(RightWing.org) – A social media post by the US Air Force has infuriated Conservatives and Veterans. The controversial image, sent out to promote Pride month, is drawing heavy criticism. Some object to more promotion of wokeness; others think it violates and degrades military traditions.
On June 7, the US Air Force sent a tweet celebrating Pride month, which featured a silhouette of an airman saluting in front of a flag striped with the colors of the controversial Progress Pride flag. Global Strike Command, which controls our nuclear-capable strategic bombers and ICBMs, retweeted the message with the caption, “Our diversity is our competitive advantage.” The image suggests that the airman is saluting the Pride flag — and that hasn’t gone over well.
The Air Force’s tweet quickly collected dozens of hostile replies. One asked why a service member was “SALUTING the alphabet cult.” Former congressman Ralph Norman (R-SC) said, “The only colors American military ought to salute are Red, White, and Blue.” Others complained that the tweet was embarrassing or seemed to value the work of LGBTQI+ airmen above “the men and women (who are actually men and women)”; one said his father, a former USAF colonel, was “rolling over in his grave.”
One commenter said it’s illegal for service members to salute any flag other than the US one. That’s not entirely true; the flags of friendly nations also get a salute. Political symbols don’t get one, however, and the Pride flag is definitely political.
This isn’t the USAF’s first controversial move related to Pride 2023. Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada was scheduled to celebrate Pride with a drag show on June 1, but days before it was due to happen, the Pentagon intervened, ordering the base commander to either cancel it or move it off-post, according to NBC.
Senior DoD figures, including Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and chairman of the Joint Chiefs General Mark Milley, seem to have decided that hosting drag events on military bases is a step too far. Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh said they’re “not a suitable use of DoD resources.” It looks like at least some parts of the US military are returning to sanity.
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