Today, the Department of the Air Force announced its validation plan in response to the Restoring America's Fighting Force Task Force established following the release of the Secretary of Defense guidance memo, "Restoring America's Fighting Force" on Jan. 29, 2025. The Task Force requires military departments to validate the execution of all Presidentially directed executive orders related to Diversity Equity and Inclusion, Critical Race Theory, and gender ideology with an emphasis on five elements:
- Promotion, selection and assignment policy and/or processes that require consideration of sex, race, or ethnicity
- Quotas, objectives, and goals,
- Prohibition on instruction on Critical Race Theory, gender ideology, and Diversity Equity and Inclusion
- Instruction to promote a lethal force
- Boards, Councils, or working groups that incorporate Critical Race Theory, gender ideology, and Diversity Equity and Inclusion
The validation team, comprised of leaders with expertise in curriculum, promotion boards, and the five assessment elements, will travel to nine locations across the DAF as part of the validation process from March 17 - March 28, 2025.
This process will consist of both qualitative and quantitative elements including in-depth document reviews, comprehensive program and data analyses, interviews, focus groups with military and civilian members representative of the DAF, and classroom audits.
After the validation phase, the DAF will continue to monitor the execution of all Presidentially directed executive orders related to Critical Race Theory, gender ideology, and Diversity Equity and Inclusion through in-progress reviews.
The original, Jan. 29, 2025 SECDEF guidance memorandum, is available here.
