Thursday, October 13, 2011

From the Archives: the Cult of Diversity

 

THE SECRETARY OF THE AIR FORCE
CHIEF OF STAFF, UNITED STATES AIR FORCE
WASHINGTON DC

JUL 31 2005

SECAF/CSAF Letter to Airmen:  Diversity and the United States Air Force

To the Airmen of the United States Air Force,

     Today’s Air Force is composed of America’s finest men and women.  From all walks of life—rural farms, inner cities, and every place in-between—young Americans are drawn to the call of Integrity, Service and Excellence.  We celebrate this diversity, recognizing that such a mix of experience leads to a breadth of perspective and broader horizons, and ultimately innovative ways to maximize our combat capabilities for the Joint Team.

     Harnessing such magnificent differences into an effective, coherent team takes solid leadership,quality training and a conscious effort toward mutual respect on all our parts.  Tolerating harassment of any type is no different than committing the offense.  As we become a leaner, more lethal force, we simply have no place for such potentially criminal or divisive behavior.

     We are all Airmen, and under enemy fire the race, religion, sex or geographic origin of the Airmen fighting next to us is irrelevant.  We expect you to exhibit a similar whole-hearted respect toward your fellow Airmen – your Wingmen – wherever you work today.

     The United States’ first national motto, “E pluribus unum,” means “out of many, one.”  Initially, the motto referred to the formation of our great Nation for the thirteen colonies.  Is subsequently took on new meaning as people from all over the globe immigrated here, making the U.S. a multicultural “melting pot,”  Today, that phrase reminds us that we’re in this fight together.  Let’s make sure the efforts and innovations of all Airmen are welcomed and appreciated.  Your Nation demands no less.

 

Michael W. Wynne
Secretary of the Air Force

 

T. Michael Moseley
General, USAF
Chief of Staff

3 comments:

Justin said...

"Tolerating harassment of any type is no different than committing the offense. "

Yikes.

Anonymous said...

Former Secretary of the Army Togo West in his introduction letter to the annual Army Green Book: We will not tollerate intollerance.

Side note: A spelling error I made on this completely changed its meaning. The word verification for the update was "revised".

Dr. Φ said...

I've been reading CC "no tolerance" policies for my entire career. What made Wynne and Moseley's statement stand out was that it didn't sound cut-and-pasted from an EEOC pamphlet. So there is a high probability they actually believe what they are saying.

This is how we wound up with the leadership we have: only officers who can parrot the "diversity" dogma (e.g., Luedke) rise in the system. Those of us who can't be bothered tend to retire as O-4s.