{"id":1970202,"date":"2023-07-11T20:07:02","date_gmt":"2023-07-12T00:07:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/bidens-pick-for-top-us-general-grilled-about-memo-seeking-racial-quotas-in-air-force-recruiting\/"},"modified":"2023-07-11T20:09:36","modified_gmt":"2023-07-12T00:09:36","slug":"bidens-pick-for-top-us-general-grilled-about-memo-seeking-racial-quotas-in-air-force-recruiting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/bidens-pick-for-top-us-general-grilled-about-memo-seeking-racial-quotas-in-air-force-recruiting\/","title":{"rendered":"Biden&#8217;s top US general nominee questioned over memo on racial quotas in Air Force recruitment."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">30<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fbidens-pick-for-top-us-general-grilled-about-memo-seeking-racial-quotas-in-air-force-recruiting%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1970202&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div class=\"post_content\">\n<div class=\"aplayer_app\" data-source=\"https:\/\/vs1.youmaker.com\/assets\/2023\/0711\/20d2eefe-ac5f-475e-addf-b6de1b2c0e84\/audio.mp3?length=9504621&#038;duration=792\"><\/div>\n<\/p>\n<p>President Joe Biden\u2019s nominee to lead the United States armed services co-authored an August 2022 memo that stipulated preferred racial quotas for Air Force recruiting efforts\u2014spurring criticism from several Republican senators during a July 11 confirmation hearing.<\/p>\n<p>Also touched on at the meeting were military challenges posed by China and Russia\u2014among others\u2014but festered on conservative criticism of Pentagon \u201cwoke\u201d diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies.<\/p>\n<p>Air Force commanding officer Gen. Charles \u201cC.Q.\u201d Brown was nominated in May by Mr. Biden to assume the chairmanship of the Department of Defense\u2019s (DOD) Joint Chiefs of Staff to succeed Army Gen. Mark Milley, who is retiring in September.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4130312\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/img.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/uploads\/2021\/11\/30\/eric-schmitt-1200x800.jpg\"><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><\/noscript><\/figcaption><\/a><br \/>\n\t\tSen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) speaks during an August 2020 press conference in St. Louis, Missouri, when he was that state\u2019s attorney general. (Jeff Roberson\/AP Photo)<br \/>\n\t<\/figure>\n<p>Gen. Brown\u2014commissioned an Air Force officer 40 years ago\u2014has accrued 3,000 hours flying F-16s over his career, including 130 hours in combat missions.<\/p>\n<p>He has been the Air Force\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/rashida-tlaib-opposition-to-crt-rooted-in-racism-dog-whistle-for-racists\/\" title=\"Rashida Tlaib: Opposition To CRT \u2018Rooted In Racism,\u2019 \u2018Dog Whistle For Racists\u2019\">highest-ranking officer<\/a> with a seat at the Joint Chiefs of Staff since 2020.<\/p>\n<p>His July 11 appearance before the Senate Armed Services Committee was his first confirmation hearing. There was no vote on his nomination.<\/p>\n<p>Senators queried Gen. Brown on how to counter China in the Pacific\u2014he led the Air Force\u2019s Pacific Command for three years\u2014Russia in Europe, deal with cyber security, build the nation\u2019s defense industry, and sustain flagging modernization during the 240-minute hearing.<\/p>\n<h2>The Show-Stopper<\/h2>\n<p>But it was Sen. Eric Schmitt\u2019s (R-Mo.) query about 80 minutes into the hearing that underscored GOP ire at the DOD\u2019s implementation of DEI policies that they believe is contributing to the worst recruiting shortfalls in the 50-year history of the nation\u2019s volunteer military.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGeneral,\u201d the former Missouri attorney general asked, \u201cdo we have too many white officers in the Air Force?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSenator,\u201d Gen. Brown replied, \u201cwhat I really look at is the quality of all the options that we have. And we look at that aspect\u2014everyone who\u2019s qualified, who meets the qualifications, is promoted.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWell, I would agree with you, but that is not the answer, not consistent with your Aug. 29 [2022] memo,\u201d Sen. Schmitt said.<\/p>\n<p>According to that memo, he said, 67.5 percent of the Air Force\u2019s officers should be white, 15 percent Hispanic\/Latino, 13 percent African-American, 10 percent Asian American, 1.5 percent American Indian\/Native Alaskan, and 1 percent Native Hawaiian\/Pacific Islander.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_3450730\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/img.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/uploads\/2020\/08\/05\/charles-brown-1200x800.jpg\"><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><\/noscript><\/figcaption><\/a><br \/>\n\t\tGen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. is sworn in as Chief of Staff of the Air Force as his wife Sharene Guilford Brown, holds a Bible, in the Oval Office of the White House, in Washington, on Aug. 4, 2020. (AP Photo\/Alex Brandon)<br \/>\n\t<\/figure>\n<p>\u201cHow did you come up with 13 percent should be black? And how did you come up with 10 percent should be Asian?\u201d Sen. Schmitt asked, noting under the memo\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/parent-group-fights-asian-discrimination-at-nations-top-high-school\/\" title=\"Parent Group Fights Asian Discrimination At Nation\u2019s Top High School\">desired racial quotas<\/a>, the Air Force would need to replace with minorities up to 9 percent of its officer corps\u2014about 5,400 officers\u2014because they are white.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m saddened to see this in this memo,\u201d he added. \u201cThere\u2019s this obsession with this sort of race-based politics being interjected into our military.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Gen. Brown objected to those calculations, noting the memo\u2019s racial quotas were not about force structure, but about recruiting and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/applications-to-service-academies-plummet\/\" title=\"Applications to Service Academies Plummet\">service academy applications<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd those numbers are based on the demographics in the nation,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Regardless, Sen. Schmitt said, \u201cThis is a ridiculous conversation, to be perfectly honest,\u201d even if related to recruiting. \u201cDid you contemplate how many black Americans should be in the Air Force? Or how many Asian Americans should be in the Air Force?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat we looked at was the aspect of providing opportunities for anybody who wants to serve,\u201d Gen. Brown said.<\/p>\n<p>Sen. Schmitt was not dissuaded. \u201cIf that were the case, I wouldn\u2019t be asking you these questions,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut we have a memo signed by you that you think, right now, there are too many white officers [in the Air Force] in this is a blanket statement.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd so, I could go down the line of questioning\u2014which of the 5,400 white officers that we have too many of should be fired?\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Racial Quotas Banned<\/h2>\n<p>Sen. Schmitt\u2019s questions drew sharp rebukes from Senate Armed Services Committee chair Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) and Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.).<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy understanding is that you want to broaden the recruiting and allow anybody who wants to serve or qualifies to serve, and make sure that people have access to service,\u201d Sen. Duckworth said, before asking, \u201cOr are you actually <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/pfizer-offers-minorities-only-fellowship\/\" title=\"Pfizer Offers \"Minorities Only\" Fellowship\">implementing racial quotas<\/a> and saying only certain number of Asian, certain number of black, certain number of whites can get recruited?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe do not have quotas,\u201d Gen. Brown said. \u201cThat\u2019s against policy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sen. Reed said the memo, which was also crafted and signed by the Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall III and Undersecretary of the Air Force Gina Ortiz Jones, \u201cbase operations chiefs,\u201d and many others in the chain of command, \u201cwas designed to increase the pool of applicants, essentially to search for more talent. It was not designed to set the composition\u201d of the force.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was only application goals. It was not designed to eliminate the opportunities for anyone,\u201d he said, quoting directly from the memo, which states \u201c\u2018these goals are aspirational in aligning resources to invest in our long-term objectives \u2026 and will not be used in any manner that undermines our merit-based processes.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo, the memorandum clearly declares that merit is the one standard by which you merit [advancement] in the Air Force.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_3424840\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/img.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/uploads\/2020\/07\/15\/tommy-tuberville-1200x872.jpg\"><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><\/noscript><\/figcaption><\/a><br \/>\n\t\tTommy Tuberville speaks to his supporters at Auburn Oaks Farm in Notasulga, Ala., on March 3, 2020. (Joe Songer\/AL.com. via AP)<br \/>\n\t<\/figure>\n<p>\u201cYes,\u201d Gen. Brown agreed. \u201cAs a matter of fact, if that kind of statement was not included, I would not have never signed that letter.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sen. Schmitt said regardless of the explanations, the memo is an example of how the Biden administration is imposing its progressive policies on the military and this is causing conservatives\u2014the primary recruiting constituency\u2014to back away from military service.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis administration has infused abortion politics into our military, COVID politics into our military, DEI politics into our military. It is a cancer on the best military in the history of the world,\u2019 Sen. Schmitt said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe ought to have the broadest pool of applicants and get the best and the brightest, and we ought to be recruiting in various areas to make sure we have the best and the brightest regardless of your race or your gender or your ethnicity.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut that\u2019s not what DEI is,\u201d he continued. \u201cDEI is an ideology based on cultural Marxism and, somehow, someway, we end up in a place where a general in the Air Force is advocating for racial quotas, whether it be by applicants, or the number of officers, or maybe the total unit, and I just think that\u2019s wrong.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think that\u2019s the wrong approach. I just don\u2019t know how we can continue to have leadership that advocates for this divisive policy.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Tuberville Not Lifting Hold<\/h2>\n<p>Even if Gen. Brown is confirmed as chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, his advancement won\u2019t go through until Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) lifts his hold on military promotions.<\/p>\n<p>Tuberville, elected to his first term in November 2020, announced in January 2023 that he would block the Senate\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/bidens-pick-for-top-us-general-grilled-about-memo-seeking-racial-quotas-in-air-force-recruiting\/\" title=\"Biden's top US general nominee questioned over memo on racial quotas in Air Force recruitment.\">routine unanimous consent process<\/a> in advancing hundreds of DOD promotions at the same time in protest of a Pentagon policy that provides support for service members and dependents who must travel out-of-state from where based to receive an abortion.<\/p>\n<p>As a result, according to the Pentagon, command-level promotions have been delayed for 265 senior officers with as many as 650 affected by the end of the year unless the hold is lifted.<\/p>\n<p>As of July 10, with the retirement <\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>President Joe Biden&#8217;s nominee for leading the US armed services co-authored a memo in August 2022, outlining racial quotas for Air Force recruitment. This sparked criticism from Republican senators during the July 11 confirmation hearing. The meeting also addressed military challenges from China and Russia, but conservative concerns persisted.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":509,"featured_media":1970203,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[543],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1970202","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-epoch-times"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1970202","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/509"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1970202"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1970202\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1970203"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1970202"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1970202"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1970202"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}