A conservative watchdog group has laid out a list of “woke ideologues” to purge if Pentagon chief nominee Pete Hegseth overcomes allegations of personal and professional misconduct to become Pentagon chief. Created.
The American Accountability Foundation (AAF) sent a letter to the former “Fox & Friends” weekend co-host calling for military-wide leadership that it believes to be overly focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). He outlined 20 people from the United States and similar left-wing names. an impediment to wing efforts and therefore to national security.
“A woke military takeover is a serious threat to national security,” AAF President Thomas Jones wrote in a letter to Hegseth dated Tuesday and obtained by the Post.
“With global tensions rising, with Iran advancing, Russia at war, and China undergoing a major military buildup, the military cannot afford to be distracted and demoralized by leftist ideology. ' he added. “Those responsible for introducing these policies in the first place must be removed.”
Before being elected President-elect Donald Trump, Hegseth, 44, publicly advocated against military awakening, even publishing a book on the subject earlier this year. announced on the podcast “Generals, Admirals, whatever was involved in the DEI awakening must go.”
If Hegseth, a combat veteran of both Iraq and Afghanistan, accepts the American Accountability Foundation's proposal, he would not be the only person who has expressed interest in President Trump's purge list.
In his book, Government Gangsters, FBI Director nominee Kash Patel drafted a list of 60 so-called “deep state” agents, including former Secretary of State Hillary and other government officials. This includes domestic and foreign celebrities. Clinton and current FBI Director Christopher Wray.
When contacted by the Post about the AAF list, the Pentagon declined to comment. The newspaper also attempted to contact people on the list.
Below is a sample of AAF's findings.
Air Force Col. Benjamin R. Johnson, author of the editorial “Dear Colonel White.''
One of the people who made the AAF list is Air Force Col. Ben Johnson. Editorial In July 2020, he demanded that his white colleagues “don't give a damn” and “address their racial blind spots.”
Against the backdrop of national upheaval over the death of George Floyd, he recommended reading Robin DiAngelo's “White Fragility” and urged other colonels and military personnel to come up with a plan.
“As white colonels, if we don't personally address racial injustice in the Air Force, you and I will be the biggest obstacles to change,” Johnson wrote in the article. “…Dear White Colonel, you and I set the culture, drove the calendar, and created the policies at most installations in the Air Force.”
“Dear white colonel, it's time to get serious. Aim high.”
Vice Adm. Jeffrey Hughes speaking at the DEI Summit
Back in 2022, the Navy hosted a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Summit in Virginia. Navy Vice Admiral Jeffrey Hughes, who is named to the list, spoke at the summit and emphasized the importance of DEI for recruiting “excellent talent.”
The summit angered Congressional Republicans. Senator-elect Jim Banks (R-Indiana) There was a viral exchange At a committee hearing later that year, he weighed in with Chief of Naval Operations Michael Gilday about the cost of the summit.
The AAF also criticized Hughes for speaking at a webinar hosted by the #NatSecGirlSquad, which aims for “competent diversity in national security and defense.”
The conservative company also echoed comments he made in Navy Recruiter magazine in 2016, in which he talked about realigning the Navy's diversity teams to “focus diversity-related resources on the most impactful parts of the recruiting process.” also issued a warning.
Air Force Maj. Gen. Elizabeth Arledge praised RBG and slammed “whiteness”
Another military official on the list is Air Force Maj. Gen. Elizabeth Arlidge, who made “happening posts” on social media, the AAF said.
In one post, Arledge shared an article featuring “debates about whiteness within organizations.”[anization] theory and how whiteness (verb) is naturalized as an organizational ideal. ”
Organizational theory is concerned with the sociological construction of organizations.
Another post focused on intersectionality.
“Women are influenced not only by gender but also by many concepts at the same time. Today's reading is by Evangelina Holvino. There is a lot to think about as both scholars and practitioners. #Org Theory #AICCSED,” she said. posted on X.
She also reposted a tribute to the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
Navy Vice Admiral Shoshana Chatfield complained that Congress was 80% male.
Speaking at a Women's Equality Day event in 2015, Navy Vice Admiral Shoshana Chatfield lamented male dominance in Parliament, claiming that at the time 80% of MPs were men.
“It seems a little unequal in terms of what the future holds,” she says.
The AAF also noted that she was quoted as declaring in her speech that “our diversity is our strength.”
Chatfield also attended the Naval Air Forces Command DEI Summit in 2022.
Air Force Brigadier General Corey Simmons oversees creation of DEI Task Force
The AAF also targeted Air Force Brig. Gen. Corey Simmons helped oversee the formation of the DEI Task Force at Vance Air Force Base.
Simmons also appeared in a video on Diversity and Cultural Messages in October 2020, praising the work being done to promote “the four foundational principles of diversity and inclusion.”
AAF has worked on similar projects in the past. In October, the group launched a website called DHSWatchlist.com to identify a list of people President Trump deemed to be “radical left” government employees at the Department of Homeland Security who should be fired.
Hegseth faces growing unrest among key Senate Republicans following anonymous accusations of sexual assault and alcohol abuse. Many of his former colleagues publicly came to his defense.
