23 FEB 24 Update: Cadets have advised that this year’s NCLS and the speakers “did not resonate with any of us”.
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The Air Force Academy’s National Character and Leadership Symposium is next week. Here’s the description, which just seems odd for a military academy training future warfighters whose purpose, let’s face it, is to be ready to fight other countries, ie societies and cultures in these countries.
Instead, it sounds like a regular liberal arts college touting DEI pabulum to people destined for USAID or the Peace Corps and like a Karen, telling adults how they should behave:
“Our NCLS 2024 theme of “Valuing Human Conditions, Cultures, and Societies” explores our understanding of what it is to be human and what qualities good citizens and leaders should have.
Our speakers will focus on the common experiences, emotions, and challenges we all share as humans.
As citizens of unique societies and cultures, we examine how both our commonalities and our different perspectives come together to create effective teams.
In our global and interconnected environment, we must understand that success results from understanding ourselves and others, and that teams work best when all members feel valued and respected.
As leaders of character, we must appreciate viewpoints, experiences, and perspectives other than our own, and use them to live honorably, lift others who share this human experience with us, and elevate the performance of our teams.”
Who talks like this, except someone steeped in a woke educational system? Political commissars would again be proud.
“Perspectives other than our own” — then why are there no conservative speakers? Diversity of thought is lip service because they never accept someone who doesn’t go along with the Official Left-Wing Narrative.
Re “creating effective teams” that “work best when all members feel valued and respected”. DEI language creates a false reality as if this had never happened in the past so as to purposely shame/accuse people as ‘bad’ in order for them to submit to the wider Marxist narrative.
But the military did do this–until DEI came along and divided everyone:
“My nephew is an Air Force pilot and we hear about the “wokeness” that has penetrated the military. There is a huge loss of camaraderie and the overall sense of “being one” that is extremely important in the military. When I served, we felt like “one”. It didn’t matter if we were white, black, hispanic, Asian, etc., we were united with a common overall mindset. The same way the US has been fractioning into tribalism, we are seeing the same thing in the military.”—Comment found on an article
The Director for the Center for Character and Leadership Development writes awkwardly in his welcome letter:
“This year’s NCLS theme focuses on our efforts to Embrace Culture and Empower People, based on our institutional outcome of Valuing Human Conditions, Cultures, and Societies, as we prepare leaders for the future fight and service to our nation.”
This is the “institutional outcome” of the United States Air Force Academy — “valuing human conditions, cultures and societies”?? Definitions from the internet:
“Institutional learning outcomes identify what students know and are able to do once they successfully complete a degree.”
“Institutional outcomes are broad statements which represent the values of an institution. They help shape and inform the academic culture of an institution and decide the type of graduate profile an institution aspires to have.”
“Institutional outcomes reflect the vision, mission, and core values of the institution.”
Good grief, there’s a serious disconnect here. How does that relate to the real purpose of a military? (Related: The Hostile Takeover of the Air Force Academy)
Anyway, in this previous article, Tone Deaf: USAFA Names as NCLS Speaker Woke United CEO who blew up Twitter, we covered three super woke speakers at NCLS:
- USAFA Grad and United CEO who checks off all the requirements for sterling woke pedigree: DEI hiring/discrimination; climate change, vax tyrant and cross-dresser
- A social justice warrior who believes the US is utterly racially and economically unjust so needs to be constantly reminded of past slavery, lynching and segregation (none of which exists today)
- A transgender Space Force officer (man who believes he’s now a woman) whose bio shows his career seems to be primarily promoting and pushing the transgender agenda in the military
Let’s look at the other speakers as we go through the program booklet:
—A USAFA grad who is an astronaut, great! But here is what his speech will be about (once again, fine for a liberal arts college, not a warfighting academy–if it is actually still one). It sounds like someone at USAFA wrote this for him, maybe the same political commissar who wrote the NCLS description.
Beyond Borders: How Space Exploration Brings Us Together
Dr. Kjell N. Lindgren shares how his journey from U.S. Air Force Academy cadet to NASA astronaut has helped him appreciate the diversity of human cultures and how we all have a role to play in protecting our planet and each other. Lindgren has had the privilege of seeing our planet from a unique perspective. From space, it is clear how interconnected our world is and how we all share the same home. Working with people from all over the world in the space program, he has learned that despite differences in culture, language, and beliefs, we all share a common humanity and have the same basic needs.
—The United CEO Scott Kirby talk is sponsored by “The Falcon Foundation William “Bud” Breckner Lecture”. Who is Breckner?
Major General William “Bud” Breckner, USAF
A Major General in the US Air Force, 1954 to 1986 and a command fighter pilot with 5,100 hours. Served in Vietnam, 1967-1969 and was a POW from 1972-1973, spending 242 days in captivity after his F-4 was hit by a surface-to-air missile. Among many positions, he served as the Vice Commandant of Cadets at USAFA, 1976-1979 and retired as the commander of the 17th Air Force. He is the recipient of the Silver Star medal. (More Info) An honorable Air Force career and true warfighter. We leave it to your thoughts about the speaker under his name.
—An Olympic swimmer. Oddly the USAFA bio shows her getting a degree in psychology when sources on the internet said it was in religion. Mistake or is religion not ‘inclusive’ enough?
—Speaking of USAID (see the beginning paragraphs), one of the speakers works for them in humanitarian assistance in an office that has been the “lead humanitarian arm of the US Government for over 55 years.”
—And speaking of the Peace Corps (again, see the top), the next speaker worked for that agency and now runs an organization for single mother refugees. Her bio says she “has spent 20 years working in international community development, peacebuilding, gender equity movements, and trauma therapy. Previous work included leading reproductive health and gender equity programming with Peace Corps.” (“Reproductive Health” is leftist codeword for abortion)
—There’s a USAFA attorney speaking who teaches a course there called “Race, Sex and Justice” and worked on the USAFA Transgender Working Group. He serves on the board of a Colorado Springs organization called Inside-Out Youth Services that was founded in 1990 during “the heyday of Focus on the Family and Colorado Springs’ reputation as a city of hate”. The organization helps “lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, asexual, queer, questioning and two-spirit (LGBTQIA2+) youth in the Pikes Peak region”. Their website alerts that the land Colorado Springs sits on is “the homeland and unceded historic territory of many native American nations”. Some of the staff who assist the youths don’t really look like the crowd you want being around kids.
Here’s our alert: His talk will be on that Marxist CRT term “allyship” (“someone who makes a commitment and effort to recognize their privilege and work in solidarity with oppressed groups in the struggle for justice”). The Air Force has a super creepy Maoist Allyship training course. His talk “discusses lessons learned in allyship by sharing successes and failures through the macro lens of military engagements and an individual lens using his personal experiences advocating on behalf of survivors, cadets, and the LGBTQIA2+ community.”
Where is the ‘diversity of thought’ here with a speaker giving a different view and perhaps educating cadets on the Cold War and America’s fight against Marxism, with over 95K Americans killed and many more wounded or missing? What Marxism really is, who Herbert Marcuse is, how it developed to use race (Oppressor versus Oppressed) as a divider to create revolution rather than class, how miserable life was in countries under communism, etc? Speakers who lived through and survived the Soviet Union and other communist countries. How about Xi Van Fleet, author of Mao’s America: A Survivor’s Warning? . . . . Crickets.
—Finally a real warfighter—pilot, sniper, SEAL, assaulter, breacher, leader! And his talk is about cohesive units. Okay, he’s a Navy Seal and not in the Air Force, but at least it’s something.
—Next is a “human relationship education” assistant professor at USAFA who, “leads in the areas of healthy relationships, emotional intelligence, high-quality connections, compassion in the workplace, inclusion and diversity, and positive psychology.” (Can anyone say why this is in a military academy?) She did a lot of work with sexual assault prevention and response. Her talk is on how to have “high-quality connections”.
But she is also giving a talk with her brother, the above Navy Seal. Their talk is oddly described as,
“Can two vastly different individuals have a positive relationship and even love? What do a Navy SEAL and a professor of love, emotions, and relationships have in common? In this case, they grew up in the same home but developed different views about most things. Hear this brother-sister pair discuss their differences and the bond that helps to bridge them. Can we move from tolerating differences to embracing them as part of human connection?”
Is anyone getting the vibes of ‘my-brother-is-a-Trump-supporter-so-I-can’t-stand-him’?
Also, really? A “professor of love, emotions and relationships” at the Air Force Academy? WTH has happened?
—An accomplished businesswoman who works for the two of the most woke companies: Disney and ESPN. Another bio shows she is “a member of The Walt Disney Company’s CEO Diversity and Inclusion Council and sits on the executive committee for the board of directors of the T. Howard Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to increasing diversity in the multimedia and entertainment industry.” Elon Musk told everyone how that’s going with a leaked “Inclusion Standards” chart from Disney detailing all the strict DEI requirements in hiring, casting and producing Disney movies and TV shows.
—An entrepreneur and inventor of “Rolease, billed as the world’s most functional foam roller” as well as an author of a children’s book—all in the past five years since he left the Space Force after serving for only four years. He attended USAFA Prep School and graduated from USAFA 9 years ago, in 2015 with a bachelor’s degree in Business Management and Marketing. Speaking as a civilian, this is warfighter degree? And taxpayers paid his tuition to attend a premier military academy whose purpose is to train our nation’s future military leaders. Maybe it would have been better to get that degree at a normal liberal arts college because what’s the point?
—A woman who mostly speaks to women, “I empower women to get what they want, at work and in life,” and is the author of the upcoming book, “Likeable Badass: How Women Get The Success They Deserve”.
—We’ve arrived at the page of speaker “Col. Bree Fram” labeled not as the Space Force job he holds but as “Former President, SPARTA” (transgenders in the military). With only two sentences about his military jobs, the rest is all about he turning into a she and seems to spend most of the time in the military on that. The Colonel’s talk:
From Firsts to the Future: The Inclusion of Imperative
Colonel Bree Fram addresses the history of inclusion in the armed forces as a prologue to sharing her personal story and the rollercoaster ride of amazing opportunities and resilience challenges that transgender service members have endured. The presentation encourages people to challenge their stereotypes or long-held beliefs about leadership and inclusion in the military. Fram concludes by sharing a view on why inclusion is a national security imperative and provides a call to action in the development of inclusive leadership that ensures we create the conditions for individuals and teams to perform at their best.
—Then there is recent USAFA cadet and now Miss America, who USAFA grad L. Todd Wood wrote, “America’s pilots are no longer warriors – they are beauty queens” and other choice words.
—On the Polaris Dawn panel, there is a retired Air Force command pilot with over 400 hours of combat time during various operations. Finally.
—Now what this next section has to do with an Air Force military academy, who knows. Why a military academy would “support youth in locating and amplifying their voices through the art of documentary film” who knows.
The Youth Documentary Film Panel
The Youth Documentary Academy (YDA) supports youth in locating and amplifying their voices through the art of documentary film. These youth storytellers empower people of all generations to communicate courageously, authentically, and empathically. Audiences will enjoy watching two short films that expand on the concept of culture and engaging in follow-up questions with two filmmakers. In “Out of Our Heads,” Shaienne Knox explores how African American girls and women style their hair, offering robust racial observations regarding weave and relaxed hair as commodities that eschew conventional standards of beauty. By interviewing her mother, grandmother, and friends, Knox reveals personal, nuanced, and sometimes blistering views on what comprises “good hair” among African Americans.
Meanwhile, China prepares for war against the United States.
—In the Workshop section, the same USAFA assistant ‘professor of love’ who hates her Trump-supporting brother is giving this workshop:
What’s Sex Ed Got to Do With it?
Colleges, universities, and military academies are trying to reduce sexual violence on their campuses. Prevention science shows that there are multiple levels and efforts needed to address these crimes. What role does sex education play in this endeavor? This workshop will address some of the science surrounding this approach to prevention and will present sex education at the same time. Note: This is not your typical middle school sex ed class. Come prepared to learn and discuss.
Well, if it’s anything like this:
- ‘Woke’ sex-ed being foisted on next generation of AF officers
- USAFA Mandates Radical Leftist Gender Training
A cadet commented on this training, “my friend who did see it said it was the worst, most radical briefing he’s seen during his time here.”
—Another workshop is on “Ethical Decision Making” by an associate professor at the USAF Air War College. Part of the description says,
“Rather than viewing “ethics as compliance,” this workshop reframes the ethics curriculum as “one of aspiration” by re-focusing agency on Airmen’s ethical decision-making skills and character development, both at the individual and organizational levels.”
Is this word, aspirational, the new military word for ‘we can only maybe hope to do it’? The West Point superintendent told a Board of Visitors meeting that the academy was “reviewing the Honor Code to make it more aspirational in nature.”
—There’s an assistant professor of leadership at the USAF Air War College who has a PhD in communication and holds a graduate certificate in “Women’s and Gender Studies” who teaches workshops in empathy, conflict management and communication. As part of the Air University, she specializes in the “competency of Empathy”. Her workshop description:
Leading with Empathy
Empathy is fundamental to the human condition, creating inclusive environments, and even maintaining lasting peace. In a professional setting, empathy behaviors are related to improved feelings of belonging, engagement, care about work, and motivation. In the Profession of Arms, empathy is linked with fostering cohesive teams and making decisions in novel environments, while a lack of empathy has led to difficult cross-cultural relationships and has the potential to erode lasting peace. Yet the concept is largely misunderstood. This workshop connects the academic underpinnings of what empathy is with the practical application needed for successful leadership in our current global environment.
Meanwhile, China prepares for war against the United States.
And the Chief of Staff of the Air Force is desperately imploring that “We’re out of time . . . we have to follow through now” to make major changes in order to prepare for “Great Power Competition,” aka war with China.
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