The U.S. Air Force has authorized Air and Space Force commanders to use taxpayer money to cover the travel costs for service members seeking to attend the branch’s upcoming “pride” events.
On June 1, Marianne Malizia, the director of the Air Force’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion, issued a memo notifying branch commanders of several upcoming LGBT-related events in Washington, D.C., hosted by the Department of the Air Force (DAF). According to the memo, Air and Space Force commanders will be permitted to utilize “unit funds” to pay for service members under their command to “travel to, and participate in, this year’s DAF Pride events if approved by their individual supervisory authority.”
“Service members or civilian employees may attend conferences at the unit expense to maintain and improve professional competency or to improve management of the Department’s functions and activities,” the memo reads. The DAF justifies the use of taxpayer money to pay for such travel under Section 030201 of the Defense Department’s Joint Travel Regulation, which establishes “travel and transportation allowances” for military service members.
A rainbow-colored flyer accompanying the memo lists the three upcoming events the DAF is slated to participate in, including a “Pride at the Pentagon” celebration scheduled to be held at the Pentagon Air Force Art Gallery on June 8 and an “LGBTQ+ Initiatives Team (LIT) Symposium” to be held at the Pentagon Library & Conference Center on June 9. The Air Force will also have a recruiting booth at the D.C. Pride Festival on
