The Air Force's Black DEI Myths

This is an excerpt from the chapter entitled "The Best Arguments for DEI: Changed Opinions":

“Grievance procedures.

This last tactic is meant to identify and rehabilitate biased managers. About half of midsize and large firms have systems through which employees can challenge pay, promotion, and termination decisions. But many managers—rather than change their own behavior or address discrimination by others—try to get even with or belittle employees who complain. Among the nearly 90,000 discrimination complaints made to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in 2015, 45% included a charge of retaliation—which suggests that the original report was met with ridicule, demotion, or worse.

Once people see that a grievance system isn’t warding off bad behavior in their organization, they may become less likely to speak up. Indeed, employee surveys show that most people don’t report discrimination. This leads to another unintended consequence: Managers who receive few complaints conclude that their firms don’t have a problem.” (Frank Dobbin, 2016)

“Air Force Equal Opportunity Programs Not Included in DEI Purge

Feb. 3, 2025 | By Greg Hadley

The Air Force is not shutting down its equal opportunity programs, it said in a new memo, distinguishing them from the department’s sweeping review of diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. 

Acting Assistant Secretary for Manpower and Reserve Affairs Gwendolyn Defilippi wrote that she was issuing the Jan. 30 memo as ‘a matter of clarity.  

In the past two weeks, President Donald Trump has issued a series of executive orders aimed at ending all DEI-related positions, programs, and training across the Pentagon. The Air Force is in the process of enacting them by revising curriculum, disbanding working groups, and placing some personnel on leave.

Early in the process, however, it was unclear what the service would do with its Equal Employment Opportunity and Military Equal Opportunity programs, which implement laws and investigate complaints regarding unlawful discrimination and harassment, often having to do with race and gender.

While equal opportunity programs focus on individual cases of discrimination, DEI programs sometimes sought to identify systemic discrimination while fostering diversity. 

In the Jan. 30 memo, Defilippi noted that the EEO and MEO programs are based on federal laws and regulations that prohibit discrimination in the workplace and thus are cleared to continue. 

‘Examples of EEO and MEO programs and initiatives that are still permitted and encouraged include training on equal employment opportunity laws and regulations, investigations into allegations of discrimination or harassment, and reasonable accommodations for employees with disabilities,’ she wrote.”  (Hadley, Air Force Equal Opportunity Programs Not Included in DEI Purge, 2025)

The civilian “grievance procedures” example appears to be cited as an ineffective means of pursuing diversity. It was not included among the items listed in the “Diversity Programs That Get Results” chart. Further, it was highlighted that 45% of grievances submitted are met with retribution.

The Air Force’s description of its grievance procedures reveals a disturbing perspective on diversity. Discrimination is believed to exist only in “individual cases.” DEI programs were eliminated because they “sought to identify systemic discrimination.” If I have said it 787 times, I will say it once more for clarity: The notion that discrimination and bias only exist in isolated individual cases is the greatest myth in the Air Force.

 Years before the elimination of DEI offices and DEI training, the Air Force RDR was already dismissing thousands of reports of discrimination and bias as individual occurrences rather than evidence of systemic discrimination. The Air Force may have kept MEO and EEO offices open, but what good are they if the reports of bias from thousands of Airmen and civilians reach the Air Force Chief of Staff, and he was fired for considering them?

While writing this book, a friend sent me an article that seems to say that even the EEO offices will be eliminated by Hegseth:

‘Pete Hegseth Introduces ‘No More Walking on Eggshells’ Policy to Department of Defense | Video

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is introducing a new policy called “Restoring Good Order and Discipline Through Balanced Accountability,” a new plan he says will block members of the Department of Defense from weaponizing equal opportunity programs.

‘We’re back with more reforms here at DOD, and this one is one of the most important ones we’ve done. The official title is Restoring Good Order and Discipline Through Balanced Accountability — little wordy, but over the target. The real title that I call it, ‘The No More Walking on Eggshells Policy,’ Hegseth said in a video announcement shared to X Friday. ‘You see, too often at the Defense Department there are complaints made for certain reasons that can’t be verified that end people’s career, either though EO (Equal Opportunity) or the IG; we need to reform that process completely so commanders can be commanders.’

He then broke down the policy further, sharing his own examples of what he deems as ways in which people have abused equal opportunity programs in the past.” (Harris, 2025)

I’m not sure if Mr. Hegseth’s actions will be challenged in court. I am not a law student, and I don’t know if his actions violate the law.  However, I do know that in the matter of the effectiveness of grievance systems in influencing opinions on diversity, the civilian and Air Force comparisons are apples-to-apples comparisons. Grievance procedures in the military seem to be just as inadequate when the highest levels of government dismiss the complaint of systemic bias as invalid.