US Air Force resumes teaching video on Tuskegee Airmen after review
PHOTO CAPTION: Illustrative photo — A Tuskegee Airmen P-51 Red Tail Mustang flies during the Thunder Over the Rock Air Show at Little Rock Air Force Base, Arkansas, Oct. 21, 2023. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Saisha Cornett via U.S. Defense Visual Information Distribution Service)
By Phil Stewart
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Air Force said on Sunday it will resume instruction of trainees using a video about the first Black airmen in the U.S. military, known as the Tuskegee Airmen, which has passed review to ensure compliance with President Donald Trump's ban on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
Trump, who took office on Jan. 20, has prohibited DEI throughout the U.S. government and the U.S. military. New Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who was sworn in on Friday, has made eliminating DEI from the military a top priority.
Reuters reported on Saturday that the video about the Tuskegee Airmen as well as another about civilian women pilots trained by the U.S. military during World War Two, known as "Women Air Force Service Pilots," or WASPs, were not being taught in basic training at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland pending a review.
The move was first reported by the San Antonio Express-News, and it created an uproar, including in Alabama, home to the training base in Tuskegee where the airmen got their name. Alabama Senator Katie Boyd Britt, in a post on social media platform X, described the decision to pause teaching the videos as "malicious compliance" with the DEI review.
Hegseth responded on X: "We're all over it Senator. This will not stand."
The Air Force on Sunday said both videos will be taught.
"No Airmen or Guardians will miss this block of instruction due to the revision, however one group of trainees had the training delayed," said Lieutenant General Brian Robinson, who leads the Air Education and Training Command in a statement.
The Tuskegee Airmen included 450 pilots who fought overseas in segregated units during World War Two. Their success in combat helped pave the way for President Harry Truman's decision to desegregate the armed forces in 1948.
DEI programs seek to promote opportunities for women, ethnic minorities and other traditionally underrepresented groups. Civil rights advocates argue such programs, generally backed by Democrats, are needed to address longstanding inequities and structural racism.
They have come under attack from conservatives, who say race- and gender-focused initiatives are inherently discriminatory and fail to prioritize merit.
(Reporting by Phil Stewart; Editing by David Gregorio)
