In accordance with President Donald Trump’s ban on diversity, equality, and inclusion measures, the U.S. Air Force announced on Sunday that it will restart training trainees using a video about the Tuskegee Airmen, the first Black airmen in the U.S. military, that has passed review.
Since taking office on January 20, Trump has made DEI illegal across the U.S. military and administration. Eliminating DEI from the military has been a primary focus for newly appointed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who took office on Friday.
According to a Reuters report on Saturday, basic training at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland was not showing the Tuskegee Airmen or Women Air Force Service Pilots (WASPs), two videos about civilian women pilots trained by the U.S. military during World War Two, while they were being reviewed.
The San Antonio Express-News was the first to report on the transfer.
Both movies will be taught, the Air Force announced on Sunday.
According to a statement from Lieutenant General Brian Robinson, head of the Air Education and Training Command, no Airmen or Guardians will miss this block of teaching because of the adjustment, but one set of trainees experienced a delay in their training.
During World War Two, 450 pilots from the Tuskegee Airmen served in separate groups abroad. Their military prowess paved the stage for President Harry Truman’s 1948 decision to desegregate the military.
Promoting opportunity for women, ethnic minorities, and other historically underrepresented groups is the goal of DEI programs. Advocates for civil rights contend that these initiatives, which are typically supported by Democrats, are necessary to redress systemic racism and historical injustices.
Conservatives have attacked them, claiming that programs that focus on gender and ethnicity are fundamentally biased and do not give priority to merit.