The Air Force is calling for an investigation by the Inspector General to take place over claims preferential treatment was given to a woman who was hoping to become the first female elite special tactics airman, after a member of Congress raised concerns.
According to the accuser, who has remained anonymous, a female captain was given more favorable treatment than is typical under 'societal norms' for airmen undergoing special tactics selection and training.
The trainee was allowed to repeatedly quit then rejoin the training 'pipeline' and was offered an 'unheard of' special assignment in one of the military's most elite units in the hope of encouraging her to keep going.
U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command boss Lt. Gen. Jim Slife is asking for an Inspector General investigation to take place following claims an unqualified female airman was pushed through special tactics officer training
Questions have been raised as to whether the airman is receiving preferential treatment to stay in the pipeline having allegedly quitting multiple times
Screenshots of the anonymous email were shared last week in an Instagram post by U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw, a Texas Republican and Navy SEAL veteran, who demanded answers.
'We cannot sacrifice training standards. Ever. Full stop,' Crenshaw wrote on Twitter. 'If this account is true, our military needs to address it now.'
Crenshaw, who was wounded in Afghanistan in 2012, said 'lots of females … contribute enormously' to special operations missions, but they follow strict standards. Subverting them 'will cost lives,' he said.
The story that was shared online details how a female special tactics officer quit the challenging selection process multiple times, first in 2018, only to be reinstated by the leadership of AFSOC and the 24th Special Operations Wing.
Screenshots of the anonymous email were shared last week in an Instagram post by U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw, a Texas Republican and Navy SEAL veteran, who demanded answers
The anonymous account which made the original accusations named the trainee as Captain Morgan Mosby
The postings describe the training as a 'challenging, week-long selection process to get into the special tactics community'.
The airman quit during a pool session, but was still given the chance to finish, the posting details.
The candidate 'became known for quitting and getting preferential treatment. She quit during various points of her training, and yet all accounts were 'brushed under the rug' since she was closely looked at, and her status monitored by Congress and AFSOC leadership (O-6 and above) on a weekly basis.'
The Air Force special warfare selection process and training pipeline is among the most difficult in the world, but any accusations of a lowering of standards were quickly refuted by the head of Air Force Special Operations Command, Lt. Gen. Jim Slife.
'We can unequivocally say the standards — which are tied to mission accomplishment — have not changed,' Slife said in a lengthy posting on Facebook. 'However, there is a difference between standards and norms.'
'We can unequivocally say the standards — which are tied to mission accomplishment — have not changed,' Slife, pictured, said in a lengthy posting on Facebook. 'However, there is a difference between standards and norms.'
Slife explained that the 'norms' of the training pipeline have changed in the last 15 years in order to get airmen to meet certain standards. He explained that although the standards are unchanged now, they could be altered in the future.
'It's easy to conflate standards and norms, because over time, the norms we establish can come to be viewed as 'the standard,' Slife wrote. 'Years ago, the norm was to assess candidates via indoctrination. We learned there was a better way to assess and select candidates for special
