The United States Air Force has warned against using terms like "boy" and "girl", suggesting that such words could offend people, according to an email sent to Airmen at Joint Base San Antonio.
Fox News contributor Todd Starnes received a copy of the letter, sent by a senior Air Force leader to personnel at Lackland Air Force Base, which included an attachment that listed a number of words and phrases that might be construed as offensive.
Included on the list were the words "boy", "girl", "blacklist", and "blackmail".
"Please be cognizant that such conduct is 100 percent zero tolerance in or outside of the work climate," the email read. "Let's capitalize on our richly diverse climate, and help others seek assistance if they are struggling with compliance."
When probed, a Lackland public affairs spokesperson told Starnes: "The Air Force has no list of prohibited terms. It was sent out by an individual simply reminding Airmen to be respectful to others."
Starnes said the situation is clearly a "case of the Air Force getting caught red-handed trying to advance a politically correct agenda."
"It's time for Defense Secretary James Mattis to root out political correctness in the Armed Forces," he said. "We must never again allow the greatest fighting force on the planet to be used as a social engineering petri dish."
A similar incident took place last month, when Langley Air Force Base was forced to remove several "faith-based" posters from a display because they included the "offensive" words "man", "men" and "manhood."
Reads the passage on the poster: "Men cannot live without faith except for brief moments of anarchy or despair. Faith leads to conviction - and convictions lead to actions. It is only a man of deep convictions, a man of deep faith, who will make the sacrifices needed to save his manhood. ... It is obvious that our enemy will attack us at our weakest spot. The hole in our armor is our lack of faith. We need to revive a fighting faith by which we can live, and for which we would be willing even to die."
The National Organization for Women penned a letter to Gen. Herbert Carlisle stating the passages "glorify the military's reliance on male dominance, stating without equivocation that 'It is only a man of deep convictions, a man of deep faith, who will make the sacrifices needed to save his manhood."
Continued the letter: "What message does that send to young women who currently serve, or want to serve, in the military? What do you say to the women in your command who make the same sacrifices to protect their country as do men? Is the purpose of the U.S. armed forces really to assist "only" men to make sacrifices necessary to save their "manhood?"
