by Isaac Willour
A U.S. congressman is seeking transparency from West Point Military Academy after hearing complaints regarding elements of critical race theory present in its training curriculum.
Rep. Mike Waltz, a member of the U.S. House Armed Services Committee, sent a letter to West Point leaders requesting copies of teaching materials provided at West Point after receiving complaints from various families and cadets.
In a phone interview with The College Fix, the Florida Republican explained that many families of West Point cadets come from military or law enforcement backgrounds, saying “they found it incredibly divisive.”
Waltz’s letter detailed slides from various West Point workshops, including “White Power at West Point,” “Racist Dog Whistles at West Point” and “Understanding Whiteness and White Rage.”
Additionally, Waltz’s letter reported an event at which “an active duty female colonel described to the Corps how she became ‘woke’ to her white privilege, and felt guilty for the advantages of her race.”
Waltz, a former Green Beret, went on to detail alleged statements regarding police: “At this same assembly, white police officers were described as murderers with no context or court documents provided to corroborate the anecdotes of police brutality.”
West Point said it could not comment on the situation or Waltz’s letter when asked by The College Fix.
Today, Rep. Waltz sent a letter to Lt. Gen. Darryl A. Williams, Superintendent of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, detailing the mandated critical race theory seminars & presentations.https://t.co/ma57kNgmmu pic.twitter.com/6g9dWBMa8H
— Congressman Waltz Press (@RepWaltzPress) April 9, 2021
When asked whether he viewed this as a trend in academia or the military, Waltz was quick to note that “it is absolutely a trend in academia … a broader trend in academia moving into the military.”
In his letter, he stated “These critical race theory teachings … pit cadets against one another through divisive indoctrination under the pressure of ‘wokeism.’”
Continuing on the theme of trends in academia, Waltz said he believes “the pendulum goes too far.” Referring back to his letter, Waltz notes that “when you have mandatory formation from officers … talking about how they accepted their whiteness … that to me is unhealthy.”
He explained that he is no advocate of revising America’s history.
“I’m all for every cadet understanding our very checkered history,” he said.
At the same time, however, he said that social trends are a place where “the rest of American society can work through these issues … our military needs to be a safe place.”
Waltz, a 24-year Army veteran, said that the military needs to remember its bigger purpose: “The enemy’s bullets, whether they’re from Taliban or Al-Qaeda, they don’t care about these issues.”
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College Fix contributor Isaac Willour is a student at Grove City College studying political science. He is a regular contributor for GCC’s college newspaper, The Collegian, as well as Lone Conservative. He serves on the executive board for the GCC Journal of Law & Public Policy and the Grove City Executive Council for the American Enterprise Institute.
Photo “West Point Military Academy” by West Point Military Academy.
