ep 26: The Protest Episode

In the aftermath of George Floyd’s death at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer, what may have begun as peaceful protests against racism quickly turned violent, as riots and looting broke out throughout the city, then rapidly moved across the country. The military was not unaffected by this turmoil, as National Guard troops were called up to keep the peace, military leaders shared their perspectives on race, and the services march down the road of introspection. In this podcast, we discuss the Pentagon’s look at racial inequality in the military; on-base protests at Osan and Camp Humphreys in the USFK; the State Department’s struggle with diversity; the outgoing CMSAF’s hot take on racial injustice and the balanced commentary of the incoming CSAF; and the real numbers we’re dealing with related to racially-motivated killings in the U.S.

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NOTES:

New Pentagon team is going to take on racial justice in the military
https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2020/06/18/new-pentagon-team-is-going-to-take-on-racial-justice-in-the-military/

SecDef Proposes Getting Rid of Military Promotion Photos to Eliminate Unconscious Bias
https://www.military.com/daily-news/2020/06/18/secdef-proposes-getting-rid-of-military-promotion-photos-eliminate-unconscious-bias.html

US Forces Korea Permits Racial Injustice Protests on Bases
https://www.military.com/daily-news/2020/06/18/unusual-step-us-forces-korea-permits-protests-bases.html

The State Department’s struggle to promote diversity
https://www.federaltimes.com/management/2020/06/19/the-state-departments-struggle-to-promote-diversity/

State Department struggles with diversity, especially in leadership
https://www.federaltimes.com/management/hr/2020/02/25/state-department-struggles-with-diversity-especially-in-leadership/

Chief Wright: ‘I am George Floyd,’ promises review of Air Force justice system
https://www.airforcetimes.com/news/your-air-force/2020/06/01/chief-wright-i-am-george-floyd-promises-review-of-air-force-justice-system/

Stop everything, and watch the likely next Air Force chief of staff’s powerful statement on race
https://www.airforcetimes.com/news/your-air-force/2020/06/05/stop-everything-and-watch-the-likely-next-air-force-chief-of-staffs-powerful-statement-on-race/

Senate confirms new Air Force chief of staff in historic, unanimous vote
https://www.defensenews.com/air/2020/06/09/senate-confirms-new-air-force-chief-of-staff-in-historic-unanimous-vote/

Bass Tapped as Air Force’s First Female Enlisted Leader
https://www.airforcemag.com/bass-tapped-as-air-forces-first-female-enlisted-leader/

By the numbers (2018):

Odds of White person killed by Black person: 1 in 85,000
Odds of Black person killed by White person: 1 in 840,000
Odds of White person killed by White person: 1 in 73,000
Odds of Black person killed by Black person: 1 in 17,000

White person 10x more likely to be killed by a Black person
Black person 50x more likely to be killed by a Black person

Black arrests: 2,800,000
Black shot by Police: 209
7/1000 of 1% of Black people killed by Police while being arrested

White arrests: 7,000,000
White shot by Police: 399
6/1000 of 1% of White people killed by Police while being arrested

Sources:

https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2018/crime-in-the-u.s.-2018/topic-pages/tables/expanded-homicide-data-table-6.xls

https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US/IPE120218

https://www.statista.com/statistics/585152/people-shot-to-death-by-us-police-by-race/

Chris and Jody are Air Force vets who enjoy military history and folklore. They have a podcast. They tell stories. They digress. A lot.

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