‘Woke’ Lessons at Lockheed Martin: Taking Your Eye Off the Ball

PATUXENT RIVER, Md. (Sept. 19, 2012) Navy test pilot Lt. Christopher Tabert flies F-35B Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) aircraft BF-3 with inert AIM-9X Sidewinder missiles over the Atlantic Test Range. (U.S. Navy photo courtesy of Lockheed Martin by Michael Jackson/Released)

White, male executives at Lockheed Martin, one of America’s biggest military contractors, responsible for much of the weaponry and systems that keep America safe from adversary nations, were recently asked to take three days out of their schedule to attend ‘woke’ Zoom classes on unlearning “their white male privilege.” The Daily Mail reports on these sessions:

  • The executives took part in the 16-hour training via Zoom last June
  • It was run by White Men As Full Diversity Partners, which runs training courses
  • The firm says it has been teaching since 1996 – it has likely boomed in the last year
  • The Lockheed participants included retired Air Force lieutenant colonel David Starr and retired Air Force lieutenant general Bruce Litchfield – a three star general
  • They had to start with a ‘free association’ exercise listing the connotations of ‘white privilege’
  • Then they had to recite ‘statements of white, male and heterosexual privilege’
  • Participants were also asked to focus on ‘white male culture’ traits including ‘a can-do attitude’ and ‘hard work’
  • They then had to recite statements like ‘I’m tired of being black’, from the perspective of minorities
  • They also had to watch videos by beauty brands Dove and Pantene about inclusivity and body positivity
  • It’s unclear how much Lockheed paid for the training or whose idea it was
  • Lockheed Martin takes in $6billion a year and 70% of that comes from government contracts

Lockheed is number 57 on the Fortune 500, and is tasked with protecting America. They produce the F-35, Aegis missile systems, destroyers, Apache and Black Hawk helicopters, various missiles, cybersecurity systems, and countless other systems that protect Americans every day. The executives don’t have time to take their eye off the ball for three days of ‘woke’ lessons.