Activism

Lesson on Tuskegee Airmen to Air Force Trainees Survives Trump’s Order Dismantling DEI Offices

By Jan. 22, the U.S. Air Force had started shutting down its DEI offices and put those employees on paid administrative leave before their employment ends on Jan. 31. But a misunderstanding on the executive order’s implementation on the education of U.S. Air Force trainees set off a backlash that reached the Pentagon.

Published

2 years ago

January 2, 2025

Oakland Post

The Tuskegee Airmen. The Tuskegee Airmen National Museum photo.

By Post Staff

In his first week in office, President Donald Trump issued dozens of executive orders, among them one to turn back the clock on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).

By Jan. 22, the U.S. Air Force had started shutting down its DEI offices and put those employees on paid administrative leave before their employment ends on Jan. 31.

But a misunderstanding on the executive order’s implementation on the education of U.S. Air Force trainees set off a backlash that reached the Pentagon.

At Lackland Air Force Base in Texas, a memo circulated among personnel had reportedly determined that certain parts of training curriculum were to be excised immediately.

But, by Monday, as was reported in Air& Space Forces Magazine, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David W. Allvin said that “…the service is ‘faithfully executing’ the president’s orders and will continue to teach new trainees about the Tuskegee Airmen and the Women Air Force Service Pilots, or WASPs, whose contributions to the war effort helped win World War II.

“While we are currently reviewing all training courses to ensure compliance with the Executive Orders, no curriculum or content highlighting the honor and valor of the Tuskegee Airmen or Women Air Force Service Pilots has been removed from Basic Military Training,” Allvin said in a Jan. 27 statement reported in Air&Space.

The blowback began on Jan. 23 after on a memo posted on Facebook was leaked.

It was alleged that the memo said a video on the Tuskegee Airmen had been excised from a course on “airmindedness.”
The video described the exploits of the groundbreaking African American airmen, whose combat service during World War II became the stuff of legend.

Known by the ‘red tails’ marking their aircraft, the valor of the airmen escorting bombers gave those pilots a sense of safety.

The nonprofit Tuskegee Airmen, Inc., swiftly issued a statement criticizing the act. Republican Senator Katie Britt of Alabama took to social media charging the Air Force with “malicious compliance,” suggesting someone obeyed the directive in a way intended to undermine the order’s intent.

While the video presentations on the Tuskegee Airmen and WASPs were delayed for one group of Airmen, Air&Space revealed, both Allvin and Air Education and Training Command boss Lt. Gen. Brian S. Robinson said no videos were ever removed from the curriculum.

Air&Space Magazine, the Associated Press, The San Antonio Express News and Wikipedia are sources for this report.