Controversial social media posts have called for the reassignment of the new diversity and inclusion chief at U.S. Special Operations Command while they investigate.
Richard Torres-Estrada has been reassigned “to other duties” pending the conclusion of the investigation according to Special Operations Command spokesman Kenneth McGraw.
“The Commander has directed an investigation to look into the facts surrounding Mr. Torres-Estrada’s selection,” McGraw said in a statement. “It would be inappropriate to comment on specifics until the evaluation is complete.”
He did not mention Torres-Estrada’s current position but told CNN that he is still within the Special Operations Command that manages operations for the Navy SEALs, Army Rangers and Delta Force.
A senior military spokesperson confirmed to CNN that one of the posts under scrutiny involved a post that seemingly compared former President Trump to Adolf Hitler.
Torres-Estrada’s June 20 post included a photo from Trump’s largely criticized visit to St. John’s Episcopal Church, where he posed with a Bible after law enforcement forcibly cleared the area in front of the White House with tear gas.
Torres-Estrada placed Trump’s photo next to a photo of Hitler standing in front of a crowd while giving the Nazi salute. The photo was edited to make it look like he was holding a bible with Spanish text that read, “Here I leave this and slowly retire (to continue working from home).”
Read more about it here.
Biden SecDef Nominee Hopes to “Rid Our Ranks of Racists and Extremists”
Joe Biden’s nominee for Defense Secretary, Retired Army Gen. Lloyd Austin said that if he were confirmed, he would work to “fight hard to stamp out sexual assault, to rid our ranks of racists and extremists, and to create a climate where everyone fit and willing has the opportunity to serve this country with dignity.”
His remarks, according to The Epoch Times, were made at the Senate Armed Services Committee on Capitol Hill yesterday.
“The job of the Department of Defense is to keep America safe from our enemies. But we can’t do that if some of those enemies lie within our own ranks,” Austin said.
The Epoch Times points to a 2017 Pentagon survey which found that most military members “describe their work climate as inclusive, have good relationships with coworkers and supervisors, and are comfortable interacting with diverse personnel. They generally denied problems with hate crimes, gangs, and racist/extremist organizations at their duty station as well.”
The report also found that most in the military felt that their workgroup members “are treated as valued members of the team without losing their unique identities (80 percent), empowered to make work-related decisions on their own (71 percent), and have outcomes fairly distributed among them (69 percent).”
For the full report, click HERE.
