Navy's highest-ranking officer confronts Republican critics and stresses importance of combating racism and misinformation
By Michael Conte, CNN
Updated 6:37 PM ET, Tue June 15, 2021
Washington (CNN)The US Navy's highest-ranking officer pushed back strongly against what he called efforts by two Republican congressmen to portray the US military as "weak" and "woke" in a hearing on Tuesday.
Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Michael Gilday's comments came during a House Armed Services budget hearing as Reps. Doug Lamborn and Jim Banks questioned his recommendation of the book "How to be an Antiracist" by Ibram X. Kendi on a voluntary reading list for Navy sailors, which Gilday tied directly to efforts to combat misinformation by adversaries such as Russia and China.
Kendi argues in the book that people must actively be antiracist -- instead of being "not racist" -- to progress toward racial equality.
https://www.cnn.com/2021/06/15/politics/gilday-navy-confronting-racism/index.html