military officers saying blatantly Leftist partisan things on social media, yet nothing happens to them.
It becomes obvious military leaders did not like Matt shining a light on the political Marxist agenda infiltering the military, thus used a podcast as a reason to dismiss him.
The general also kept saying–in deflection of whether he supports DEI in the military–that he wants to find “the best people across this country” to serve in the military.
Yet he already had one of the best persons working for him, one who was trying to save the military and thus America from the destructive and divisive Marxist ideology that has infected the system.
If the general doesn’t want a high-performing, high-minded officer like Lt. Col. Matthew Lohmeier working for him, who does he want?
Watch below or read transcript:
Transcript
Sen. Eric Schmitt
Thank you, Madam Chair. General Whiting, in speaking in support of DEI initiatives, General Brown said that quote, “there’s still a lot to do because this is a cultural shift. This isn’t something you can get done in just a couple of years.” Do you believe that General Brown should be relieved of his command because of those statements?
Lt. Gen. Stephen Whiting
Senator, no, I do not.
Sen. Eric Schmitt
General Milley, in speaking in support of DEI initiatives, said, quote, “it’s diversity to improve the system, improve the military, improve our problem-solving capabilities, and improve our war fighting readiness in order to protect and defend the Constitution. That’s why it’s so important, so fundamental that we have this as one of our elements as we move forward to continue to develop the joint force.” Do you believe General Milley should be relieved of his command?
Lt. Gen. Stephen Whiting
Senator, no, I do not.
Sen. Eric Schmitt
Do you believe that’s partisan political speech?
Lt. Gen. Stephen Whiting
Senator, no, I do not.
Sen. Eric Schmitt
Lieutenant Colonel Lohmeier said, our DEI industry and trainings we’re receiving in the military via the industry are rooted in critical race theory, which is rooted in Marxism. He was relieved of his command for those statements, correct,
Lt. Gen. Stephen Whiting
Senator, that’s correct.
Sen. Eric Schmitt
By you, right?
Lt. Gen. Stephen Whiting
Senator, there were other comments regarding specific political parties that are in addition to what you just quoted.
Sen. Eric Schmitt
This was from the podcast, which was cited by you. So I’m asking, is opposition to DEI partisan political speech?
Lt. Gen. Stephen Whiting
Senator, no, it’s not, unless it advocates for a specific political party or candidate.
Sen. Eric Schmitt
Okay, well, I would agree with that. So your testimony today is Lieutenant Colonel Lohmeier was relieved for something other than these statements on the podcast, or was that part of your consideration?
Lt. Gen. Stephen Whiting
Senator, it involved a specific quote involving a specific political party.
Sen. Eric Schmitt
In his free time or on duty?
Lt. Gen. Stephen Whiting
It was on a podcast where he associated himself or he identified himself as an active duty space force officer and commander.
Sen. Eric Schmitt
Okay, so there were other comments that other than this one I read to you about DEI?
Lt. Gen. Stephen Whiting
Senator I think that podcast was about an hour long.
Sen. Eric Schmitt
Okay, well, we’ll follow up with some of our questions. I want to ask you, do you support DEI initiatives in the military?
Lt. Gen. Stephen Whiting
Senator I support a ready, lethal force that draws from the best talent all across America.
Sen. Eric Schmitt
Okay, that’s not my question. I support that, too, but that’s not what DEI is. DEI is rooted in cultural Marxism. So I’m asking you, do you support DEI initiatives in the military?
Lt. Gen. Stephen Whiting
Senator I support a merit-based approach to finding the best people across this country.
Sen. Eric Schmitt
That’s not DEI either. So do you support DEI initiatives in the military?
Lt. Gen. Stephen Whiting
Senator based on how it is defined, I want to find the best people across anywhere in this country, geographically or any demographic who can support the defense of this nation.
Sen. Eric Schmitt
Do you believe that our brave military men and women should be pitted against one another based solely on their race?
Lt. Gen. Stephen Whiting
No, sir, I do not.
Sen. Eric Schmitt
Do you believe or do you accept the proposition that General Brown, in his August of 2022 memo that we should have racial quotas with officer class?
Lt. Gen. Stephen Whiting
Senator, I am not aware that General Brown has said that.
Sen. Eric Schmitt
If General Brown said that we should have a reduction in number of white officers serving to 67% of officers down from I think it’s a total of 5400 officers. Do you support that?
Lt. Gen. Stephen Whiting
Senator I support that promotion should be based on merit.
Sen. Eric Schmitt
Okay, so you don’t support the idea that we would have racial quotas for the officer class?
Lt. Gen. Stephen Whiting
That’s correct, Senator.
Sen. Eric Schmitt
I do want to ask you also, what role do you think DEI . . . what’s your experience, firsthand for you? What have you seen in these trainings? What have been the trainings that have taken place? I’m not talking about reaching for the best and the brightest. I want to understand because we have a military recruitment problem, right? And so the issue, I think, is if people view–and this is coming from the Department of Defense and it’s been widely talked about in this committee–if people view that politics is being infused in our military, do you think that that would hurt recruitment?
Lt. Gen. Stephen Whiting
Sir, I do. And I think the military must be rigorously apolitical and nonpartisan.
Sen. Eric Schmitt
Do you think infusing abortion politics into our military hurts our recruiting?
Lt. Gen. Stephen Whiting
Sir, we in the military should not be partisan or political.
Sen. Eric Schmitt
Do you think infusing COVID politics into our military hurts our recruiting? Meaning do you think that people should have been fired for not getting the vaccine?
Lt. Gen. Stephen Whiting
Sir, we are required to uphold a legal order.
Sen. Eric Schmitt
Do you think we should actively recruit those 8500 people who were fired for not getting the vaccine?
Lt. Gen. Stephen Whiting
Sir, I would like to see those individuals who can come back apply to come back, yes, sir.
Sen. Eric Schmitt
Do you think we should recruit them to come back?
Lt. Gen. Stephen Whiting
Yes, sir.
Sen. Eric Schmitt
Okay, and then do you believe that . . . Are you familiar with the August memo of 2022 from General Brown?
Lt. Gen. Stephen Whiting
I am not, sir.
Sen. Eric Schmitt
Okay, in some follow up questions we’ll ask you your points of view on that.
Lt. Gen. Stephen Whiting
Thank you, sir. Thank you.
So it does appear Lt. Gen. Stephen Whiting is just following orders. The Senate should go to the source of those who created these “DEI” orders.
We the People would like to know just who is “pushing” these marxist ideologies in our military. This is a dangerous road to take, especially in our great military(s).
Gregory Thompson