The National Character and Leadership Symposium is an annual event held at the U.S. Air Force Academy, focused on preparing the next generation of leaders for “honorable living and effective leadership.”
The theme of the 2024 NCLS is “Valuing Human Conditions, Cultures, and Societies,” which, according to the USAFA website, explores “what it is to be human and what qualities good citizens and leaders should have.”
It’s interesting that the USAFA would include the CEO of United Airlines, Scott Kirby, as a speaker on that subject. Kirby has been making a lot of news lately — but none of it has been for “honorable living” or “effective leadership.”
A resurfaced 2021 interview in which Kirby is seen boasting about his company’s “diversity, equity and inclusion” agenda went viral on social media last month, according to Fox News.
In the video, Kirby said United had pledged that 50 percent of its pilot classes would be “women or people of color.”
Kirby went on to lament that only 19 percent of his pilots were women or minorities, although he patted himself on the back, stating that this rate was the “highest of any airline in the country.”
Michael Seifert, founder and CEO of PublicSquare, posted the clip on X with the caption, “United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby says they want ‘50%’ of their hires to be ‘women or people of color.’ He doesn’t care whether or not they can effectively fly an airplane – all that matters is race and gender.”
“DEI is going to get people killed,” he added.
United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby says they want “50%” of their hires to be “women or people of color.”
He doesn’t care whether or not they can effectively fly an airplane – all that matters is race and gender.
DEI is going to get people killed.
pic.twitter.com/8Pb0RFiwbR— Michael Seifert (@realmichaelseif) January 15, 2024
A few days later, another video of Kirby surfaced, which did a lot to explain why the CEO of a major airline would risk hiring people based solely on their gender or race rather than choosing the best-qualified people for the job.
The video shared on X by Libs of TikTok showed the husband and father of seven performing a Lady Gaga number dressed in drag.
“This is Scott Kirby, the CEO of [United]. He’s a drag queen and has been incorporating drag into [United]. This video should tell you everything you need to know,” Libs of TikTok wrote.
This is Scott Kirby, the CEO of @united. He’s a drag queen and has been incorporating drag into @united.
This video should tell you everything you need to know. pic.twitter.com/RR5nWwC5OR
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) January 18, 2024
This is Scott Kirby, the CEO of @united. He likes to dress up in drag. United hired a drag queen to be their CEO and now United has turned their focus to incorporating drag into their business and sponsoring drag shows. https://t.co/Hhzd5o6SyN pic.twitter.com/9tqkjTfVvs
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) January 15, 2024
Additionally, United is now being sued for “bullying” unvaccinated employees during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to LifeSite News.
According to the lawsuit, “Kirby even proposed requiring [unvaccinated] employees to walk around with special stickers on their badges broadcasting their vaccination status,” LifeSite reported.
Given all this, one wonders at the U.S. Air Force Academy’s reasoning in featuring Kirby, a 1989 USAFA graduate, as an example of either “character” or “leadership.”
Kirby’s bio on the NCLS website says that he “played a pivotal role in enabling United’s cultural transformation and executing the company’s strategic growth plan.”
If this is the “cultural transformation” the Air Force is hoping its young cadets go out into the world and achieve, this nation is looking at a long downward spiral.
