Space Force officer punished for denouncing Marxism within the ranks to leave military

Matthew Lohmeier, the Space Force officer who was removed from his command post earlier this year because he condemned Marxism and critical race theory, is leaving the military.

The lieutenant colonel says his final day in the service will be Sept.1.

"I wrote a letter to then-acting Secretary of the Air Force explaining certain circumstances, which I don’t plan to make public, but also requesting an early retirement, and a separation honorably from the service," Lohmeier told the Epoch Times.

The military has denied Lohmeier the early retirement, but has agreed to the honorable separation, which Lohmeier and his family have decided is the right course of action.

"I believe I’m able to continue serving my country outside of the service and out of uniform, perhaps in a better way than I was able to, given the circumstances, in uniform at the moment," he said. 

In May, Lohmeier was relieved of command of his squadron by Space Operations Command Cmdr. Lt. Gen. Stephen Whiting, "due to loss of trust and confidence in his ability to lead."

The move was the result of comments made by Lohmeier on a podcast on which he was discussing a book he'd written that warned about the spread in the military of Marxism and critical race theory, which argues America is inherently racist.

During the interview, Lohmeier argued Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was promoting "diversity, inclusion and equity," ideas he said were rooted in critical race theory, "which is rooted in Marxism." 

Lohmeier told the Epoch Times, "It’s not politically partisan to expose Marxist ideology where it exists and to talk about critical race theory, that should be something we’re unitedly standing against."