Air Force Denies It Bent Rules to Allow Female Trainee to Resume Special Operations Course

Air Force Denies It Bent Rules to Allow Female Trainee to Resume Special Operations Course


The U.S. Air Force is denying that the service bent the rules for a female special operations trainee who repeatedly attempted to quit the program, though a whistleblower says he has it on good information that is exactly what happened.

American Military News reported:

The U.S. Air Force is being accused of bending the rules and pushing a female officer through the Special Tactics Officer (STO) program despite allegations she repeatedly quit the training. The Air Force told American Military News the allegations are “factually incorrect or missing context” and say training standards are different now compared to years before.

The allegations were raised by an anonymous Air Force combat controller and first shared via Twitter on Wednesday by Brian Kimber, an Air Force Pararescue (PJ) veteran, journalist and podcaster. Kimber’s tweets were reposted the same day by Navy SEAL veteran and Congressman Dan Crenshaw, who called on the military to address the allegations if they’re true, and warned against bending training rules.

“We cannot sacrifice training standards. Ever. Full stop. If this account is true, our military needs to address it now,” Crenshaw, a Texas Republican, noted on Instagram.

“To be clear, there are lots of females that contribute enormously to Special Operations missions. But they get to that point by following strict standards which ensure they can be relied upon in combat. Subverting those standards will cost lives,” the multi-combat tour SEAL vet added.

 

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Kimber noted that the allegations regarding the female trainee were provided to him directly, which he described as “an absolutely BRUTAL account” that included the names of Air Force leaders who are allegedly involved.

Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) commander Lt. Gen. James Slife told American Military News in response to the allegations:

The anonymous email’s author is concerned about training standards. We can unequivocally say the standards—which are tied to mission accomplishment—have not changed. 

However, there is a difference between standards and norms. How we bring trainees through the training pipeline today is different than the way we brought them through the pipeline 15 years ago because our understanding of the best way to get trainees to meet standards and be ready to join the operational force has evolved. It will continue to do so. Norms may adapt over time, but the standards are always tied to our mission. As the mission changes, the needed standards may change as well, but that hasn’t happened in this case.

He then sought to lay blame on the whistleblower, who obviously is concerned, as is Crenshaw, about the Air Force special ops school churning out a ‘graduate’ who isn’t ready for the real world:

The author chose to make the point about standards by highlighting one individual trainee. Singling out a fellow servicemember for public abuse is bullying and harassment, which are unacceptable deviations from both our standards, our norms and values as Airmen. 

Furthermore, most of what the author asserted about this trainee’s experience is either factually incorrect or missing important context which would completely change the perception. However, in order to avoid adding to the attention and pressure this trainee is facing—attention and pressure the author did not experience during his own journey—we will not address specific details related to her experiences.

“The anonymous allegations describe Cpt. Morgan Mosby, a female Air Force officer, who is said to have initially arrived at Special Tactics Officer (STO) Phase II training in 2018,” American Military News added.

“Phase II training is a week-long selection process. Despite quitting during a rigorous pool session, Mosby reportedly remained in the training and was given the chance to finish,” the outlet added. “Mosby reportedly completed that training, though she was considered a non-selected to proceed through STO. She was, however, invited to return and try again.”

The outlet explained further:

In January 2020, Mosby reportedly restarted the two to three-year STO training pipeline with the Special Tactics Training Squadron (STTS) at Hurlburt Field in Florida. During that time, Mosby reportedly became known for quitting at various points during training but accounts of her quitting were allegedly “brushed under the rug,” particularly because her progression through the course was being monitored by Congress and AFSOC leadership.

Mosby chose to “self eliminate” or drop out of the course after a particular land-navigation training event, but then-24th Special Operations Wing (24th SOW) Commander Col. Matthew Allen and second-in-command Col. Allison Black tried to talk Mosby into staying, the allegations said.

Black and Allen allegedly offered Mosby a spot in the more highly selective Tier One Special Mission Unit (SMU). Typically, special operations forces (SOF) members have to complete a separate selection process for Tier One units.

Another alleged instance of preferential treatment came in the spring of 2021 when Mosby was reportedly offered the chance to write an after-action report (AAR) for the AFSOC commander. While it’s common for special operations trainees to write AARs, it is rare for them to rise to the level of leadership that Mosby’s was. In her report, Mosby wrote about her experience as a female in the special tactics pipeline. Her AAR even reportedly set off an investigation into the treatment of women in the AFSOC community.

Around the spring and summer of 2021, Mosby was reportedly selected to serve under Lt. Gen. Slife at AFSOC headquarters. There, Mosby was tasked with auditing the latest Air Force Combat Control standards, despite her lack of experience on the matter.

While at the HQ, she also filed an Equal Opportunity complaint in which she claimed instructors in the special tactics course tried to get her to quit. But the combat controller alleged that she had a habit of telling other trainees she quit on her own and did not like the special ops community generally.

But as of December, the community was again informed that she would return to STTS and begin training again where she left off. Slife was reportedly the driving force behind her reinstatment, while Col. Jason Daniels, the present 24th SOW commander, signed off as well, the combat controller alleged.

Our military is getting more ‘woke’ by the month, and our country will pay for this lunacy with the lives of our servicemen and women — and perhaps even our freedom.


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