Posted on September 13, 2023
Biden’s Air Force Nominee Believes It’s ‘Naive’ for Service Members to Doubt the Military’s ‘Institutional Racism’
Shawn Fleetwood, The Federalist, September 13, 2023
An Air Force lieutenant general nominated by President Joe Biden once claimed U.S. service members are “naive” to believe that so-called “institutional racism” and “unconscious bias” don’t affect the military.
Last week, the Air Force Times reported that Biden tapped Lt. Gen. Jim Slife “to serve as the Air Force’s next vice chief of staff.” If ultimately confirmed by the Senate, Slife, who currently serves as the branch’s deputy chief of staff for operations, would be promoted to a four-star general and become the “No. 2 officer” in the Air Force.
While much of the Times’ article focuses on Slife’s military service, it neglects to mention the lieutenant general’s flirtation with racialist politics. In the days following the May 2020 death of George Floyd, Slife authored a message claiming he was “bothered” by Floyd’s death and that the Air Force “is a reflection of our society, so, by extension,” the matter is “an Air Force issue.”
“We’d be naive to think issues of institutional racism and unconscious bias don’t affect us,” Slife wrote. “We can’t ignore it. We have to face it. And to face it, we have to talk about it.”
https://www.amren.com/news/2023/09/bidens-air-force-nominee-believes-its-naive-for-service-members-to-doubt-the-militarys-institutional-racism/