(Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch announced today it receive 445 pages of records from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, revealing that speakers at the March 2024 “Founders Day” event were instructed to “AVOID saying ‘removed,’ ‘replaced,’ ‘deleted’ [when referring to the new mission statement] – just refer to the ‘updated mission statement and reinforce that the motto remains unchanged.” [Emphasis in original] The records also tie DEI efforts to the mission statement controversy.

In a March 12, 2024, “Message from the 61st Superintendent,” Superintendent LTG Steven Gilland announced the change, referencing the Army’s continued commitment to “Duty, Honor and Country” and then announced the new mission statement without explaining why the words themselves were deleted.

The records were produced in a June 2024 Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit filed by Judicial Watch when the U.S. Military Academy failed to respond to a March 2024 FOIA request (Judicial Watch, Inc. v. U.S. Department of Defense (No. 1:24-cv-01757)). Judicial Watch is asking for:

1.      All documents which form the basis upon which the decision was made to remove the phrase “Duty, Honor, Country” from the United States Military Academy Mission Statement, according to various reports (such as https://armedforces.press/report-west-point-to-remove-duty-honor-country-from-official-mission-statement/).

2.      All emails between the following USMA officials and other email accounts ending in .mil or .gov regarding the removal of “Duty, Honor, Country” from the USMA Mission Statement: Superintendent LTG Steve Gilland, MG Lori Robinson, and BG Shane Reeves.

The records include a March 23, 2024, email from Gilland to LTG Christopher Donahue regarding “Founders Day Speaker Talking Points and FAQs” with four attachments, one of which states:

Our motto is who we are. Our mission statement is what we do.

• Duty, Honor, Country is carved in granite across West Point, adorns our cadets’ uniforms, and will always remain our motto.
• The mission statement codifies our mission essential tasks: build, educate, train and inspire the Corps of Cadets to be commissioned leaders of character.
• The revised mission statement was approved by—but not directed by—the Secretary of the Army and the Chief of Staff.
• AVOID saying “removed,” “replaced,” “deleted”—just refer to the “updated mission statement and reinforce that the motto remains unchanged.” [Emphasis in original]

In the “FAQ” attachment is an explanation regarding “DEI in Curriculum:”

• USMA [U.S. Military Academy] does not have a core curriculum dedicated to Critical Race Theory (CRT). CRT is explicitly covered in one upper-level elective – The Politics of Race, Gender, and Sexuality. Out of 30 lessons, there is one lesson introducing CRT and another focusing on critiques of CRT.
• USMA has a Diversity and Inclusion Studies Minor (DISM); created in 2017. Five to eight students each year complete the minor.

The “FAQ” attachment’s “Diversity Conference” section details:

• USMS’s Diversity and Inclusion Leadership Conference, as with all USMA conferences, encourages participants to present alternative viewpoints and challenge assumptions. This aligns with our mission to develop leaders of character who are mentally agile, perspective-laden critical thinkers.
  • In other words, our goal is to teach Cadets HOW to think, not WHAT to think. [Emphasis in original]

An additional bullet in the document under the heading “NDAA” (National Defense Authorization Act) reads:

• We are working in coordination with HQDA [Headquarters, Department of the Army] to comply with DEI-related provisions of the FY2024 National Defense Authorization Act that relate to USMA.

A November 2023 “Memorandum for Superintendent, USMA [U.S. Military Academy]” is intended for Gilland and addresses a “requested change for USMA [U.S. Military Academy] Mission” from its current reading to a revised form that is fully redacted:

1. Current:

To educate, train, and inspire the Corps of Cadets so that each graduate is a 4 leader of character committed to the values of Duty, Honor, Country and prepared for a career of professional excellence and service to the Nation as an officer in the United States Army.

2. Revised:

[Redacted]

Under the heading “Rationale for USMA [U.S. Military Academy]” Mission key edits” the memorandum instructs:

Substitute “Army Values” for “Duty, Honor Country.” We expect leaders of character to demonstrate all seven Army values. This change strengthens our connection to the Army. We will retain Duty, Honor, Country as the USMA [U.S. Military Academy] Motto.

In a March 11, 2024, email from Gilland to members of the West Point Board of Visitors, Gilland characterizes the MacArthur Society of West Point Graduates as “a small but vocal group of Academy alumni who criticize the Academy on our continued transformation efforts.”

In a March 28, 2023, PowerPoint presentation for a West Point Board of Visitors meeting, in a slide titled “Focus Areas,” under the subtitle “Army Lines of Effort,” is a bullet “Development and implementation of a DEI Plan informed by the current D&I [Diversity and Inclusion] Plan (Middle States Association).”

In a July 27, 2023, U.S. Military Academy Board of Directors PowerPoint presentation, the one slide contains the bullet “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) at USMA.”

“These records detail how the DEI agenda helped change the mission statement of West Point – and how leadership under the Biden administration tried to cover it up,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton.

In November 2024, Judicial Watch filed a FOIA lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Defense for information regarding the rebranding of West Point’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) office to “Office of Engagement and Retention.”

In March 2023, records from the U.S. Department of Defense showed the U.S. Air Force Academy had made race and gender instruction a top priority in the training of cadets.

In July 2023, Judicial Watch exposed records from the United States Air Force Academy, a component of the United States Department of Defense, which included instructional materials and emails that addressed topics such as Critical Race Theory, “white privilege,” and Black Lives Matter.

In June 2022, Judicial Watch exposed Critical Race Theory (CRT) instruction at the U.S. Military Academy. One training slide contained a graphic titled “MODERN-DAY SLAVERY IN THE USA.” [Emphasis in original]

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