- The Pentagon is erasing photos, videos, and articles from military websites.
- The whitewash is part of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s crackdown on DEI.
- Hegseth said he thinks DEI efforts harm unity among troops and “erode camaraderie.”
Shindigs on base. Pride celebrations. A tribute to a fallen warrior.
These are among the years of celebrations and recognition of the US military’s diversity being expunged on orders from the Trump administration, a time-consuming effort that extends the DEI crackdown from canceling future Black History Months for its workforce of 3 million to erasing all evidence that military commands had ever recognized them.
The online content purge is the latest in a series of policy changes President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have ordered at the Pentagon, including regulations targeting transgender troops.
Since late January, error messages reading “content not available” or “page not found” have appeared on webpages depicting diversity day events hosted at military bases, biographies of pioneering military leaders, and stories advocating for women, racial minority groups, and LGBTQ+ troops.
The erasure adds to concerns about the new administration and raises questions about why the military would devote resources to eliminating past projects intended in part to prompt more people to consider a military career in a difficult recruiting era.
