A letter by Representative Jim Banks (R-IN) accuses the United States Air Force of continuing to push diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, violating federal law.
The letter to Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Manpower & Reserve Affairs Alex Wagner, exclusively obtained by The Daily Wire, claims that the Air Force hid DEI operations to avoid the provisions laid out in the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
According to the 2024 NDAA, the Department of Defense (DOD) may not develop new DEI programs or fill positions in current programs.
Banks wrote in the July 10 letter that he believes the Air Force is “deliberately attempting to undermine and circumvent several key requirements” in the 2024 NDAA.”
“[R]ather than following the law, it appears that the Air Force has simply rebranded DEI,” the letter adds, noting the “Organizational Culture Program” and the “Organizational Culture Coordinators” sidestep federal law.
Banks similarly voiced concern for an April memo titled “Standard Core Personnel Documents Directive for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Positions.” The document suggests that the Air Force “desires the use of quotas and screening requirements for certain races, genders, or sexual orientations during recruiting and retention efforts and that it desires to use promotion, command selection, and other personnel actions to ensure its preferred mix of races, genders, and sexual orientations,” the letter says.
An Air Force training called “Supporting Systemic Equity” was labeled by Banks as an “attempt by the Air Force to contravene the clear intent of the law: Prohibited from hiring new DEI positions or filling vacant ones, the Air Force has simply contracted out its DEI training.”
Banks then asks Wagner a series of questions, including, “What does ‘intentionally designing a force’ mean with respect to recruiting, retention, and training,” “Is the Air Force using or planning to use any measurable metrics to determine whether a majority of OCCs’ hours are actually spent on functions unrelated to DEI, and that their position description accurately represents their day-to-day duties,” and “Describe how funds are distributed for DEI, EO, and the Prevention Workforce. What funds go to which activities, trainings, and/or programs?”
In September 2023, the Air Force sought to develop a system tracking DEI progress.
The DEIA Progress Dashboard is a “living product that will be continually enhanced with additional data sources as they become available to ensure that [the Air Force] has the most comprehensive view into quantifiable disparities possible,” documents obtained by The Daily Caller described.