Cadets instructed by USAFA leadership not to use words like "Mom" and "Dad"

Does the proper etiquette of addressing an older gentlemen hanging out with a cadet really need to be taught at this level? I would think the elite students that our cadets are have mastered this concept long ago. They have successfully interviewed and interacted with many levels/ cultures/ people from different backgrounds to get to this point. They do not need training in how to address society properly. It is slow and semi-subtle indoctrination. Plain and simple.
 
FutureAdademyDad? said:
Lol, the same people who are so outraged about DEI would also have been outraged about desegregation of the military and allowing women in combat roles and in the SAs.

The whole anti-woke, anti-CRT, anti-BLM hysteria is nothing but reactionary deflection.

Give it a rest.
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Ah yes, everyone who is against the degradation of the traditional family values this nation was founded on is racist and misogynist. Persuasive argument.
 
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From the article “So-called "wokeness" in the military came under scrutiny last week after Fox News Digital reported that Kelisa Wing, the DEI chief at Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA), wrote a series of tweets that were disparaging toward White people. The department said it was "reviewing" Wing following Fox News Digital's report.”

So much for diversity and inclusion. Does this mean that everyone promoting wokeness in the military hates white people?
 
It is necessary to teach manners and etiquette these days because many people do not get a good dose of it at home. I know the CGA has at least one session during swab summer on table manners for officers to be sure everyone has seen three forks and four glasses at their seat. The idea that everyone has had this experience already is far less certain than in years past so they go through it. Cadets laugh a little, but they appreciate the refresher. And just as new things came up in the past, like not addressing women as Sir, the services are taking time to walk through how to address new situations that you can't assume everyone has experience with. This case, using more general terms when uncertain of someone's specific situation, avoids stepping in a bunch of unnecessary embarrassment and helps officers look a little more professional. It's not meant to change how one lives or thinks.
 
Korab said:
From the article “So-called "wokeness" in the military came under scrutiny last week after Fox News Digital reported that Kelisa Wing, the DEI chief at Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA), wrote a series of tweets that were disparaging toward White people. The department said it was "reviewing" Wing following Fox News Digital's report.”

So much for diversity and inclusion. Does this mean that everyone promoting wokeness in the military hates white people?
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Diversity and inclusion excludes conservative beliefs.

What stops a chain of command from excluding white, physically fit males from leadership positions, regardless of merit?
 
2025 hopeful said:
Well, I looked at the post and the Fox News report and saw the slides reported. Maybe I'm reading it incorrectly, but the way I took the slide meant to recognize that people come from different backgrounds. I don't think it was necessarily saying don't call them mom or dad, but there may be cadets around you that have parents or grandparents that raised them that are different than the traditional "mom and dad" family.

I do believe there is value in recognizing we are not all the same (gender, culture, beliefs, etc...) and that more solutions are solved in an organization when there are more voices at the table that are not the all the same.
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That's how I read it too. You don't know what kind of background someone comes from and it's always better to air on the side of caution especially because parents can be a sensitive topic if someone lost theirs or had to have alternate guardianship.
 
A1Janitor said:
What stops a chain of command from excluding white, physically fit males from leadership positions, regardless of merit?
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The same thing that protects minorities or women: a clear process, well-formed standards and reviews by superiors.

And if you honestly think that diversity and inclusion excludes conservative thought then you have to take a sincere look at your definitions of D&I and conservative. Because D&I is supposed to be inclusive, and conservative values do not exclude efforts to include others.
 
somuchbetterthanme said:
Does the proper etiquette of addressing an older gentlemen hanging out with a cadet really need to be taught at this level? I would think the elite students that our cadets are have mastered this concept long ago. They have successfully interviewed and interacted with many levels/ cultures/ people from different backgrounds to get to this point. They do not need training in how to address society properly. It is slow and semi-subtle indoctrination. Plain and simple.
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This subject is NOT about etiquette; it is about political correctness for the left extreme of political thought in our country.
 
StPaulDad said:
The same thing that protects minorities or women: a clear process, well-formed standards and reviews by superiors.

And if you honestly think that diversity and inclusion excludes conservative thought then you have to take a sincere look at your definitions of D&I and conservative. Because D&I is supposed to be inclusive, and conservative values do not exclude efforts to include others.
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That is all well and good.

Yes, I absolutely believe diversity and inclusion excludes conservatives based on empirical data.
 
Korab said:
From the article “So-called "wokeness" in the military came under scrutiny last week after Fox News Digital reported that Kelisa Wing, the DEI chief at Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA), wrote a series of tweets that were disparaging toward White people. The department said it was "reviewing" Wing following Fox News Digital's report.”

So much for diversity and inclusion. Does this mean that everyone promoting wokeness in the military hates white people?
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DoDEA runs all DoD schools K-12 worldwide. I had to look it up. According to their website:

"DoDEA operates 160 schools in 8 Districts located in 11 foreign countries, 7 states, and 2 territories across 10 time zones."
 
FalconDad2026 said:
What did I miss?!

I generally stop reading/listening to (mis)information that starts with "FOX News said..." or "CNN said..."
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I partially agree with you. I look way behind the 10-second sound bites on TV for the truth, the whole truth, which I frequently find to be MIA.

I realize that the name/acronym Fox or CNN can be politically polarizing; however, this morning Fox simply reported on a briefing used by the USAF Academy to move closer to the left political extreme. Place it in the same category of assigning pronouns to be politically correct. In this case, the Cadets were presented with a slide, among others, that suggested that they stop using words like "Mom" and "Dad" in favor of "guardian" or "caregiver". Would you like your DD or DS to start referring to you as "caregiver"? Imagine next year hearing the words "Happy Caregivers' Day".

I fully understand that all Cadets are not lucky enough to have two parents living together; however, trying to change the English language for some politically sensitive reason insults my intelligence. The briefing is simply one step closer to the left political extreme that some including USAFA senior leadership, would want the country to follow. The service academies are required by federal law to be APOLITICAL!
 
FalconDad2026 said:
What did I miss?!

I generally stop reading/listening to (mis)information that starts with "FOX News said..." or "CNN said..."
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My Cadet confirmed that he had that training about a week ago with "the exact same slides" that were shown in the Fox article.......
 
Falcon74 said:
1. Would you like your DD or DS to start referring to you as "caregiver"? Imagine next year hearing the words "Happy Caregivers' Day".

2. The service academies are required by federal law to be APOLITICAL!
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1. Textbook example of a strawman.
2. It is only political in your mind, not in reality.

It amazes me that people can get so worked up and feel so threatened by what is essentially an exercise in showing respect to people with whom you interact. The irony is that those who claim that DEI creates disunity are the ones largely responsible for that disunity by virtue of their insular insistence that their preferences are the only ones that count.
 
Falcon74 said:
In this case, the Cadets were presented with a slide, among others, that suggested that they stop using words like "Mom" and "Dad" in favor of "guardian" or "caregiver".
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This sentence is factually correct, but incomplete. The slide favored "Parents/caregivers/guardians." So, in order of being listed, "parents" was first.

Falcon74 said:
Would you like your DD or DS to start referring to you as "caregiver"? Imagine next year hearing the words "Happy Caregivers' Day".
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This actually has nothing to do with the sentence that preceded it. As others have noted, the intention is not to change how an individual refers to their own parents; it is to suggest that they change how they refer to other's parents/caregivers/guardians, if and when they do not know the composition of that person's family. Is it really so hard to say "Are you having dinner with your parents?" instead of "Are you having dinner with your mom and dad?", on the off chance that someone you are speaking with has non-traditional parents? Is it really so woke or symbolic of the collapse of society to do so?

Falcon74 said:
trying to change the English language for some politically sensitive reason insults my intelligence.
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Actually, nothing is being changed in the English language. In fact, USAFA is teaching a more accurate use of the English language. IMO, resistance to that APOLITICAL accuracy is where the real political agenda exists.
 
FalconDad2026 said:
What did I miss?!

I generally stop reading/listening to (mis)information that starts with "FOX News said..." or "CNN said..."
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Good idea because things get taken out of context, such as here.
The cadets were being enlightened to the fact that our current culture has moved beyond traditional parent scenarios and now not all parents are of the mom and pop variety - there are same sex parents, foster parents, etc. As such, it's a good idea when referring to a pair of adults that are unknown to the cadet to use the general phrase parents vs. mom and dad.
No one is telling cadets to not call their own parents or their friends' parents mom and dad (if that phrasing is appropriate).
 
The ironic thing is everyone I’ve met who is in one of these groups that “needs to be protected from harmful speech” doesn’t give a crap. Ask someone adopted by a same-sex couple if they get offended by the generalization that the vast, vast majority of people have a mom and a dad, and you’ll most likely get a resounding no. Most of this is just contrived virtue signaling.
 
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