An Air Force Academy professor has written an op-ed in The Washington Post in which she says the highly controversial critical race theory should be taught in all U.S. military institutions of higher learning.
Lynne Chandler Garcia, an associate professor of political science at the academy, published her op-ed on Tuesday titled, “Why U.S. military academies should teach critical race theory.” Garcia essentially echoed earlier sentiments from U.S. Army Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in claiming that the Marxism-themed CRT “is not unpatriotic” and that it doesn’t “promote division among our military members.”
“As a professor of political science at the U.S. Air Force Academy, I teach critical race theories to our nation’s future military leaders because it is vital that cadets understand the history of the racism that has shaped both foreign and domestic policy,” García wrote.
Last month during testimony before the House Armed Services Committee, Milley defended CRT by arguing that it’s important for military cadets “to be open-minded and be widely read” about the nation’s history, though U.S. history is already widely taught in grade and high schools around the country.
“So what is wrong with understanding, having some situational understanding about the country for which we are here to defend?” Milley asked.
“And I personally find it offensive that we are accusing the United States military, our general officers, our commissioned, non-commissioned officers of being, quote, ‘woke’ or something else, because we’re studying some theories that are out there,” he continued.
During the same testimony, Milley blamed the Jan. 6 Capitol protest on “white rage” and said he wants to understand it better.
In her op-ed, Garcia argued that teaching the curriculum is important to understand the “duality” of American freedom.
“It helps students identify the structural racism and inequality that has been endemic in American society. And it provides methods for deconstructing oppressive beliefs, policies and practices to find solutions that will lead to justice,” she wrote.
“The reality of the Constitution is that it upholds the rule of law and human rights, but once also allowed slavery and has been used to perpetuate legal discrimination,” she added.
The Constitution was also later amended to specifically outlaw slavery and ensure freed slaves were afforded equal rights.
Garcia also lashed out at the U.S. military, noting that Gen. George Washington initially opposed integrating the Army even as thousands of blacks fought on the side of the colonies before accusing today’s military of continuing to harbor racism.
“In other words, racism was ingrained in the system from the beginning, and the military still struggles with these issues,” she wrote, citing “a recent inspector general’s report on disparities in the Air Force and Space Force” and that black personnel “are overrepresented in disciplinary actions” while more whites proportionally are promoted.
She didn’t, however, provide any further context, just the raw data in the IG’s findings.
In an explainer, the conservative-leaning Heritage Foundation describes critical race theory as “an academic discipline founded by law professors who used Marxist analysis to conclude that racial dominance by whites created ‘systemic racism.'”
“CRT’s key assertion is that racism is not the result of individual, conscious racist actions or thoughts. Racism is ‘systemic’ and ‘structural.’ It is embedded in America’s legal system, institutions, and free enterprise system, and imposes ‘whiteness’ as the societal norm,” the explainer continued.
Republicans have pushed back on the introduction of CRT in the curriculum, saying that it is divisive and inconsistent with creating unit cohesion, the latter of which is vital to ensure mission success.
“If you want to study the history of the nation, study the history of the nation,” Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida, who is black, told Fox News’s Laura Ingraham last month following Milley’s testimony.
“But let’s be very clear, Critical Race Theory is a subjective lens to view the history of the country, not an objective study of the history of the United States,” he added.
“CRT is going to split our military ranks like it splits our young children in schools. It has no place there, it has no place in K-12 education, and the United States government should not be funding that. If academics want to theorize in the halls of academia, it’s a free country, God bless you, go do it, but we shouldn’t be funding it in our military in our schools,” he concluded.
Former U.S. Army infantry officer and congressman Sean Parnell agrees.
“Can you imagine what it would be like teaching the biggest, best military in the world to dislike the country that they’re serving? People serve this country, Dan, for ideals. People are willing to die for ideals,” the combat vet told Fox News host Dan Bongino in late June.
“And so, when you erode the idea of American exceptionalism or the idea that America is the brightest beacon of freedom the world has ever known, boy, that’s a dangerous concept,” he continued.
“And critical race theory shouldn’t be anywhere near our military because it just undermines unit cohesion completely.”
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Jon@bizpacreview.com
Jon is a staff writer for BizPac Review with 30 years' worth of reporting experience, as well as an author and U.S. Army veteran. He has a BA in political science from Ashford University and an MA in national security studies/intelligence analysis from American Military University.
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