House Republicans demand reinstatement of Space Force Commander who was fired for criticizing Marxism

Led by Representative Doug Lamborn, a letter addressed to John P. Roth, Acting Secretary of the Air Force, and General John W. Raymond, Chief of Space Operations states that the group of lawmakers have a "grave concern for what appears to be an increasingly politicized environment developing in the Department of Defense which has recently manifested in the United States Space Force."

Lt. Col. Lohmeier was removed from his post after speaking about his book Irresistible Revolution: Marxism's Goal of Conquest & the Unmaking of the American Military on two podcasts, addressing the growing threat of Marxism within the United States military.

Head of Space Operation Command Lieutenant General Stephen Whiting said Lohmeier was relieved of his command "due to loss of trust and confidence in his ability to lead."

Rep. Lamborn stressed that Lohmeier had expressed "support and admiration" for his commanders during these interviews.

"Based on the interviews themselves, these statements by a Space Force spokesperson seem entirely divorced from reality. Lieutenant Colonel Lohmeier went out of his way to explicitly express support and admiration for his chain of command," said the letter. "He said 'all of my interactions with senior leaders in the Air Force and Space Force have been very positive' and 'we’ve got very good leaders.' He goes on to say that they 'care a great deal about our people' and 'they care a great deal about the lethality of the force.'"

Lamborn continued by expressing Lohmeier's "stellar" service record.

"According to his interviews, he raised concerns expressed in his book and on the podcast through his chain of command and through the Air Force Office of Inspector General. Based on the outreach we have conducted in a very limited period of time, Lieutenant Colonel Lohmeier has a stellar service record with no history of insubordination or malfeasance," the letter states. "We also know that the 11th Space Warning Squadron has long served as a premier command post for those officers serving at the top of their year group. These facts combine to paint Lieutenant Colonel Lohmeier in a very positive light."

The letter goes on to reveal examples of other active duty military officers and senior enlisted leaders "employing much more politicized speech than anything Lieutenant Colonel Lohmeier said last week."

It reveals comments from leaders such as Chief of Staff of the Air Force, General Goldfein saying in June 2020 that “Every American should be outraged that the conduct exhibited by police in Minneapolis can still happen in 2020," and "tweets by then-Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force Kaleth Wright in which he accused the Air Force of racism because of 'racial disparities in military justice and discipline among our youngest Black male Airmen and the clear lack of diversity in our senior officer ranks.'"

Also included as an example was the case of earlier this year where "multiple senior leaders in the United States military attacking a private citizen and journalist, Tucker Carlson, for comments he made on his political opinion show."

The letter goes on to address diversity trainings within the military that they call a "grotesque distortion of reality," adding that critical race theory is a "school of thought ultimately and explicit all derived from Marxism."

"Critical race theory is a subset of critical theory that was developed in the 1980s to focus on perceived legal injustice in the United States trafficking in racial and sexual stereotypes and collective guilt, and viewing any differences in outcomes as evidence of systemic injustice,” the letter states.

The lawmakers concluded by demanding the reinstatement of Lohmeier, adding that "this is an inescapable fact that senior leaders in the Department of Defense can no longer continue to ignore. Now is a time for choosing: those leaders who are complicit with this poisonous philosophy which promotes racial essentialism and collective guilt in our beloved military will be judged by history accordingly. Promoting critical race theory will disrupt the good order and discipline of the Space Force and eviscerate our nation’s ability to attract patriotic talent to serve in uniform and fight our wars."