Advertisement

Space Force lieutenant colonel fired for ‘loss of trust’ after claiming that ‘Marxists’ had infiltrated the US military

<p>A lieutenant colonel from the newly formed Space Force, who flag is pictured being unveiled in the White House in 2020, has been reportedly removed from his post for criticising the US Military as “Marxist”</p> (Getty)

A lieutenant colonel from the newly formed Space Force, who flag is pictured being unveiled in the White House in 2020, has been reportedly removed from his post for criticising the US Military as “Marxist”

(Getty)

A lieutenant colonel in the newly formed US Space Force has reportedly been relieved from his post and will be investigated after claiming on a podcast that “Marxism” is infiltrating the military.

Last week Matthew Lohmeier appeared on the conservative podcast, The Steve Gruber show, to discuss the ‘Irresistible Revolution: Marxism’s Goal of Conquest & the Unmaking of the American Military’, a book he had self published online, as reported by Military.com.

It claims that “neo-Marxist” ideologies are “spreading throughout the United States military.”

He told the show: “Since taking command as a [Space Force] commander about 10 months ago, I saw what I consider fundamentally incompatible and competing narratives of what America was, is and should be. That wasn’t just prolific in social media, or throughout the country during this past year, but it was spreading throughout the United States military. And I had recognized those narratives as being Marxist in nature.”

He also stated that The New York Times’ 1618 Project on slavery in the US was “anti-American.”

He said of the Pulitzer prize-winning project: “It teaches intensive teaching that I heard at my base -- that at the time the country ratified the United States Constitution, it codified White supremacy as the law of the land. If you want to disagree with that, then you start (being) labeled all manner of things including racist.”

Space Force did not immediately respond to requests for comment from The Independent.

A Defence Department spokesman told CNN that he had been removed from his post on Friday due to a “loss of trust” and an investigation has been launched into whether it broke the military ban on partisan politics.

They said: “Lt. Gen. Stephen Whiting, Space Operations Command commander, relieved Lt. Col. Matthew Lohmeier of command of the 11th Space Warning Squadron, Buckley Air Force Base, Colorado, May 14, due to loss of trust and confidence in his ability to lead. This decision was based on public comments made by Lt. Col. Lohmeier in a recent podcast. Lt. Gen. Whiting has initiated a Command Directed Investigation (CDI) on whether these comments constituted prohibited partisan political activity.”

Lohmeier, based in the space missile warning squadron in Colorado and who received a Thanksgiving call from Donald Trump last year, has not commented publically but has tweeted links to articles claiming his removal is “outrageous.”

Space Force was created by then President Trump in 2019 as the sixth brand of the US Armed Forces and the first new military service since Air Force in 1947.

Trump called it “the world’s newest war-fighting domain” that would protect the US from a space invasion, but it was widely mocked at the time by media and late night hosts.

The lieutenant colonel was defended by Republican representative, Matt Gaetz, of Florida, who tweeted on Sunday that the move was evidence of “wokeification of our military” and that he would be “seeking action on this in the Armed Services Committee”.

He said: “Lt. Col. Lohmeier is a Patriot telling the truth about the attempted wokeification of our military - and worse. His demotion is clearly retaliatory.”

Texas Senator Ted Cruz tweeted that it was “troubling”.

Other conservative supporters, including alt-right activist Jack Posobiec, claimed that it was evidence that “whistleblowers will be quashed.

Within hours of Posobiec’s tweet to his 1.2million followers the $17.95 book was out of stock on Amazon and flying up the bestseller lists.

On his website Lohmeier claims that he graduated from the United States Air Force Academy in 2006 and worked as a pilot before transferring to the Space Force in October 2020.

Read More

The Independent visits Heathrow ahead of international travel restarting

JFK ‘told Secret Service to keep a distance away’ before assassination

Biden news – live: President says Covid fight ‘not done yet’ as Cheney warns GOP direction ‘dangerous’