Where is the warrior ethos?

April 12, 2024 by Michael J. Martini

In the earlier part of my 23-year Air Force journey there was an emphasis on the Warrior Ethos and what it meant to fundamentally be an Airman in a force that was tasked to “FLY, FIGHT & WIN.” 

Adopted in 2007 along with the Airman’s creed, the Air Force emphasized that it is a fighting force ready to engage in combat in any domain. 

The Airman’s creed, as shown above, was posted in every breakroom, hallway, and classroom of an Air Force facility.  

Now it is 2024 – 17 years since the Warrior Ethos was published, and it is nowhere to be seen or spoken of. 

Today’s Air Force, and DoD as a whole, have sought to embrace Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives in place of the once revered Warrior Ethos.  There has been a substantial shift away from an achievement-based meritocracy that fostered a competitive warrior mindset, to a Force that is primarily concerned with equality of outcome and ensuring diversity within the ranks at all costs. 

A 2015 RAND study, titled Air Force Commander's Guide to Diversity and Inclusion, published on Sept. 25, 2015 by Nelson Lim, states:

Diversity is an advantage, and the Air Force has expanded its approach to diversity from one that focuses on race, ethnicity, and gender to one that includes skills, background, and ways of thinking. This transition will require an adaptive and agile leadership that can leverage diversity while maintaining unit cohesion.

Diverse leadership also has the potential to instill pride among those represented, encourage group members to aspire to leadership roles themselves, or inspire youth from different backgrounds to join.

Placing DEI as the paramount measure of effectiveness may work when you are seeking members for the local school board (even then “not so much”) but using DEI within a military force that is charged with “FLY, FIGHT & WIN” only attenuates the warrior spirit that is needed to execute difficult missions. DEI directives are having a negative impact on the ability of the Force to fully execute operational missions.  With one continuing resolution after another, funding for the acquisition of essential warfighting technologies and execution of operational missions has been delayed or in some cases cancelled.

Juxtaposed to this, the Air Force and DoD are hiring several senior level DEI managers at an average salary of $82,000 annually. The hiring of these managers only results in more administrative policies and tracking of compliance metrics for commanders who are already struggling to maintain manpower and operational readiness within their squadrons. 

Active-duty end strength has decreased every year for the last three years (2021 – 348k / 2022 – 346k / 2023 – 337k) thereby increasing mission workload for those Airman on duty. 

During the same period Class A mishaps for manned aviation increased slightly while ground related flight ops incidents increased 250%.

Is this coincidental or causational data? During this same period, more than thirteen different instructions, publications, and/or orders pertaining to DEI were published, as well numerous DEI programs were held across the enterprise.  While operational units were cash strapped and manpower exhausted, the Air Force’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion (SAF/DI) bragged about executing eleven separate DEI events in the last quarter of 2023. During the final event for FY23 Marianne Malizia, director of SAF/DI, declared:

“In the vast expanse of air and space, diverse perspectives and inclusive strategies are paramount. Our mission revolves around nurturing a culture where everyone feels valued and knows they belong. Their voices, ideas, and insights aren’t merely heard—they’re actively pursued to enhance our mission”

The very idea that we need to hear everyone’s idea and come to a consensus is completely counterproductive to executing a military mission where lethal force is required.  When the need arises to execute, the mission needs to be carried out with immediacy and precision – there is no time to pursue everyone’s “voice” when blood and treasure are being sacrificed.   

DEI may have a place within the Force, but the fact that it has been artificially elevated and has been woven into almost every aspect of the mission is detrimental to our core ability to FLY, FIGHT and WIN. 

There needs to be a return and refocus on the warrior ethos.  We need to bring back the swagger and toughness that was Brigadier General Robin Olds. 

The Air Force desperately needs to cultivate a selfless mission first mentality if the United States expects to excel in the Great Power Competition (GPC).  The next 50 years will demand sacrifice and a warrior mindset.  The Air Force must be able to execute as a lethal united force, thereby allowing commanders to focus on readiness and the warfighting capability of their squadrons, not spending precious hours in DEI focus seminars or ensuring compliance with some artificial diversity metrics.     

Major General Jimmy Doolittle (Doolittle’s Raiders) stated:

Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same.

Warriors protect, warriors fight, and warriors instruct – if we are to preserve the freedom that our predecessors like Major General Doolittle fought for, we need to revive the Warrior Ethos for this generation of Airman.         

Michael J. Martini serves as a colonel in the U.S. Air Force.