Deplorable:
Members of the Omaha Tribe performing a peace dance at Offutt Air Force Base. An Offutt staff sergeant who gathered supplies for a girls school in Afghanistan. A “Rosie the Riveter” working at Bellevue’s Glenn L. Martin Bomber Plant during World War II.
Those are among the Nebraska images no longer available on Defense Department websites after a Pentagon-ordered purge of content judged to be related to “diversity, equity and inclusion,” according to a military database obtained by the Associated Press.
This photo of drummers from the Omaha Tribe performing during a Native American History Month presentation at Offutt Air Force Base in 2016 is one of more than 100 scrubbed from military websites after an order last month by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to delete all past content that could be connected with now-banned “diversity, equity and inclusion” efforts. The Pentagon has banned commemoration of heritage months.
U.S. AIR FORCE
In a February memo, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth gave the military until March 5 to remove content that highlights diversity efforts in its ranks following President Donald Trump’s executive order ending those programs across the federal government.
“We are pleased by the rapid compliance across the Department with the directive removing DEI content from all platforms,” said John Ullyot, a Pentagon spokesman.
He noted that Hegseth had declared "DEI is dead" and said that DEI "erodes camaraderie and threatens mission execution" by "put(ting) one group ahead of another."
The database includes more than 26,000 images flagged for removal across every military branch and was created to comply with federal archival law, according to AP. Most of the images were posted through the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service, an online clearinghouse for photos and videos made by public affairs journalists from all military branches.
A search of the database showed 110 images with the word “Offutt” in their titles or captions had been deleted or flagged for deletion, some dating back to 2008. Eight other images marked “StratCom” were deleted.
Most of the scrubbed images from Offutt show commemorations of heritage months, including Black History Month, Women’s History Month, Hispanic American Heritage Month and Native American Heritage Month.
Some of the photos also depicted LGBTQ Pride events, such as a 2016 photo titled “Team Offutt celebrates diversity with Rainbow Run.” A 2013 photo of Offutt Staff Sgt. Jason Strong attending an LGBTQ+ event while deployed to Afghanistan was scrubbed, though an accompanying story about how he overcame a difficult childhood by joining the Air Force, including gathering supplies for a girls' school in Afghanistan, remains on the page. The story makes no mention of sexual orientation.
Members of the Omaha Tribe performing a peace dance at Offutt Air Force Base. An Offutt staff sergeant who gathered supplies for a girls school in Afghanistan. A “Rosie the Riveter” working at Bellevue’s Glenn L. Martin Bomber Plant during World War II.
Those are among the Nebraska images no longer available on Defense Department websites after a Pentagon-ordered purge of content judged to be related to “diversity, equity and inclusion,” according to a military database obtained by the Associated Press.
This photo of drummers from the Omaha Tribe performing during a Native American History Month presentation at Offutt Air Force Base in 2016 is one of more than 100 scrubbed from military websites after an order last month by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to delete all past content that could be connected with now-banned “diversity, equity and inclusion” efforts. The Pentagon has banned commemoration of heritage months.
U.S. AIR FORCE
In a February memo, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth gave the military until March 5 to remove content that highlights diversity efforts in its ranks following President Donald Trump’s executive order ending those programs across the federal government.
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“We are pleased by the rapid compliance across the Department with the directive removing DEI content from all platforms,” said John Ullyot, a Pentagon spokesman.
He noted that Hegseth had declared "DEI is dead" and said that DEI "erodes camaraderie and threatens mission execution" by "put(ting) one group ahead of another."
The database includes more than 26,000 images flagged for removal across every military branch and was created to comply with federal archival law, according to AP. Most of the images were posted through the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service, an online clearinghouse for photos and videos made by public affairs journalists from all military branches.
A search of the database showed 110 images with the word “Offutt” in their titles or captions had been deleted or flagged for deletion, some dating back to 2008. Eight other images marked “StratCom” were deleted.
Most of the scrubbed images from Offutt show commemorations of heritage months, including Black History Month, Women’s History Month, Hispanic American Heritage Month and Native American Heritage Month.
Some of the photos also depicted LGBTQ Pride events, such as a 2016 photo titled “Team Offutt celebrates diversity with Rainbow Run.” A 2013 photo of Offutt Staff Sgt. Jason Strong attending an LGBTQ+ event while deployed to Afghanistan was scrubbed, though an accompanying story about how he overcame a difficult childhood by joining the Air Force, including gathering supplies for a girls' school in Afghanistan, remains on the page. The story makes no mention of sexual orientation.
Military's photos of Omaha Tribe dancers, 'Rosie the Riveter' removed in DEI content purge
Photos of Omaha Tribe dancers, a WWII "Rosie the Riveter" worker and a transgender Offutt service member are among thousands of images erased in a Pentagon purge of DEI content.
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