While the government touts the importance of the role of whistleblowers, it fails to afford protections to military members who are victims of reprisal and retaliation. At WtTF, we are engaging at many levels to help achieve a system in which the government “walks” commensurate with the “talk”: protecting our courageous Americans while seeking restitution for those wronged.
Our Mission: To give the military member a voice when and where they don’t have one, guiding them through the treacherous waters of whistleblowing.
Our Vision: To realize a military free from reprisal and retribution.
Where the Current IG System Fails the Military Member
No Counsel. Victims of reprisal are not afforded any counsel by the military.
No Restitution. Victims of reprisal are set on a career-ending divergent path that cannot be recovered by current measures.
No Accountability. Perpetrators of reprisal are not held accountable, likewise, Inspectors General are not held accountable for their dereliction of duties.
No Faith. Military members have little to no faith in the efficacy of the DoDIG system. We aim to restore it.
How we work for you
The Walk the Talk Foundation’s functions center around two main activities: advisement and advocacy:
Advisement: WtTF provides free advice and guidance to subjects and complainants who are undergoing administrative investigations, such as those from the Inspector General. Our team of advisors walk our clients through the oftentimes burdensome and confounding process of the complaint, ensuring the highest likelihood of success possible.
Advocacy: Our Foundation actively lobbies our Congress and works in conjunction with a myriad of other advocacy groups in order to achieve the objective of positive, substantive reform to the military’s systems of redress such as the Inspector General system.
Ryan Sweazey, Lt Col (ret), USAF
A 1999 graduate of the Air Force Academy, “Count” Sweazey served in the active duty Air Force until his retirement in 2022. As an F-16 pilot, he served in five operational / test flying assignments, logging over 1,500 sorties in the F-16 and T-38. In 2010, he was designated as a Regional Affairs Strategist for Western Europe, later being selected in 2021 as the Air Force’s only fighter pilot Foreign Area Officer. Sweazey served over 14 years overseas including assignments to Japan, South Korea, Germany, Italy, and Iraq. He holds an Associates Degree in German, a Bachelor of Science Degree in Computer Science, an MBA, and is a graduate of the German Command and Staff College, the Führungsakademie der Bundeswehr.
Sweazey served as an Inspector General in the Air Force from 2013-2016 where he witnessed the numerous shortcomings of the Department of Defense Inspector General system. Later, while assigned to the Defense Intelligence Agency from 2017-2020, he again experienced firsthand the rampant dysfunction of the DoDIG as his and dozens of others’ IG complaints fell through the cracks of an ineffective and corrupt organization. During that time, Sweazey collated over 70 witness statements and produced a report to Congress highlighting the systemic failings of both DIA and the DoDIG. This report would serve to be the centerpiece of a February 2022 article by the Wall Street Journal which brought attention to the breadth and depth of corruption in our military avenues of recourse, culminating with the passage of the 2023 Intelligence Authorization Act.
In January 2022, Sweazey launched the nonprofit Walk the Talk Foundation, whose mission is twofold: bringing about substantive change to an IG system in dire need of repair, while advising and assisting victims navigating the treacherous waters of whistleblowing in the military.
The Walk the Talk Foundation is a Limited Liability Company.
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