Judicial Watch Obtains Pentagon Anti-Bias Training Materials

(Washington, DC) Judicial Watch announced today that it obtained 1,483 pages of teaching materials and 26 pages of budget records from the Department of Defense (DOD) produced by the Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute (DEOMI) that are used by DOD’s “equal opportunity advisors” to train service members on diversity topics. The documents were obtained in response to a Judicial Watch Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request.

The teaching materials include “Student Study Guides” written for “Equal Opportunity Advisor Courses,” that are critical of persons who “believe that human similarities are more important than differences;” advise people to acknowledge their privilege when “it is pointed out to them;” claim that heterosexuals have “sexual orientation privilege;” and that “religious privilege” exists.

According to DEOMI’s website, the organization was “Propelled by the civil rights movement of the 1960s.” The DEOMI operating budget between 2012-2017 totaled $19.66 million dollars.

According the Defense Dept Comptroller’s office, DEOMI and WRP (Workforce Recruitment Program) now jointly make up an entity called the Defense Management Operations Center (DMOC) and that entity was budgeted $13,366,000 for FY2020.

The newly released records include a chapter entitled “Power and Privilege,” in which students are taught that “Privilege can also be linked to various forms of identity such as … sexual orientation privilege” and “religious privilege.”

Students are also taught that there is “sexual orientation privilege” associated with the “marginalization of non-heterosexual lifestyles and the view that heterosexuality is the normal sexual orientation.”

The guide advises that “some dominant group members” may claim “personal achievement mostly depends on personal ability.”

The study guide also teaches that people who raise religious objections to homosexual marriage are engaged in a form of discrimination called “principium,” which is “avoiding exploration based on a religious or personal principle:”

In order to “become personally aware of privilege,” the study guide advises people to “decode your social identity.”

In a chapter on diversity, the guide is critical of those who engage in “minimization,” which it defines as those who believe that “human similarities are more important than differences.”

The guide notes that “Statistics show Whites are the majority in senior leadership positions (i.e., flag officers, general officers, and Senior Executive Service) and lend itself [sic] to the perpetuation of racism.”

An example of “modern racism” is saying things like “Discrimination is a thing of the past … tactics and demands of activists are unfair … racism is bad.”

The document also states that another form of racism is “aversive racism.” Aversive racists, say the authors, “put high value on egalitarian beliefs.”

In a chart labeled “Racist Behavior” the authors break racism into “traditional,” “symbolic,” “modern” and “aversive” categories, in which modern racists believe minorities are “undeserving of special efforts to redress past inequities.” The chart also indicates that people who oppose “policies designed to address racial equality” or feel that those policies are violations of “norms and fairness” are modern racists.

After cautioning against using stereotypes in previous study sections, the study section on Asian Americans says, “Self-control, discipline, competitiveness, and education are important elements in Japanese-American culture.”

A warning footer at the bottom of the trainer’s guides, repeated throughout the document advises “FOR TRAINING PURPOSES ONLY – DO NOT USE ON THE JOB.” [Emphasis in original]

Students are encouraged to: “Talk to others about your recognized inferior socialized behavior.”

In a learning bloc on “Perceptions” equal opportunity advisors are told that “stereotypes are bad if they lead to discrimination of protected categories.”

A section addressing “Cross-Cultural Communication” states: “Gender includes the social construction of masculinity and femininity within a culture and incorporates his or her biological, psychological, and sociological characteristics. Sex refers to a person’s biological or physical self. Although sex determines who will bear children, gender accounts for our roles in life and how these life roles affect our communication.”

The section also claims that in childhood gender communication: “Girls are told to use their manners, play quietly, and be ladylike,” it is “okay for boys to use rough language, play loudly, and be rambunctious. Girls are allowed to show feelings.”

After warning readers about the dangers of stereotypes, the manual then says women communicate “stereotypically … using a passive/assertive style,” whereas men communicate “stereotypically” by “using an assertive/aggressive style in efforts to accomplish tasks, achieve status, and dominate the conversation.” 

The guide breaks Americans down into four generational types: “Traditionalists,” “Baby Boomers,” “Generation X” and “Millennials” and characterizes their personalities by group. It says “Xers” born between 1960-1980 “need positive feedback to let them know they’re on the right track,” and Millennials born between 1980-2000 “are used to praise and may mistake silence for disapproval. They need to know what they’re doing right and what they’re doing wrong. Feedback whenever I want it at the push of a button.” 

A section on “Sexual orientation privilege” includes the view that this group believes “heterosexuality is the normal sexual orientation,” and that “sexual and marital relations are normal only when between people of different sexes.”

The guide notes that transsexual, transgender and sometimes homosexual populations are denied “freedom enjoyed by heterosexual couples.”

The guide advises Equal Opportunity Advisors to: “Acknowledge your privilege when it is pointed out to you.” They are also told that, “Privilege will never go away until the systems in our society that cause discrimination go away,” and suggests that the equal opportunity advisors “work to make those inequitable systems visible.”

In a 15-page study guide on “Extremism,” the guide mentions Nazis, white supremacism, criminal gangs, skinhead groups, the Confederate flag, national anarchists, eco-terrorism, environmental activists, and right-wing extremists. Three pages discuss “skinhead culture.”

According to a study guide on sexism, killing one’s spouse is an example of sexist behavior (falling under the “extermination” category).

In a discussion of the history of sexism in the military, the guide claims that “many women masqueraded as men in order to serve their country” (presumably referring to the United States).

In a study guide on “Diversity Management,” the authors advise that affirmative action “focuses on prevention and/or correcting discriminatory practices concerned with numbers of minorities and women. It is an attempt to rectify past discrimination against certain groups of people.” In the next paragraph, the authors write: “Service members shall be evaluated only on merit, fitness, and capability. Unlawful discrimination against individuals or groups based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin is contrary to good order and discipline and … shall not be condoned.”

The study guides contain some negative lines against Americans such as, “Many U.S. Americans have widely divergent views on whether a problem even exists.”

In a study section on “stereotyping,” the authors say that “Stereotypes may or may not originate in a kennel [sic] of truth …”

In a study guide section on “White Americans,” the authors say that “The majority, 35.7 percent, of White Americans are located in the South (U.S Census Bureau, 2010).”

In a study guide section on Hispanic Americans, the authors describe illegal aliens from Mexico as “undocumented Mexican immigrants.”

“These documents show that the Department of Defense has been indoctrinating our troops with anti-American and racially inflammatory ‘training,’” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. “We must protect our military service members from being brainwashed by the divisive, anti-American propaganda fueling the leftist insurrectionists who are right now trying to destroy our country.”

###