Over 100 leaders of the conservative movement, including many national security experts and retired flag officers of the United States military, have signed the Conservative Action
Project’s latest “Memo to the Movement” decrying the imposition of Marxist ideology in the military. Specifically, the Memo criticizes mandated training espousing views of Bishop Garrison, Ibram X. Kendi, and others as dangerous signs of the ongoing spread of anti-American propaganda in military ranks.
The text of the Memo to the Movement and list of signers follows: June 15, 2021
Washington, DC
Conservatives call on America’s military leaders who are patriotic, intelligent, and persons of integrity to reject the use of critical race theory – which is state funded racism – and other race and gender ideologies being used to politicize the United States military.
Under the Biden administration, ideological instruction and management has reached troubling new heights – ones that threaten to weaken the bond between America’s armed forces and its civilian leadership, and undermine our military effectiveness and readiness.
Soldiers and contractors are being required to sit through instruction in racist instruction, including readings authored by critical theorists like Ibram X. Kendi. In a recent recruiting ad, the Army chose to celebrate alternative lifestyles instead of competency and effectiveness in warfighting.
The push to politicize the military is also seen in the regrettable appointment of Bishop Garrison as the Senior Advisor for Diversity and Inclusion to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. Garrison is a hyper-partisan who has spent his career claiming that the United States Constitution was written to codify white supremacy, and that white people are irremediably racist. In his new role as the head of Countering Extremism Working Group (CEWG), Garrison has the authority to impose his extremist ideas on the whole of the Department of Defense.
Garrison’s influence is already being felt. Reports have come to light that the Department of Homeland Security is considering hiring a private company to monitor the free speech of military personnel on social media in ways that “circumvent [the] legal limits” placed on DHS by the constitution.
In May, Lt. Col. Matthew Lohmeier, a commander in the U.S. Space Force, was fired for speaking out against the imposition of Marxist ideology in the military. Specifically, he viewed mandated training espousing views of Garrison, Kendi, and others as dangerous signs of the ongoing spread of anti-American propaganda in military ranks. For speaking out against this, Lohmeier was fired for engaging in “partisan political activity.”
The United States military is tasked with one mission: maintaining mission critical readiness to protect the American homeland. Sowing our armed forces with divisive rhetoric designed to pit races and genders against one another is not only morally wrong, it poses a very real threat to our national security.
We strongly urge the civilian and military leaders of our armed forces to terminate these overt efforts to politicize our armed forces, and return to an unequivocal focus on the patriotism, courage, and innovation that have made the U.S. military the envy of the world.
The Honorable Edwin Meese III
Attorney General
President Ronald Reagan (1985-1988)
Lt. Gen. William G. Boykin (Ret.)
Executive Vice President
Family Research Council
Alfred S. Regnery
Chairman, Conservative Action Project
President, Republic Book Publishers
Elaine Donnelly
President
Center for Military Readiness
Kelly J. Shackelford, Esq.
Chairman, CNP Action, Inc.
President and CEO, First Liberty Institute
The Honorable Morton C. Blackwell
President
The Leadership Institute
Virginia Thomas
President
Liberty Consulting
L. Brent Bozell, III
Founder and President
Media Research Center
The Honorable Tony Perkins
President
Family Research Council
The Honorable J. Kenneth Blackwell
Chairman
Constitutional Congress, Inc.
Jenny Beth Martin
Chairman
Tea Party Patriots Citizen Fund
Lori Roman
President
American Constitutional Rights Union (ACRU)
Tom Jones
Co-Founder
American Accountability Foundation
Ed Corrigan
Vice Chairman, Conservative Action Project and President & CEO, Conservative Partnership Institute
The Honorable Donald Paul Hodel
U.S. Secretary of Energy (1982-1985)
U.S. Secretary of Interior (1985-1989)
Cleta Mitchell, Esq.
The Honorable Bob McEwen
U.S. House of Representatives
Former Member, Ohio
William L. Walton
President
Council for National Policy
Lt. Gen. Robert Bishop, USAF (Ret)
President, Stand Together Against Racism and Radicalism in the Services
The Honorable Paul E. Vallely
MG US Army (Ret)
Stand Up America US Foundation
The Honorable John Poindexter
U.S. Navy (Retired)
JMP Consulting
Admiral Jerome L. Johnson
Former Vice Chief of Naval Operations
U.S. Navy
Admiral Leigthon Smith
U.S. Navy (Retired)
RADM Hugh D. Wisely
U.S. Navy (Retired)
Robert S, Owens
U.S. Navy (Retired)
Brigadier General Ernest C. Audino
U.S. Army (Retired)
Brigadier General William Weise
USMC (Retired)
John Closner
Major General (Ret)
Major General Dave Richwine
USMC (Retired)
Major General Donald McGregor
USAF (Retired)
Stand Up America US
Major General Dewitt T. Irby, Jr.
U.S. Army (Retired)
The Honorable Charles J. Cooper
Assistant Attorney General, President Ronald Reagan (1985-1988)
Cooper & Kirk, PLLC
The Honorable James C. Miller III
Budget Director for President Reagan, 1985-1988
Lewis K. Uhler
Founder and President
National Tax Limitation Committee
Sherri R. Martin
Executive Vice President
The Martin Organization, Inc.
Lourdes Cosio
Campaign for the American Future
Shawn A. Mitchell
Former National Chaplain
National Federation of Republican Assemblies
Seton Motley
President
Less Government
Joan Holt Lindsey
Founder
Lindsey Communications
Kim Colleen Bengard
It Takes A Family
William W. Pascoe III
Our Man in Washington
Tea Party Patriots Action
Michelle Easton
President, Clare Boothe Luce Center for Conservative Women
Amapola Hansberger
President
Legal Immigrants for America
E.C. Sykes
General Partner
Aslan Ventures
Willes K. Lee
President
National Federation of Republican Assemblies
Andresen Blom
President
Hawaiian Values
Mark Meckler
President
Convention of States Action
The Honorable George K. Rasley Jr.
Managing Editor
ConservativeHQ.com
Saulius "Saul" Anuzis
President
60 Plus Association
Kay R. Daly
President
Coalition for a Fair Judiciary
The Honorable Peter J. Thomas
Chairman
The Conservative Caucus
Penna Dexter
Co-host
Point of View Radio
Richard G. Scurry
VP Product Development
14all.us
Kevin Freeman
Founder
NSIC Institute
The Honorable Diana Denman
Chairman/President
The Reagan Legacy Forum
Floyd Brown
Founder
The Western Journal
Dr. Rick Rounsavelle
Trustee
MRC
Henry Canterbury
The Honorable Russ Vought
Director, Office of Management and Budget (2020-2021)
The Honorable Matt Schlapp
Chairman
American Conservative Union (ACU)
Kevin Roberts
Chief Executive Officer
Texas Public Policy Foundation
Herman Pirchner, Jr.
Founding President
American Foreign Policy Council (AFPC)
The Honorable Becky Norton Dunlop
White House Advisor
President Ronald Reagan (1981-1985)
The Honorable T. Kenneth Cribb, Jr.
Chief Domestic Advisor
President Ronald Reagan (1987-1988)
Terry Schilling
Executive Director
American Principles Project
Mary Vought
Executive Director
Senate Conservatives Fund
The Honorable Jim DeMint
Chairman, Conservative Partnership Institute
Member, US Senate (SC 2005-2013)
Wesley Denton
Chief Operating Officer
Conservative Partnership Institute (CPI)
The Honorable Paul S. Teller, Ph.D.
Executive Director
Advancing American Freedom
Rachel A. Bovard
Senior Director of Policy
Conservative Partnership Institute (CPI)
Myron Ebell
Director, Center for Energy and Environment, Competitive Enterprise Institute
Frank J. Gaffney
Executive Chairman
Center for Security Policy
Brig. Gen. Darryl Powell, MD, USA (Ret.)
Member
Center for Military Readiness
Colonel Lavoy Thiessen
U.S. Army (Retired)
STARRS Inc.
Major General Joe Arbuckle
U.S. Army (Retired)
Brigadier General Paul Kavanaugh
U.S. Army (Retired)
Brigadier General William Arthur Bloomer
U. S. Marine Corps (Ret)
RADM John A. Moriarty
U.S. Navy (Retired)
Lieutenant General Benjamin Mixon
U.S. Army (Retired)
Dr. Hugh Patrick Scott
Rear Admiral, Medical Corps
U.S. Navy (Retired)
Major General William B. Hobgood
U.S. Army (Retired)
Self Employed - Timber Farming
Major General Bob Hollingsworth
USMC (Retired)
Kenneth Battle
Advisory Board Chair
Economic Continuity Alliance
Dr. Jerry A. Johnson
President (2013-2019)
National Religious Broadcasters
Brigadier General Donald Bolduc
U.S. Army (Retired)
Candidate for US Senate (NH)
David N. Bossie
President
Citizens United
The Honorable Gary L. Bauer
President
American Values
Rod D. Martin
Founder and CEO
The Martin Organization, Inc.
Christina Murphy Lusk
President
The Martin Foundation
Guillermo J. Aragon
Chief Financial Officer
Martin Imaging, Inc.
Haley E. Martin
Past President
The Martin Foundation
Peggy Dau
Representative
IranAliveMinistries
Karen England
Executive Director, Capitol Resource Institute & Nevada Family Alliance
C. Preston Noell III
President
Tradition, Family, Property, Inc.
Judson Phillips
Founder
Tea Party Nation
Anne Schlafly Cori
Chairman
Eagle Forum
Paavo Ensio
Chairman
Universal Minerals Group
Gary Marx
President
The Concord Fund
William Shaker
CEO
Washington Marketing Group
Steve Berger
CEO/President
ASI
Sheryl Kaufman
Board Member
Americans for Limited Government
Eric Georgatos
Executive Producer
America Can We Talk?
James L. Martin
Founder/Chairman
60 Plus Association
Lee Beaman
CEO
Beaman Ventures
Mat Staver
Chairman
Liberty Counsel Action
Robert Keith Fischer
Meeting Coordinator
Conservatives of Faith
Barry Meguiar
President
Ignite America
The Honorable Mike Hill
Former Member
Florida State House
The Honorable Terrence Scanlon
Retired Chairman and President
Capital Research Center
Randy M. Long
Founder
Long Business Advisors, LLC
The Honorable Stephen Stockman
U.S. House of Representatives
Former Member, Texas
Carroll D. Childers
Consultant, Registered Professional Engineer
U.S. military
systemic racism
National security
Marxist ideology in the military
Bishop Garrison
Ibram X
Kendi
Anti-American propaganda
Critical race theory
alternative lifestyles
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin
Countering Extremism Working Group (CEWG)