The commander of a Space Force unit that specializes in detecting ballistic missile launches has been relieved of duty because he doesn’t believe Marxism and Critical Race Theory are healthy endeavors for the military to undertake.
Lt Col. Matthew Lohmeier was commander of 11th Space Warning Squadron. He was relieved of duty yesterday by Lt. Gen. Stephen Whiting because of comments he made on a PODCAST criticizing Marxism and critical race theory, and that’s not just a theory and not an exaggeration. It’s explicitly the reason they gave.
From Military.com:
“This decision was based on public comments made by Lt. Col. Lohmeier in a recent podcast,” a Space Force spokesperson said in an email. “Lt. Gen. Whiting has initiated a Command Directed Investigation on whether these comments constituted prohibited partisan political activity.”
Lohmeier’s temporary assignment in the wake of his removal was not immediately clear.
He talked about his self-published book about Marxism invading American institutions while on the podcast.
Lohmeier told Wood, the podcast host, that the beginning chapters of his book explore the history and foundation of the United States and how critical race theory — a study of how race and racism impact or are impacted by social and economic power structures and institutions — plays a role.
“The diversity, inclusion and equity industry and the trainings we are receiving in the military … is rooted in critical race theory, which is rooted in Marxism,” Lohmeier said, adding [that] it should be seen as a warning sign.
In the segment, Lohmeier said his book is not political, and is meant to alert readers to the increasing politicization of today’s armed forces, some of which he said he’d seen or experienced firsthand.
The Blaze excerpts:
Lohmeier noted that there is a diversity initiative that instructs service members to read the book “So You Want to Talk About Race” by Ijeoma Oluo, which labels the United States as a “white supremacist nation.”
Lohmeier claimed that young service members are inundated by a “hyperpoliticized work environment where diversity and inclusion initiatives are being pushed constantly.”
“From his perspective as a commander, Lohmeier said he didn’t seek to criticize any particular senior leader or publicly identify troops within the book,” Military.com reported. “Rather, he said, he focused on the policies service members now have to adhere to to align with certain agendas ‘that are now affecting our culture.’”
PJ Media points out this invasion, this pervasive and rapid integration of critical race theory and Marxist BLM ideology in every facet of American life, has been especially noted in the military since Biden took office.
The subject of a “woke” military has come up repeatedly in the first few months of the Biden administration. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered the Navy to conduct a service-wide stand-down in February to address what the Biden administration deems “radicalism” within the ranks. The training to which the Navy subjected sailors during the stand-down was overtly political and partisan, according to sailors who spoke out against it.
And a military member writing for PJ previously revealed this:
The training we received this month was rushed through in the wake of the Washington, D.C., riot. The course, which was given in a PowerPoint deck, included a slide defining “extremism.” One would expect a broad, catch-all phrase that makes it clear that any radical activity undermining our nation or promoting criminal activity would not be tolerable.
But that would be wrong. Extremism was narrowly defined as “supremacist” beliefs only. That’s it. Nothing else. Nothing about anarchism, nothing about any group that might be found on the left. Everyone in the room – of every race, incidentally – had a collective hush as the chilling effect of this clearly biased definition dawned on our team. As one person on our team put it, “Why does the DoD only care about one kind of extremism? Why do they refuse to talk about antifa? Why is it extremist to attack a Capitol police officer, but not extremist to attack a Portland police officer?”
They are proving his point by relieving him of duty. Do you think they realize that?
And wait until you hear about the pilot being investigated…