{"id":2030686,"date":"2023-09-13T14:49:02","date_gmt":"2023-09-13T18:49:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/bidens-air-force-nominee-believes-its-naive-for-service-members-to-doubt-the-militarys-institutional-racism\/"},"modified":"2023-09-13T14:49:02","modified_gmt":"2023-09-13T18:49:02","slug":"bidens-air-force-nominee-believes-its-naive-for-service-members-to-doubt-the-militarys-institutional-racism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/bidens-air-force-nominee-believes-its-naive-for-service-members-to-doubt-the-militarys-institutional-racism\/","title":{"rendered":"Biden\u2019s Air Force Nominee Believes It\u2019s \u2018Naive\u2019 For Service Members To Doubt The Military\u2019s \u2018Institutional Racism\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">32<\/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-air-force-nominee-believes-its-naive-for-service-members-to-doubt-the-militarys-institutional-racism%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=2030686&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>\n<div>\n<figure>                         <\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>An Air Force lieutenant general nominated by President Joe Biden once claimed U.S. service members are \u201cnaive\u201d to believe that so-called \u201cinstitutional racism\u201d and \u201cunconscious bias\u201d don\u2019t affect the military.<\/p>\n<p>Last week, the Air Force Times <a href=\"https:\/\/www.airforcetimes.com\/news\/your-air-force\/2023\/09\/06\/slife-nominated-as-next-air-force-vice-chief-of-staff\/?utm_source=sailthru&#038;utm_medium=email&#038;utm_campaign=mil-ebb&#038;SToverlay=342f5a58-c37b-4142-b049-1f737335b507\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reported<\/a> that Biden tapped Lt. Gen. Jim Slife \u201cto serve as the Air Force\u2019s next vice chief of staff.\u201d If ultimately confirmed by the Senate, Slife, who currently serves as the\u00a0branch\u2019s deputy chief of staff for operations, would be promoted to a four-star general and become the \u201cNo. 2 officer\u201d in the Air Force.<\/p>\n<p>While much of the Times\u2019 article focuses on Slife\u2019s military service, it neglects to mention the lieutenant general\u2019s flirtation with racialist politics. In the days following the May 2020 death of George Floyd, Slife authored a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.acc.af.mil\/Portals\/92\/Lt%20Gen%20Slife%20%28AFSOC%29%20Reflections%20on%20Diversity%20and%20Inclusion%20%2829%20May%2020%29.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">message<\/a> claiming he was \u201cbothered\u201d by Floyd\u2019s death and that the Air Force \u201cis a reflection of our society, so, by extension,\u201d the matter is \u201can Air Force issue.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019d be naive to think issues of institutional racism and unconscious bias don\u2019t affect us,\u201d Slife wrote. \u201cWe can\u2019t ignore it. We have to face it. And to face it, we have to talk about it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In his memo, Slife further asserted that it\u2019s important for the military to \u201clisten to other perspectives and accept them as valid, but perhaps incomplete.\u201d He also said that he is \u201climited in [his] perspective\u201d and described how he\u2019s a \u201cmiddle-aged white man who grew up in a middle class family in a predominantly white area \u2026 [and has] been in \u2018the majority\u2019 in almost every organization [he\u2019s] ever been in.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Slife additionally encouraged service members to listen to \u201ca series on the podcast \u2018Scene on Radio\u2019 called \u2018Seeing White,&#8217;\u201d which the lieutenant general claimed touches on so-called \u201cinstitutional racism\u201d in America. The Scene on Radio\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SceneOnRadio\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">X, or Twitter, account<\/a> indicates the podcast is extremely left-wing.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf you\u2019re disquieted by what\u2019s going on in Minneapolis and across America\u2026if you have an opinion on Colin Kaepernick one way or another\u2026give it a listen,\u201d Slife wrote. The memo also touched on issues such as \u201cdiversity\u201d and \u201cinclusion.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Slife would go on to participate in Air Force-sponsored events in the years that followed that promoted neo-Marxist ideologies such as so-called \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/dei\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">diversity, equity, and inclusion<\/a>, or DEI. For context, DEI is a poisonous left-wing framework that dismisses merit and instead discriminates based on characteristics such as skin color and sex.<\/p>\n<p>In November 2020, for example, Slife participated in a \u201cmulti-part discussion on race in the military\u201d hosted by the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.influencewatch.org\/non-profit\/center-for-a-new-american-security\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Center for a New American Security<\/a>, a left-wing foreign policy think tank whose leadership is comprised of \u201cformer Democratic administration officials and politicians.\u201d According to an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.afsoc.af.mil\/News\/Article-Display\/Article\/2423684\/comafsoc-continues-conversations-on-race-in-the-military\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Air Force article<\/a> summarizing the discussion, the podcast \u201ctook a deep dive into the Air Force\u2019s efforts to address diversity and inclusion through fostering honest conversations, emphasizing the importance of inclusion, and building the next generation of leaders.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In his remarks, Slife reportedly spoke about his \u201cblind spot\u201d regarding the issue of razor bumps \u201cand the impact that shaving has on many African-American men.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Slife\u2019s embrace of DEI would continue into March 2022, when he <a href=\"https:\/\/www.af.mil\/News\/Article-Display\/Article\/2955967\/afsoc-hosts-2022-lead-symposium\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reportedly<\/a> spoke at Air Force Special Operations Command\u2019s Leadership, Equity, Advocacy and Development Symposium. While Slife purportedly partook in a discussion \u201con the topic of infinite leadership,\u201d the event also included \u201ctalks on diversity and inclusion.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Slife is also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mildenhall.af.mil\/Portals\/9\/DAF%20DEIA%20Conf%20Final%20Agenda.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">listed<\/a> as a panelist on the \u201cHow to Be the Change of Inclusive Culture: General Officer Panel,\u201d on a schedule for the Air Force\u2019s 2022 Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility Conference.<\/p>\n<p>Slife\u2019s apparent infatuation with DEI further exemplifies the significance of Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville\u2019s slow-walking of Biden\u2019s military nominations. Using his role on the Senate Armed Services Committee, Tuberville has been forcing individual votes on military personnel moves that require Senate confirmation to\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2023\/03\/29\/democrats-hate-that-republicans-like-sen-tommy-tuberville-are-finally-doing-their-jobs\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">protest<\/a>\u00a0the Pentagon\u2019s use of taxpayer money to cover service members\u2019 travel expenses to get abortions.<\/p>\n<p>The Alabama senator has since faced numerous attacks from Democrats and establishment Republicans, many of whom have\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2023\/08\/09\/if-the-military-actually-cared-about-readiness-it-wouldnt-have-fired-members-for-refusing-an-experimental-shot\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">baselessly claimed<\/a>\u00a0his protest is harming \u201cmilitary readiness.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>   Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He previously served 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<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An Air Force lieutenant general nominated by President Joe Biden once claimed U.S. service members are \u201cnaive\u201d to believe that so-called \u201cinstitutional racism\u201d and \u201cunconscious bias\u201d don\u2019t affect the military. Last week, the Air Force Times reported that Biden tapped Lt. Gen. Jim Slife \u201cto serve as the Air Force\u2019s next vice chief of staff.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":539,"featured_media":2030687,"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":[546],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2030686","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist"],"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\/2030686","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\/539"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2030686"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2030686\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2030687"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2030686"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2030686"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2030686"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}