WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., chairman of the Armed Services Subcommittee on Personnel, is focused on improving military academies by boosting enrollment and ridding them of diversity initiatives.
In the first Congressional hearing on military academies in over 30 years last week, Tuberville pushed his vision, which is closely aligned with President Donald Trump, for the military academies that includes getting “woke” policies out of the schools that train the next generation of military leaders. The superintendents from the Military Academy, the Naval Academy and the Air Force Academy testified.
“Over the last several years, the academies have lost sight of the fundamental reason for their existence, which is to commission officers with the education required by their respective military branches,” Tuberville said.
Tuberville said the academies have placed too much emphasis on diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, such as teaching critical race theory.
Lt. Gen. Tony Bauernfeind, superintendent of the Air Force Academy in Colorado, said during the hearing that the academy no longer teaches critical race theory in accordance with the National Defense Authorization Act passed in December.
“We have repeatedly heard over the last several years that ‘our diversity is our strength,’ it is not,” Tuberville said. “Diversity can be an awesome advantage, but our unity of effort and shared (beliefs) in our Constitution and common values are our strength. Diversity for the sake of diversity alone weakens us.”
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-CT, said eliminating diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts had a “chilling effect on the discourse” at the academies. He said considering how few classes had to be canceled to comply with Trump’s executive order to eliminate DEI, there wasn’t much of a problem associated with those efforts.
The superintendent of the Military Academy, Lt. Gen. Steven W. Gilland, said out of more than 600 classes, two were eliminated to comply with the order. At the Naval Academy, two out of 870 classes were canceled, and 18 classes were modified, Vice Adm. Yvette Davids, superintendent of the academy, said. Bauernfeind said that out of 735 classes at the Air Force Academy, 55 were identified for further analysis to see if they complied with the executive order. He said he expects 40% of those identified classes will not be changed, 53% of them will need minor changes and three could be suspended.
As a football coach of 40 years, Tuberville asked the leaders’ thoughts on the possible impact of allowing military academy athletes to hold off on their military service until after they pursue pro sports after graduation as a way to encourage more people to attend the military academies.
“Occasionally, occasionally some of these athletes develop to an elite level and are forced to forego living out their dreams of playing the sport they love at a professional level because of outdated —to me— outdated regulations governing their service obligations,” Tuberville said.
Alabama’s senior senator said he would like to see a provision in this year’s NDAA that would allow athletes to defer their military service until after they go pro.
The superintendents said they would support looking more into the issue.
During the hearing, Tuberville also focused on how civilian professors are hired and retained at the military academies as he looks to keep “lethality” in the military. He inquired about the possibility of requiring Congressional oversight on civilian professors.
Trump also recently appointed Tuberville to serve on the Air Force Academy Board of Visitors along with other Trump loyalists.