GOP senator blocks conservative colonel’s promotion because he criticized racism in 2020

07 March 2024

A decorated colonel in line for a promotion to brigadier (one star) general has run into a wall of opposition after Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Missouri) discovered his 2020 op-ed criticizing racism.

According to the Washington Post, Col. Ben Jonsson is in line for the promotion after working as chief of staff for the Illinois-based Air Mobility Command, which oversees 110,000 employees. The Post noted that Jonsson — a graduate of the Air Force Academy — "is fluent in Arabic, has seven Air Medals, and flew 900 combat hours over Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria," who is described as "a devout Christian devoted to his biracial family."

However, Schmitt took issue with a 2020 op-ed Jonsson wrote in Air Force Times, in which he called on his fellow white colonels to "address our blind spots around race." Even though Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Alabama) has since lifted the months-long hold he placed on hundreds of high-ranking military promotions, Schmitt exercised his right as a senator to individually object to an appointment, keeping the hold in place for Jonsson. The Post reported that Jonsson's promotion has been pending since January of 2023.

"It is long past time to root out divisive DEI policies and their advocates from our apolitical military,” Schmitt stated, alluding to the GOP's crusade against diversity, equity and inclusion programs. "Leaders 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."

The "divisive DEI policies" Schmitt referenced are actually part of the official Air Force standards. An Air Force document from August of 2023 includes all-caps instruction that reads "COMPLIANCE... IS MANDATORY," and goes on to say "Diversity, 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’s competitive advantage," the document reads. "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."

Retired Air Force colonel Kris Bauman told the Post that Jonsson is "absolutely qualified for promotion" and characterized the obstruction of his promotion as "politics to serve the 'anti-woke' agenda."

"The 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," Bauman said.

The op-ed — which Jonsson penned in the midst of nationwide protests against racial injustice that erupted after police murdered George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota and Breonna Taylor in Louisville, Kentucky — reminded white colonels that they "set the culture, drive the calendar, and create the policies at most of our installations around the Air Force."

"As white colonels, you and I are the biggest barriers to change if we do not personally address racial injustice in our Air Force," Jonsson wrote. "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."

"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’s murder," Jonsson added. "But we can rise above it, we can break these invisible barriers, if we choose to engage and stop excusing ourselves."

From Your Site Articles