War heroes and military firsts are among 26,000 images flagged for removal in Pentagon's DEI purge

[highplainsdem]

Source: AP

References to a World War II Medal of Honor recipient, the Enola Gay aircraft that dropped an atomic bomb on Japan and the first women to pass Marine infantry training are among the tens of thousands of photos and online posts marked for deletion as the Defense Department works to purge diversity, equity and inclusion content, according to a database obtained by The Associated Press.

The database, which was confirmed by U.S. officials and published by AP, includes more than 26,000 images that have been flagged for removal across every military branch. But the eventual total could be much higher.

One official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to provide details that have not been made public, said the purge could delete as many as 100,000 images or posts in total, when considering social media pages and other websites that are also being culled for DEI content. The official said it’s not clear if the database has been finalized.

-snip-

In some cases, photos seemed to be flagged for removal simply because their file included the word ”gay,” including service members with that last name and an image of the B-29 aircraft Enola Gay, which dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, during World War II.

-snip-

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/dei-purge-images-pentagon-diversity-women-black-8efcfaec909954f4a24bad0d49c78074

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Good for the AP for reporting on this. First detailed account I've seen on what's being removed.

Please click on the link for the full article, which shows some of the images being removed.

Hegseth gave the military till next Wednesday to find and remove content that could be viewed as highlighting diversity efforts.

And according to this article, they were told that if they haven't met that deadline, they are to "temporarily remove from public display" all content published during the Biden administration.

[dflprincess]

1. The Enola Gay was named after Enola Gay Tibbets

The mother of Paul Tibbets who was the plane's pilot.

These people are idots.

[BOSSHOG]

2. You are what you do

You are not erasing history. You are conservatives. You are shameless. You are racist. You are without integrity. You are a disgrace. You are pissing on the graves of every American Service Member around the Planet. You Are Republicans.

[madaboutharry]

3. America has become a fool.

[oldsoldierfadingfast]

4. The name of one the best friends...

Last edited Fri Mar 7, 2025, 05:53 AM - Edit history (1)

I ever had will be removed - Nancy Leftenant Colon. Please read her bio. (Not the Wikipedia one.)
I interviewed her for a position in a newly opened Extended Care Facility (one of the first to open) and she began work as a supervisor the next week
With our similar names and military backgrounds we bonded even with our twenty year age gap; and added one other nurse to our friendship.
The three of us have continued that friendship since 1970.
I last talked to Nancy his past Sep. when I called to wish her a happy 105th birthday. She faded away this past Jan.
Please remember her name.
Please, don't the memory of her be lost as well.

[Godot51]

5. The new memory hole

Here, put this down drumpf's brown memory hole...

[AmericaUnderSiege]

6. Something tells me they'll especially target WW2.

The enemy wants that war erased from history, if not its outcome reversed.

[oldmanlynn]

7. Why do we let them say DEI is a bad thing when it's actually a good thing

There is absolutely nothing wrong with DEI. Why are we letting them tell us its Bad?

[liberalgunwilltravel]

10. When they say DEI

They mean ni**er. And when they say “woke” they mean anti racism/misogyny. They are frightened, insecure, cowardly shadows of men.

[blue_jay]

13. Why have we let them hijack and redefine the English language to their benefit?

I think starting with Frank Luntz, maybe earlier? Turning good things into bad, making bad things sound good. No pushback. We need to take our language back or words become meaningless. Basically practicing the art of the lie. I think people should start pointing out how disingenuous is to expect "respect" on both sides when they can't even use the proper name of the party (e.g. Democratic party) from the get go. Hello Lucy, FU. If they can't begin a discussion with even a modicum of respect or fairness, I say F 'em and their expectations of some sort of trust or faith of civil discussion. They tell you from the get go they will pull the football away.

Peace everyone, thanks for letting me get that out. I'm new here and no expert on anything political or historical, just a frustrated observer of the world and don't have time or bandwidth to see if others have said the exact thing I have today.

[bmichaelh]

8. George H Gay Jr

What about George H Gay Jr?

He was an ensign during the Battle of Midway in WW II who witnessed part of the battle while floating some 30 hours in the ocean.

This has been shown in both Midway movies and inspired science fiction shows.

[liberalgunwilltravel]

9. Trump and Hegseth

Need to be deleted. They are destroying our military because they are insecure cowards.

[atreides1]

11. Fucking grand

I read that the 101st Airborne was sending troops to the southern border. The 101st is my "alma mater", I posted the AP article on their FB page...I then posted a question, asking if sending female and minority soldiers might be a considered a violation of Drunken Pete's DEI protocols!

So, far no reply!

[Wonder Why]

12. I guess the Charles George VA Medical Center in Asheville will be renamed to the

Benedict Arnold Loser Center.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

14. MaddowBlog-The White House's find-and-replace problem becomes even more embarrassing

The White House’s find-and-replace problem becomes even more embarrassing
https://bsky.app/profile/buzzard123.bsky.social/post/3ljsktbp7jk2l

Link to tweet

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/white-houses-find-replace-problem-becomes-even-embarrassing-rcna195342

The Trump administration, for example, has launched a bizarre crusade against diversity, equity and inclusion efforts throughout the federal government, including the Internal Revenue Service’s procedural handbook for employees. Officials, however, weren’t paying close attention to the details......

But to fully appreciate the absurdity of the GOP’s Ctrl-F problem, consider this amazing report from The Associated Press.

References to a World War II Medal of Honor recipient, the Enola Gay aircraft that dropped an atomic bomb on Japan and the first women to pass Marine infantry training are among the tens of thousands of photos and online posts marked for deletion as the Defense Department works to purge diversity, equity and inclusion content, according to a database obtained by The Associated Press. The database, which was confirmed by U.S. officials and published by AP, includes more than 26,000 images that have been flagged for removal across every military branch. But the eventual total could be much higher.

There’s a lot to unpack in the AP’s report, which has not been independently verified by MSNBC or NBC News, but of particular interest is the way in which the Trump administration reportedly approached photographs of a historically significant airplane.

“In some cases, photos seemed to be flagged for removal simply because their file included the word ‘gay,’ including service members with that last name and an image of the B-29 aircraft Enola Gay, which dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, during World War II,” the AP reported.

Almost exactly 30 years later, Donald Trump’s Pentagon is concerned about images of the airplane, not because of its payload, but because of the word “gay.”

Perhaps we should be relieved that the Republican administration didn’t try to rebrand the plane as “Enola Homosexual”?