Army Majors currently attending ILE (intermediate level education) at the Command and General Staff College (CGSC) at Fort Leavenworth are being taught that only the dominant racial group can be racist (whites), and all other ethnicities are simply prejudiced in their actions. The course is also teaching that gender is a social construct while sex is a biological category given at birth. According to students going through the course right now, an individual who is white and male is not allowed to feel like someone is racist or sexist towards them because they’re in the majority.
Army Majors attend ILE as a prerequisite to become eligible for promotion to Lieutenant Colonel. According to their mission statement, “The United States Army Command and General Staff College (CGSC) educates and develops leaders for full spectrum joint, interagency and multinational operations; acts as lead agent for the Army’s leader development program; and advances the art and science of the profession of arms in support of Army operational requirements.” ILE is a ten month, graduate level program which teaches leadership philosophy, military history, and the military planning and decision making processes.
Dr. Angela Riotto teaches the course which is titled “Race and Gender in U.S. Military History.” The course description states, “An effective military only functions under the principles of equality and inclusion. Manpower policy regarding inclusion and equality has only changed when forced to by the necessities of war or from outside social and political influence. This course will examine the history of service of minority groups and women in the U.S. Military, major amendments to manpower policy, and historic problems with presenting a less than unified force.”
One of the course vignettes covers the definitions for prejudice, racism, gender and sex. According to the slide, “racism is a complex system of beliefs and behaviors that result in the oppression of people of color and benefit the dominant group.”
Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary has a very different definition, however: “a belief that race is a fundamental determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race.” There is no mention of people of color being the only allowable targets of racism nor any mention of a dominant group.
The topic of “wokeness” in the Department of Defense is currently a hot button issue which has resulted in numerous congressional hearings where members of the GOP have questioned senior DOD officials regarding a wide range of topics. The DOD has pushed back against the accusations by either condoning the topics or flat out denying they’re aware of their existence. Regardless of one’s opinion on the material, there is undoubtedly a war for the minds of America’s military leadership. The curriculum under fire often has little to do with honing the warfighting and leadership of the military and more to do with the kind of indoctrination present across college campuses nationwide. Lethality is no longer the objective of our Armed Forces.