Boeing Executive Resigns Over Article He Wrote In 1987 While In The Military

In 1987, Niel Golightly was a 29-year-old navy lieutenant. He wrote an article in a U.S. Naval Institute magazine critical of allowing wom...

In 1987, Niel Golightly was a 29-year-old navy lieutenant. He wrote an article in a U.S. Naval Institute magazine critical of allowing women in the military, a debate that was taking place at the time.

Since the article was published – 33 years ago – Golightly’s views have changed with the times. But in today’s cancel culture, that doesn’t matter. The perceived sins of one’s past become the only defining factor of their character. Thusly, despite the fact that Golightly had worked his way up to become Boeing’s vice president of communications, a single employee complaint referring to the 33-year-old article (written about 33 years before Golightly even worked for Boeing) has led to Golightly’s resignation. He was with the company just six months.

“At issue is not whether women can fire M-60s, dogfight MiGs, or drive tanks,” Golightly wrote in his 1987 article. “Introducing women into combat would destroy the exclusively male intangibles of war fighting and the feminine images of what men fight for — peace, home, family.”

The New York Post reported that Golightly decided to step down to spare the company, but explained that he no longer supported his decades old article.

“My article was a 29-year-old Cold War navy pilot’s misguided contribution to a debate that was live at the time,” Golightly said in a statement. “The dialogue that followed its publication 33 years ago quickly opened my eyes, indelibly changed my mind, and shaped the principles of fairness, inclusion, respect and diversity that have guided my professional life since.”

The Post reported that Boeing distanced itself from Golightly’s 33-year-old article and has already started looking for a replacement. More from the Post:

Boeing President and CEO David Calhoun talked with Golightly about the article and its implications for his role as the company’s top spokesman, Calhoun said. He added that Boeing has an “unrelenting commitment to diversity and inclusion in all its dimensions.”

“I greatly respect Niel for stepping down in the interest of the company,” Calhoun said in a statement.

Golightly came to Boeing in January at a tumultuous time for the Chicago-based planemaker. That was the same month Calhoun took over for Dennis Muilenburg, whom Boeing ousted in December amid a backlash over the 737 MAX crisis. The jet was grounded in March 2019 following two crashes that killed 346 people.

Boeing — which the Navy awarded $3.1 billion in contracts in May — ran a series of test flights this week in its push for regulators to let the 737 MAX return to service. The Federal Aviation Administration has said it still has several key tasks to complete before the jet can be certified.

Golightly is the latest victim of the Left’s cancel culture, which seeks to end careers for people who currently hold views they deem objectionable, or who have ever held views they now deem objectionable.