Air Force Academy to Cadets: Drop “Mom and Dad,” Use Words That “Include All Genders”

The U.S. Air Force Academy (USAFA) has gone woke. It is now telling cadets in their diversity and inclusion classes that they are to use words that “include all genders​” and stop saying things like “mom and dad” or “boyfriend and girlfriend.”

The slide presentation, titled “Diversity and Inclusion: What it is, why we care, and what we can do,” informs cadets they should “include all genders,” use “person-centered language,” and “recognize diverse family formation” in the language they use, according to a Fox News report. Cadets are also instructed to “ask” people what they “call themselves” rather than assuming.

“Some families are headed by single parents, grandparents, foster parents, two moms, two dads, etc.: consider ‘parent or caregiver’ instead of ‘mom and dad,’” the presentation states. “Use words that include all genders​: ‘Folks’ or ‘Y’all’ instead of ‘guys’; ‘partner’ vs. ‘boyfriend or girlfriend.’”

The assault on the young minds of these USAFA cadets in the form of the required diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) classes was birthed by President Biden’s DEI executive order for all federal employees, including the military. Since then, the military has suffered from low recruitment numbers, partly due to the “wokeness” infiltrating the armed services.

On their website, the USAFA’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion proudly displays their mission statement along with a three-minute woke propaganda video, declaring:

Our mission is to serve as the U.S. Air Force Academy’s strategic leader in structuring a shared vision of diversity and inclusion. We aid in the transformation of future Air and Space Force leaders while creating a culture and climate where diversity strengthens all personnel.

Our vision is to help create and sustain an institution that encompasses and values our cultural differences while promoting a climate of inclusion.

After seeing the DEI slide materials, Rep. Mike Waltz (R-Fla.), a Green Beret and Afghan War veteran, shared with Fox News:

It’s been a tradition in the military to get letters from mom and dad or your boyfriend and girlfriend for as long as there’s been a military.

Now we’re instructing every cadet entering the Air Force to not say “mom” and “dad,” to not say “boyfriend” or “girlfriend,” and this kind of drive towards gender neutrality. I think the Air Force should be worried about the macro aggressions against America that are happening all over the world.

Senator Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) also criticized the USAFA DEI training during a FOX interview:

Young kids don’t join the military to learn how to use the right pronouns. They join the military to learn how to kill the bad guys and defend this country. And if the Biden administration wants to know why recruiting numbers have collapsed, why we have a recruiting crisis, they just need to look at their own policies.… The recruiting crisis is very dangerous for our country, and it will be dangerous for many years to come if we don’t turn it around quickly.… We need to turn the page at the Pentagon and make it clear to America’s young men and women that we want them to join the military because we want them to defend this country, not go to social justice training seminars.

However, retired Col. Joseph Looney, who leads the academy’s DEI department, proudly supports the training:

It advocates for equitable treatment of all cadets, ensuring they have the opportunity to thrive, and educates cadets on the cultures, backgrounds and identities of the Airmen they will lead in the future.

The Academy’s leader of character framework emphasizes living honorably, lifting others and elevating performance. Showing dignity and respect is a cornerstone of living honorably. Inclusive leadership is a vital means for a leader to lift others and elevate performance, and the program significantly contributes to preparing future leaders to lead diverse teams of Airmen and Guardians.

According to another slide in the presentation, “diversity and inclusion” are “critical to developing warfighters prepared to lead the USAF/USSF with character.” “How can we lift others (motivate our teams) if we don’t know our people?” it asks. “How can we elevate performance if we don’t include people during planning and execution?​”

“Today we are preparing to face challenges that may not exist today,” the training says. “For example, Information Warfare only became a career field 7 years ago, and we stood up the Space Force in 2019. This makes our need to innovate critical. Thus, our leaders have deemed D&I a warfighting imperative.”

While the U.S. Air Force Academy trains its future woke officers in sensitivity, diversity, and inclusion, our enemies around the world are focusing more on how to kill Americans — regardless of our pronouns and/or declared genders.