A national security watchdog reportedly is suing the Department of Defense for failing to turn over records concerning the promotion of a top Army general who has encouraged diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the military.
The Center to Advance Security In America (CASA) filed suit Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia asking that DOD be ordered to release communications and records related to Ronald Clark, who was nominated in July for Commanding General at Fort Shafter, headquarters for the U.S. Army in the Pacific Ocean, Daily Caller reported.
The lawsuit said the department has not responded to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, filed by CASA, in August.
"Ronald Clark is someone who has advocated publicly for DEI programs in the military to be expanded and prioritized by leadership," CASA Director James Fitzpatrick told the Daily Caller News Foundation. "CASA brings this lawsuit in order to bring transparency to the American public on the records and communications surrounding Clark's selection for promotion to lead the Army's largest Service Component Command."
Having said DEI "was a goal" in the Army, Clark also has praised renaming military bases that use confederate names as a "huge step forward."
Outgoing Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin recently told NBC News that women and racial diversity are crucial for the strength of the U.S. armed forces.
Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump's Defense Department secretary nominee, said on a podcast last month that the military "should not have women in combat roles, and that "men in those positions are more capable."
"Radical diversity, equity, and inclusion policies have creeped [sic] into almost every facet of military operations and the approval of these policies seems to act as a credential for aspiring military officers to move up the ranks," Fitzpatrick told Daily Caller.
The American Accountability Foundation has provided Hegseth with a list of "woke" senior officers whom the conservative group says should be dismissed.
It was reported last month that members of Trump's transition team were drawing up a list of military officers to be fired, potentially to include the Joint Chiefs of Staff, two sources told Reuters.
In September, Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., briefly blocked Clark's promotion over the role he allegedly played in hiding Austin's hospitalization nearly nine months earlier.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
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