Once upon a time in another America, many considered diversity, equity and inclusion fundamental national values, at least nominally.<\/p>\n
Now those notions are so reviled in much of America that one senator is threatening the promotion of a highly qualified and praised Air Force officer.<\/p>\n
Republican Sen. Eric Schmitt (Mo). is blocking Col. Benjamin Jonsson\u2019s promotion to brigadier (one star) general because of the officer\u2019s perceptive but provocative Air Force Times article, headlined \u201cDear white colonel \u2026 we must address our blind spots around race.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jonsson\u2019s July 2020 commentary, in the form of a letter to colleagues, was posted five weeks after George Floyd was murdered by Derek Chauvin, a Minneapolis police officer. The commentary reflects how Floyd\u2019s homicide and the following period of racial reckoning affected Jonsson.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs white colonels,\u201d he wrote, \u201cyou and I are the biggest barriers to change if we do not personally address racial injustice in our Air Force. Defensiveness is a predictable response by white people to any discussion of racial injustice. White colonels are no exception. We are largely blind to institutional racism, and we take offense to any suggestion that our system advantaged us at the expense of others.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat I addressed this letter to white colonels made many of you uneasy, and we have seen similar white defensiveness play out in many of our conversations since the murder of George Floyd.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jonsson included specific examples of White defensiveness among his colleagues, but White colonels aren\u2019t the only folks Jonsson made uneasy.<\/p>\n
He was highlighted in an article in the Daily Signal, published by the right-wing Heritage Foundation. Jonsson\u2019s piece was three years old when the Signal\u2019s story ran last August during a widely criticized, almost nine-month hold by Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) on 455 senior military promotions, including Jonsson\u2019s.<\/p>\n
The Signal, which researched those awaiting promotion, quoted William Thibeau, the Claremont Institute\u2019s American Military Project director, saying, \u201cCol. Jonsson exhibited a toxic embrace of DEI policies that have no place in the U.S. military. His public characterization of \u2018white colonels\u2019 blindness is inherently divisive and sends shock waves through his command.\u201d<\/p>\n
In December, Tuberville lifted his hold, but Schmitt immediately used an individual senator\u2019s right to block nominations to continue holding up Jonsson\u2019s promotion. He was originally nominated by President Biden in January 2023.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is long past time to root out divisive DEI policies and their advocates from our apolitical military,\u201d Schmitt said in a statement. \u201cLeaders must emphasize unity of mission and purpose, not our immutable differences if we are to maintain our military as the greatest meritocracy in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jonsson was mistakenly included in the Senate\u2019s mass approval of senior military leaders in December, but then his nomination was quickly withdrawn because of Schmitt\u2019s hold.<\/p>\n
Leadership is one of Jonsson\u2019s strongest characteristics, according to colleagues, including a top Trump administration Defense Department appointee.<\/p>\n
Heather Wilson, who was secretary of the Air Force during Donald Trump\u2019s presidency, is a former Republican member of Congress and an Air Force veteran. She supports Jonsson, who was one of her Pentagon military assistants.<\/p>\n
\u201cBen has been a commander or vice commander four times, and has done exceptionally well as a leader,\u201d said Wilson, now president of the University of Texas at El Paso. \u201cThe military has very few officers this well prepared in an area of the world of vital national interest to the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jonsson\u2019s bio points to that preparedness, which includes now working in a position meant for a one-star as chief of staff for the Air Mobility Command, with 110,000 employees headquartered at Scott Air Force Base in Illinois. Born in Upstate New York and raised in Plymouth, Minn., the Air Force Academy graduate is fluent in Arabic, has seven Air Medals, and flew 900 combat hours over Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria. His friends describe him as a devout Christian devoted to his biracial family.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe is absolutely qualified for promotion,\u201d said Kris Bauman, a retired Air Force colonel who hired Jonsson in 2017 to work on Jordanian affairs at the White House\u2019s National Security Council under Trump. \u201cHe has had incredibly successful commands at all levels and has served in an exemplary manner at the highest levels of our government. He is exactly the kind of critical, strategic thinker that we desperately need to be leading our forces.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bauman blamed \u201cpolitics to serve the \u2018anti-woke\u2019 agenda\u201d for the hold.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe irony is that the hold is preventing the promotion of a conservative Christ-follower who actually takes the teachings of Jesus seriously, who puts his faith into action in a manner that leads to flourishing for everyone he leads, regardless of their faith or race,\u201d Bauman added.<\/p>\n
Jonsson was not alone in his fight against institutional racism. Just days after Floyd\u2019s death, retired Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David L. Goldfein penned a commentary on the Air Force website that said that \u201cwe are not immune to the spectrum of racial prejudice, systemic discrimination, and unconscious bias. \u2026 Discussing our different life experiences and viewpoints can be tough, uncomfortable, and therefore often avoided. But we have been presented a crisis. We can no longer walk by this problem.\u201d<\/p>\n
Furthermore, Jonsson\u2019s article is in keeping with official Air Force Standards, which say, \u201cDiversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility are key to Air Force standards and missions. Diversity of thought, experience, and perspectives is critical to innovation and maintaining the Air Force\u2019s competitive advantage. \u2026. Diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility are about strengthening our force and ensuring our long-term viability to support Air Force missions with dignity and respect.\u201d The top of the document says, \u201cCOMPLIANCE \u2026 IS MANDATORY\u201d in caps.<\/p>\n
The White House, the Pentagon, the NAACP, Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, support Jonsson\u2019s promotion.<\/p>\n
His message to Air Force decision-makers in 2020 was direct, hopeful and applies well beyond the military.<\/p>\n
\u201cDear white colonel,\u201d he wrote, \u201cyou and I set the culture, drive the calendar, and create the policies at most of our installations around the Air Force. If we do not take the time to learn, to show humility, to address our blind spots around race, and to agree that we are not as objective as we think and our system is not as fair as we think, then our Air Force will not rise above George Floyd\u2019s murder. But we can rise above it, we can break these invisible barriers, if we choose to engage and stop excusing ourselves.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jonsson\u2019s nomination expires May 1 if he is not confirmed by then.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Once upon a time in another America, many considered diversity, equity and inclusion fundamental national values, at least nominally. Now those notions are so reviled in much of America that one senator is threatening the promotion of a highly qualified and praised Air Force officer. Republican Sen. Eric Schmitt (Mo). is blocking Col. Benjamin Jonsson\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":1847,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1846","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1846","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1846"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1846\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1847"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1846"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1846"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1846"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}