June 24 (UPI) -- An Inspector General review into racial disparity in the U.S. Air Force, including the U.S. Space Force, is underway, the Air Force announced this week.
The review by Air Force Inspector General Lt. Gen. Sami D. Said was ordered on June 2 by Secretary of the Air Force Barbara M. Barrett, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David L. Goldfein, and Chief of Space Operations Gen. John W. Raymond, under the Secretary's authority, the Air Force said on Tuesday.
The three chiefs said the intent of the review is to ensure that the voices of Department of Air Force members are "heard and captured for the record," adding that "once complete, the results of the report will be made available to the public."
The two-phase analysis will asses racial disparities in the Air Force's uniformed military discipline processes, and racial disparities in its leader development system.
Gathering information from previous Air Force reports, studies and databases is underway, but the Air Force officials say that "the most important information will come directly from our Airmen and Space Professionals."
The phase concentrating on military discipline is related to a letter sent earlier this month to the Judge Advocate General Corps from Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Rockwell, the top lawyer of the Air Force. It noted that a disparity in judicial punishments between white and black airmen needs to be addressed.
"The statistics show that black male Airmen under the age of 25 and with less than 5 years of service receive NJP [nonjudicial punishment] and courts-martial actions at a higher rate than similarly situated white male Airmen," Rockwell wrote in part.
The second phase, regarding Air Force promotions and leadership issues, began as the U.S. Senate voted unanimously on June 9 to make Gen. Charles Q. Brown -- the first Black officer to lead a U.S. military branch -- the Air Force's 22nd chief of staff.
Brown, currently the commander of the Pacific Air Forces, will replace Goldfein.
On Feb. 27, Marine Corps Commandant Gen. David Berger directed top Marine leaders to remove Confederate-related memorabilia from the service's bases worldwide. The order came days after a House Armed Services Committee hearing in which Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif., said the military is not responding adequately to white nationalist activity in active ranks.
Berger's directive also came amid a national conversation about the display of Confederate insignia and monuments to Confederate leaders.