Biden’s Pick For Joint Chiefs Chair Made ‘Diversity’ And ‘Inclusion’ Focal Points In Air Force Personnel Decisions
President Joe Biden’s purported pick to head the Defense Department’s Joint Chiefs of Staff previously indicated that divisive “DEI” ideology would influence U.S. Air Force personnel decisions.
For context, diversity, equity, and inclusion (often abbreviated to DEI) is a divisive and poisonous ideology dismissive of merit to discriminate based on characteristics such as skin color and sexual orientation. Individuals who qualify for a certain position due to their merits but don’t meet the discriminating entity’s goal of being more “diverse” are passed over in favor of those who meet the preferred identitarian standards.
Late last week, various outlets reported that Biden tapped Air Force Gen. Charles Q. Brown to replace U.S. Army Gen. Mark Milley as the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. In March 2020, Brown received a nomination from President Donald Trump to become the Air Force’s top general after previously serving as the commander of Pacific Air Forces. He was unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate later that year.
When pressed by Politico for comment on Brown’s nomination, a National Security Council representative declined to confirm such reports, saying, “When President Biden makes a final decision, he will inform the person selected and then announce it publicly.”
While legacy media’s coverage of Biden’s decision has largely been devoted to Brown’s skin color and the “history-making” nature of his alleged nomination, a deeper dive into Brown’s past reveals efforts by the general to advance “DEI” ideology throughout the U.S. Air Force. In November 2020, Air & Space Forces Magazine reported that during a virtual discussion hosted by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, Brown indicated that “[a]t the higher level of the Air Force, diversity ha[d] moved to the forefront of personnel decisions such as promotions and hiring.”
“It was almost like, in some cases in the past, when you talk about diversity, folks were afraid to bring it up that you didn’t have a slate of diverse candidates, or there wasn’t an African American, Asian American, a woman on the slate,” Brown said. “Now, it’s almost like they’ve got to be on the slate and be considered. And so, as an institution and as a nation, we are more apt to talk about diversity, more so than we have in the past. Now, we’ve got to get past talk. … It’s what we do. It’s how we actually bring in … individuals and give them the opportunity.”
During his November remarks, Brown went on to detail his personal attempts to increase opportunities for so-called “diverse candidates” in the Air Force. When building his staff upon taking office, for instance, Brown said he “hire[d] for diversity because they all bring a different perspective” and he can “hear different sides of the argument.”
“Hearing from all these different groups provides a perspective, you know … It makes us stronger as an Air Force, and I think it makes us stronger as a nation as well,” he said. The comments came almost two months after Brown confirmed the Air Force was analyzing alleged “systemic biases” in its promotion system.
Following the May 2020 death of George Floyd, the Air Force launched a Diversity and Inclusion Task Force designed to “investigate the impact of demographic-related disparities” within the branch and the U.S. Space Force. The task force later transitioned into the Office of Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging that same year with a focus on “cultivating [the aforementioned] qualities across both services.”
Relatedly, Brown issued his own response to Floyd’s death, detailing in a video statement his thoughts on the then-ongoing situation and his personal experience as a black American in the Air Force. At the end of the video, Brown expressed his desire to acquire “the wisdom and knowledge to lead, participate in, and listen to necessary conversations on racism, diversity, and inclusion.”
Since becoming the Air Force’s chief of staff, Brown has gone on to issue numerous statements on so-called “diversity” and “inclusion” efforts within the military. In April 2021, the general gave an interview with U.S. News where he expressed belief in the importance of “hav[ing] … conversations on some challenges we’ve had as a nation for a number of years,” such as racial issues. Brown also did an interview with Defense News in February 2022, where he criticized sentiments from congressional Republicans who expressed concerns about the Biden administration’s attempt to spread DEI instruction throughout the military.
“If we don’t think about this, we’re not going to have anybody who is going to join our service to go fight China or Russia,” Brown said. “And you’ve got to look at the demographics of our country, how it’s changing. If you have that approach [of opposing inclusivity efforts] you’re gonna have very few people that come serve.”
Furthermore, Brown also reportedly attended the Air Force’s first branch-wide LGBT celebration event last year, according to The Daily Caller.
As The Federalist previously reported, the Defense Department has been pushing military leadership to adopt discriminatory “DEI” ideology since Biden took office. In May 2021, for example, U.S. Naval leadership was instructed to “lead and oversee all DEI efforts across the Department to synchronize key policies and initiatives … and to develop a strategy to advance DEI across the enterprise.”
The Navy has recently received much-deserved backlash for opting to use a drag queen to recruit new sailors.
Shawn Fleetwood is a Staff Writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He also serves as a state content writer for Convention of States Action and his work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics, RealClearHealth, and Conservative Review. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood
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