![]() ![]() “It drew up a lot of rage and a lot of anger from the past because I’ve just watched this over and over and over again.” “I’ve been really outraged, not just for the last week,” Wright said. David Goldfein, the Air Force chief of staff, joined Wright in a video posted on the service’s social media channels. Kaleth Wright, the Air Force’s top enlisted official, posted a series of tweets in which he wrote that his “greatest fear” is “that I will wake up to a report that one of our Black Airmen has died at the hands of a white police officer.” Floyd’s death has sparked widespread protests, as well as disturbances and looting, across the country. In 2017, five members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff issued statements soon after the violent protests in Charlottesville, Va.Īir Force leaders were the first among their cohort to speak out about George Floyd, who on May 25 became the latest unarmed black man killed by law enforcement officers. This marks the second time in Trump’s presidency that military leaders have tried to ease national tensions about race by making the rare move of speaking up. I do not support invoking the Insurrection Act.” Related: James Mattis Denounces Trump as a Threat to the Constitution Related: Former CJCS Mullen: 'I Cannot Remain Silent' Related: Trump, GOP Allies Reach For Military Response To Domestic Protests “We are not in one of those situations now. That law should only be invoked “as a matter of last resort and only in the most urgent and dire situations,” Esper told Pentagon reporters. Such an order would likely take place under the 1807 Insurrection Act. “Racism is real in America, and we must all do our very best to recognize it, to confront it, and to eradicate it,” the secretary said.Įsper’s decision to increase attention on racism also came with an unexpected pushback on Trump’s Monday threat to send “thousands and thousands of heavily armed soldiers, military personnel, and law enforcement officers” to quell violence in the nation’s streets. Then he announced he had sent a memo to the force about racism, which he hoped would give “space” for other leaders to do the same. Mark Milley, and other administration officials through Lafayette Square for a photo op.Įsper, following intense criticism for calling the protests a “battlespace” and participating in the stunt, stepped out to cameras at the Pentagon briefing room on Wednesday morning to claim he was not privy to the decision to clear the park, nor to the plans for Trump’s photo op. troops on city streets to confront protesters and quell violence, had National Guard and federal security personnel forcibly clear peaceful protestors away from the White House, and then surprised onlookers by walking with Defense Secretary Mark Esper, Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. ![]() ![]() Their statements came after President Donald Trump vowed on Monday to put “heavily armed” U.S. military leaders of every service branch have emerged from a Pentagon-imposed silence to speak out publicly about racism in society and within the ranks - and obliquely, about the proper role of armed forces in a country roiled by protest. After a week of widespread civil unrest, U.S. ![]()
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