STARRS member, USAFA graduate and CD Media IO host L Todd Wood attempted to interview USAFA Superintendent Lt Gen Richard Clark regarding the teaching of CRT at USAFA as revealed in Lynne Garcia’s Op-Ed.
Gen Clark refused to publicly discuss the issue twice.
For more information about this and Todd’s observations of changes he has seen over the last few years that have degraded professionalism and military discipline at the academy, and how they attempted to persuade him not to publicize his observations, see:
The United States Air Force Academy, my alma mater, has suffered from an obvious leadership problem for some time.
During my 30th reunion several years ago, my classmates and I noticed a marked change at our beloved institution – the focus on training warriors to defend the nation was gone. In its place was a focus on buildings, big athletics, and ‘diversity’ (we came to find out later except diversity in political ideas).
I confronted then Superintendent Lt Gen Michelle Johnson at the reunion about the lack of discipline, the lack of focus on a warrior culture, even the lack of respect for alumni walking the Academy grounds, and she said, ‘We don’t believe in hazing’. This was such a cowardly answer to her obvious deliberate destruction of the mission of the institution. I was shocked. Prisoners of war at the Hanoi Hilton during the Vietnam conflict stated the discipline at the Academy and the ‘fourth class system’ helped them weather years in captivity. I wrote this story following this encounter – The United States Air Force Academy Doesn’t Train Warriors Anymore.
USAFA embarrassed itself shortly after with a horrendous parade march in front of the President of the United States, where cadets couldn’t even march in a straight line, a result of lack of discipline and training. I wrote this article after the incident – Air Force Academy Has Leadership Problem.
I was then approached by the Academy, through a classmate via a Facebook chat. This classmate had obviously been talking with Academy leadership and had been asked to contact me.
It seems the Academy wanted to make a deal.
Incoming Superintendent Lt Gen Jay Silvera wanted to invite me to his house for dinner. They wanted me to give speeches at the Academy. They promised I would ‘sell a lot of books’.
But there was a catch.
I couldn’t write anything negative anymore about the Air Force Academy.
The corruption stunk.
I refused. The offer was immediately withdrawn.
This was bribery.
Silvera went on to infamously virtue signal on steroids about alleged ‘racial attacks’ at the Academy Prep school (which were later exposed as having been committed by the accuser himself) in a speech that garnered him much love from the ‘woke’ Obama core in Washington. Knowing what we know now about the Deep State, maybe this prep school cadet was instructed to do so by a higher-ranking individual? Asking for a friend.
Today my classmate, Lt Gen Richard Clark holds the reigns at the Academy as its Superintendent. He has served a distinguished career as a commissioned officer of the President of the United States.
Today we also have Air Force Academy instructors openly advocating teaching critical race theory at the Academy. We have books from George Takei being distributed to incoming cadets, a work that demonizes the very country they are sworn to serve. We have a large number of cadets telling grads they wished they had not come to Air Force due to the current culture of victimization and racism against whites. We have parents saying they will not send their children to the Academy due to racism against whites.
This seems to be coming from the top down, judging by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Milley’s recent comments that he ‘wants to understand white rage’.
There is a difference between learning about your enemy and being indoctrinated with a political theory that destroys military cohesion and effectiveness.
How can future Air Force officers function and lead in the greatest Air Force in the world, when they are taught to hate the very country that hired them? How can they effectively lead white airman when they are taught to hate them?
Critical Race Theory is Marxism, pure and simple. It is meant to divide and conquer. It’s the old tried and true tactic of the communist playbook, straight out of The Communist Manifesto.
General Clark is enabling a Maoist revolution within the institution he is supposed to cherish, protect, and make stronger.
I asked twice for an interview with General Clark. We told him it would be respectful and based on facts. An exchange of ideas if you will.
He declined twice.
I told him this was cowardly. I told him he is betraying his oath by enabling this insidious ideology.
He replied my comments were not respectful.
In my view, his conduct is not becoming of an officer and is not ‘respectful’ to our children, the U.S. Air Force, USAFA, and the nation at large which he is sworn to protect, and put him in one of the most powerful positions in the world. For as quoted in the novel “Gods and Generals” of the Civil War, ‘There is nothing closer to God than a General on a battlefield.’
P.S. – In my view, parents need to continue sending their sons and daughters to the service academies, in order to fight this ideology and rebuild from the ground up.
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L Todd Wood, a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy, flew special operations helicopters supporting SEAL Team 6, Delta Force and others. After leaving the military, he pursued his other passion, finance, spending 18 years on Wall Street trading emerging market debt, and later, writing. The first of his many thrillers is “Currency.” Todd has been a national security columnist for The Washington Times and contributed to One American News, Fox Business, Newsmax TV, Moscow Times, Novaya Vremya (Ukraine), the New York Post, National Review, the Jerusalem Post, Zero Hedge and others. He is also founder/publisher of CDMedia and editor-in-chief of Tsarizm.com. For more information about L. Todd Wood, visit LToddWood.com.
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