Capt. Matthew Lohmeier instructs a trainee

Democratic senators voiced serious concerns Thursday about a former Space Force[1] officer's political social media posts, as well as being fired from command in 2021, at a hearing weighing his nomination to serve as the Air Force[2]'s second-highest civilian leader.

Former Lt. Col. Matthew Lohmeier, who was nominated by President Donald Trump earlier this year to serve as the under secretary of the Air Force, previously served as commander of the 11th Space Warning Squadron at Buckley Space Force Base[3] in Colorado. But he was fired from his position in 2021 after an appearance on a podcast where he promoted his self-published book, "Irresistible Revolution: Marxism's Goal of Conquest and the Unmaking of the American Military."

Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., the ranking member on the Senate Armed Services Committee, told Lohmeier he was concerned about comments the former Guardian made once leaving the military and also expressed concerns that he'd seek retribution for those who sought his removal from command.

Read Next: 'This Is Going to Be a Challenge': Service Officials Detail Fallout from Civilian Resignations Pushed by Trump[4]

"I must confess, I have deep concerns about your ability to represent these men and women," Reed said. "While I appreciate your past military service, your record of troubling conduct in uniform, extreme partisanship and animosity towards military members with whom you disagree politically, is, in my view, disqualifying to be the under secretary."

Reed bought up a post that Lohmeier made on X on Oct. 19, 2024,[5] where he wrote: "If we are fortunate enough to see a Trump presidency once again, then there will be serious consequences for those senior leaders who have broken their oath, betrayed the trust of the American people, and participated in the hyper-politicization of the uniformed services."

The former Space Force officer declined to provide follow-up comments to Military.com on Thursday.

Lohmeier said during the hearing that the "post was put on X in my private capacity as a private citizen in 2024," adding that he "enjoyed my ability to speak freely and express a full range of the expression of my ideas" since leaving the military.

He said during the hearing that he would seek accountability from service members and leaders, but the post "was not intended to be retroactive or retributional in nature."

Several other Democratic leaders joined Reed in criticizing Lohmeier's views and opinions shared on social media.

Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, took aim at his views on the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the Capitol, when hundreds of Trump supporters broke into the building and assaulted police officers in an effort to overturn former President Joe Biden's election win.

In an Aug. 9, 2024, post on X[6], Lohmeier described the riot as "a gov't-led false flag and hoax at the Capitol."

Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., questioned his stance on Russia's invasion of Ukraine after the former officer shared in a Feb. 9, 2024, post on X[7] a 2014 paper titled: "Why the Ukraine Crisis is the West's Fault."

Lohmeier claimed the posts were mischaracterized, saying of Jan. 6 that there is "so much uncertainty about what was really going on" during the day of violent protests and adding "all heads of state have to make determinations for their own security" when asked about Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

He joined the service in 2006 after graduating from the Air Force Academy[8] in Colorado Springs, Military.com previously reported[9]. Lohmeier flew the T-38 Talon[10] as an instructor pilot and later the F-15[11]C Eagle. He transferred into the Space Force in October 2020.

Lohmeier told lawmakers last year that he submitted an inspector general complaint, alleging that the garrison commander of Buckley Space Force Base had "unethically used his position to promote anti-American propaganda." He said his complaint "was never investigated and was later dismissed" by then-Lt. Gen. Stephen Whiting.

After writing and promoting his book, Lohmeier was fired from his command of the 11th Space Warning Squadron at Buckley Space Force Base by Whiting.

Notably, Whiting was later promoted to four-star general and now currently leads U.S. Space Command.

On his firing, Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., questioned why Lohmeier did not file an Article 138 complaint, a formal process where a service member can express wrongdoing by a commander, after his inspector general complaint into the Buckley commander was dismissed.

Lohmeier said he did not file an Article 138 complaint but claimed he had "exhausted all of the means that I understood available to me" prior to publishing his book.

Duckworth said she was concerned.

"How can we expect you to lead airmen and Guardians?" Duckworth said. "You were relieved of command not for your beliefs, but for how you chose to express them on active duty while holding a position of authority over others."

In October, during a town hall in North Carolina where Trump was campaigning for his second term, Lohmeier took the stage and told Trump he should establish a "special task force, office or position" to remove diversity, equity and inclusion efforts throughout the military.

"I'm going to put you on that task force," Trump told him and later nominated him to serve as the under secretary of the Air Force.

When questioned by senators on Thursday whether he'd seek retribution for those who have differing political ideologies, Lohmeier claimed he would not and that airmen and Guardians would welcome him to the position.

"I think that we have many great men and women in uniform, high and low, who all have the right to try their best to serve this country faithfully and I don't necessarily agree with all the decisions they make, but I'm not a vindictive person," Lohmeier said. "I love all people, and I think that men and women in uniform will be very grateful to see me come back into service if confirmed."

Related: He Met Trump After Being Booted from the Space Force. Then, He Was Tapped to Help Lead the Air Force.[12]

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WASHINGTON — The number of sexual assaults reported across the U.S. military[1] dipped by nearly 4% last year, fueled by a significant drop in the Army, according to a new Pentagon report. It was the second year in a row with a decrease, reversing a troubling trend that has plagued the Defense Department for more than a decade.

Senior defense officials said that while the decline is a good sign, the number of reported assaults[2] is still too high and the military needs to do more to get victims to report the often undisclosed crime.

According to the report, there were 8,195 reported sexual assaults in 2024 involving members of the military, compared with 8,515 in 2023. In 2022, there were 8,942 reported sexual assaults, a spike[3] that triggered widespread alarm and led to new programs and an infusion of funding[4] to try to combat the problem.

The overall decrease was due to a 13% drop in reported sexual assaults across the Army, which is the largest military service.

All the other services saw increases. The Navy had the largest jump of 4.3%, while the Air Force had a 2.2% increase and the Marine Corps rose by less than 1%.

Of the 8,195 total, there were 512 service members who reported an assault that happened before they entered the military. The Pentagon encourages reporting so that victims can get any support they need. In addition, 641 were civilians who said they were assaulted by a member of the military.

Uncertainty about impact of job cuts on sexual assault programs 

Speaking to reporters Thursday, Nate Galbreath, director of the Pentagon’s sexual assault prevention and response office, said it’s still not clear how the Trump administration’s personnel and budget cuts will affect these programs. He said officials are asking for details on the number of assault prevention staff who have been laid off or who took any of the early retirement offers.

Andra Tharp, director of the command climate office, added that “when the hiring freeze went into effect, there were about 300 prevention workforce positions posted on USA jobs that are essentially on hold.” But, she said, some departments have been able to get exemptions.

Galbreath said the department also is now able to link sexual assaults to military readiness. He said a survey showed that service members who had experienced assault were more likely to leave the military, be demoted, miss a promotion or have some other type of negative action put in their files than those who hadn't been been victimized.

He said the survey followed troops who said in 2016 that they had experienced a sexual assault, and a group of others who did not.

As a result, he said the Defense Department is working to develop a recovery program to teach healthy coping skills and other assistance for victims. The department also has a Safe Helpline[5] where troops can seek help.

Sexual harassment complaints rise 

While reported assaults decreased, the number of sexual harassment complaints went from 2,980 in 2023 to 3,014 last year. Most were filed by female service members, and the vast majority of those accused were male.

The number of cases in which misconduct was substantiated increased a bit last year over the 2023 total. The number of discharges and administrative actions against alleged perpetrators continued to increase, and court-martial charges declined — both trends going back several years.

Officials noted that nearly three-quarters of the court-martial cases ended in convictions, a slight increase over the previous year.

Sexual assault reports in the military have gone up for much of the past decade, except for a tiny decrease in 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown. Officials say they are optimistic about the recent decreases but say much more work needs to be done.

As in previous years, most sexual assault reports are filed by those between ages 18 and 24 and involve lower-ranking service members.

Impact of Pentagon changes 

While it is difficult to point to any one reason for the two-year decline, the Defense Department has been making a series of changes over the past year that officials say may be contributing.

The services were using more than $1 billion to improve programs and hire up to 2,500 personnel as part of a new “prevention workforce” and place them at military installations worldwide.

So far, about 1,400 have been hired, but that process has stalled due to the Trump administration’s budget and personnel cuts[6] across the federal government. Defense officials said they are working to spread the existing workers around to lessen the gaps until more can be hired.

The latest report also reflects the first full year since new prosecution procedures have been in place, putting independent lawyers in charge of those decisions and sidelining commanders after years of pressure from Congress.

Officials said it is too soon to tell what effect those changes are having on prosecutions.

The Pentagon releases a report every year on the number of sexual assaults reported by or about troops. But because sexual assault is a highly underreported crime, the department also does a confidential survey every two years to get a clearer picture of the problem. That online survey came out last year, so it was not done this year.

Last year’s survey said more than 29,000 active-duty service members said they had experienced unwanted sexual contact in the previous year, compared with nearly 36,000 in the 2021 survey, according to several defense officials. The decrease was the first in eight years.

But officials said the survey also indicates that a large number of service members never file a report.

Defense officials have long argued that an increase in reported assaults is a positive trend because so many people are reluctant to report them, both in the military and in society as a whole. Greater reporting, they say, shows there is more confidence in the reporting system and greater comfort with the support for victims.

© Copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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