Did DEI fail to make our military stronger?
That's the claim made by our new entry-level Secretary of Defense. Let's see if it holds up to history.
The most famous DEI initiative by the US military was the Tuskegee Airmen — the 332nd Fighter Group and the 477th Bombardment Group — created as a “racial experiment” to see if Black pilots could handle the job. Their war record was exceptional. Flying their famous “red tail” P-51 Mustangs, they defended bombers against Nazi fighters, averaging only half as many bombers lost as other groups. They shot down 112 enemy aircraft in dogfights (including three Me-262 jet fighters). In 1949, the US Air Force held its very first Top Gun competition. It was won by a team of four Tuskegee Airmen: Capt. Alva Temple, 1st Lt. James Harvey III, 1st Lt. Harry Stewart and 1st Lt. Halbert Alexander.
