We figured it was only a matter of time, but an active-duty officer has finally taken one for the team.

That team, of course, is the U.S. military, and the figurative bullet taken by Space Force Lieutenant Colonel Matthew Lohmeier might ultimately cost him his career. But the consolation seems well worth it: He’s struck a blow against the overlapping threats of Critical Race Theory and Marxism in our military, and his self-published book on the topic, Irresistible Revolution: Marxism’s Goal of Conquest and the Unmaking of the American Military, is now an Amazon bestseller.

As the Washington Examiner’s Carly Ortiz-Lytle reports, “A commander in the United States Space Force was apparently relieved from his post after appearing on a podcast to promote his book, which asserts a neo-Marxist agenda is transforming military culture and policy. ‘Lt. Gen. Stephen Whiting … relieved Lt. Col. Matthew Lohmeier of command of the 11th Space Warning Squadron, Buckley Air Force Base, Colorado, May 14, due to loss of trust and confidence in his ability to lead,’ the Space Force said … ‘This decision was based on public comments made by Lt. Col. Lohmeier in a recent podcast. Lt. Gen. Whiting has initiated a Command Directed Investigation (CDI) on whether these comments constituted prohibited partisan political activity.’”

The podcast in question was that of L. Todd Wood of Creative Destruction Media, who hosted Lohmeier for 30 minutes on May 7. It was a fascinating interview. And then all hell broke loose.

If we had to bet, we’d say the outcome of Whiting’s investigation is a fait accompli. Department of Defense Directive 1344.10 prohibits active-duty personnel from engaging in “partisan political activities,” and the last thing Joe Biden, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Lieutenant General Whiting, or anyone else along Lohmeier’s chain of command wants to do is to embolden the active-duty officer corps. It’s one thing when retired generals and admirals speak out against the socialist and Marxist threats facing our nation, but it’s a far more dangerous thing when those in active leadership roles take the same initiative.

Before being relieved of his command, Lohmeier, an Air Force Academy graduate, flight instructor, and F-15 fighter pilot, was responsible for a U.S. Space Force unit tasked with detecting ballistic missile launches. “I don’t believe I was being partisan,” he said on Monday. “The reason I say that is because Critical Race Theory and Marxism are antithetical to American values. Critical Race Theory fuels narratives that attack America’s founding documents. … I don’t criticize any leader, or any person in the DoD, or any elected officials, but I try to tee up ideas that I think are toxic.”

He teed them up all right, and he appears to have done so at Secretary Austin’s unwitting invitation. On February 5, Austin ordered a military-wide, one-day stand-down to address the issue of extremism. Two weeks later, in a five-minute video directed to our nation’s more than two million active-duty and reserve military personnel, here’s the substance of what Austin said:

We need your help. I’m talking, of course, about extremism and extremist ideology — views and conduct that run counter to everything that we believe in, and which can actually tear at the fabric of who we are as an institution. … We’ve got to be better than that. And not just for ourselves … but also for the country and the very idea of what the United States represents to the world. … I want you to revisit the oath that you took when you joined the military. … Read those words again. Consider what they really mean. And think about the promise that you made to yourselves, and to your teammates, and to your fellow citizens. I also want you to share with your leadership your own personal experiences with encountering extremists and extremist ideology in the military … and I want your leadership to listen to those stories. And I want them to listen to any ideas that you might have to help us stamp out of the ranks the dangerous conduct that this ideology inspires. … So we can’t afford actions and behavior that are at odds with our values, and that undermine good order and discipline, that harm or harass or otherwise violate the oath that we share, and the bonds of trust upon which we all rely.

To Secretary Austin we would ask: What is Critical Race Theory if not an “extremist ideology” that pits one race against another and thereby undermines “good order and discipline”? And what about Marxism, whose murderous tenets “run counter to everything that we believe in”?

As for the Oath of Enlistment, it begins, “I do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same.” Here we would ask: What is Lohmeier doing if not supporting and defending the Constitution against its very antithesis, Marxism?

Our military is adrift, set so by the ardent leftists in the White House and the Pentagon. Our Armed Forces are drifting dangerously away from their core mission of deterring war and ensuring our nation’s security. And while Marxist legions haven’t infiltrated our military, their ideas certainly have.

Based on Secretary Austin’s order, Lt. Col. Lohmeier was right to speak out — indeed, he was required to speak out. We can be grateful that he did, and we can hope that other patriotic officers and enlisted personnel will be emboldened to do the same.