Tuskegee Airmen videos removed from Air Force training under Trump DEI rollback | FOX6 Milwaukee

Tuskegee Airmen videos removed from Air Force training under Trump DEI rollback

Following President Donald Trump’s executive order cracking down on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, the U.S. Air Force has removed certain training courses for service members. 

Here’s what to know about the Air Force’s rollback under Trump’s executive order:

Trump Tuskegee Airmen

FILE - Members of the Los Angeles Chapter of the Tuskegee Airmen including; Reginald Ballard, left, Harlan Leonard, Dr. Isaac Walker and Levi Thornhill, right, stand as the National Anthem is played during a flag lowering ceremony at Disneyland in An

The U.S. Air Force confirmed it had removed some training courses to comply with the Trump administration's crackdown on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

The training courses included videos of its storied Tuskegee Airmen and the Women Airforce Service Pilots, or WASPs — the female World War II pilots.

The videos were shown to Air Force troops as part of DEI courses they took during basic military training.

What they're saying:

In a statement, the Air Force confirmed the courses with those videos had been removed and said it "will fully execute and implement all directives outlined in the Executive Orders issued by the President, ensuring that they are carried out with utmost professionalism, efficiency and in alignment with national security objectives."

In a statement late Saturday, Tuskegee Airmen Inc. the nonprofit foundation created to preserve the legacy of those pilots, said it was "strongly opposed" to the removal of the videos to comply with Trump’s order.

The stories of the Tuskegee Airmen and the WASPs "are an essential part of American history and carried significant weight in the World War II veteran community. We believe the content of these courses does not promote one category of service member or citizen over another. They are simply a part of American military history that all service members should be made aware of," the group said.

The other side:

The problem may not be with the historical videos themselves, but that they were used in Air Force basic military training DEI coursework. 

However, the lack of clearer guidance has sent the Air Force and other agencies scrambling to take the broadest approach to what content is removed to make sure they are in compliance.

Who are the Tuskegee Airmen? 

The backstory:

The Tuskegee Airmen, known as the "Red Tails" were the nation's first Black military pilots who served in a segregated WWII unit and their all-Black 332nd Fighter Group had one of the lowest loss records of all the bomber escorts in the war.

They flew P-47 Thunderbolt, P-51 Mustang and other fighter aircraft to escort American bombers on dangerous missions over Germany. 

President George W. Bush awarded the Tuskegee Airmen the Congressional Gold Medal in a ceremony at the Capitol Rotunda in 2007.

In 2020, in his State of the Union address, Trump announced he had promoted one of the last surviving Tuskegee Airmen, Charles McGee, to brigadier general. McGee died in 2022 at age 102.

Who are the WASPs?

The backstory:

The Women Airforce Service Pilots, or WASPs, were the female World War II pilots who were vital in ferrying warplanes for the military.

The WASPs contributed to World War II by learning to fly and ferry new bombers off the assembly lines to airfields where they were needed to ship off to war — freeing up male pilots to focus on combat missions overseas. 

They earned the right to be buried in Arlington National Cemetery just in the last decade.

RELATED: What is DEI and what do the employees do? Here's why Trump placed federal staff on leave

What does DEI mean? 

DEI stands for diversity, equity and inclusion

The origins of the programs date back to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which, among many critical progressive moves, outlawed employment discrimination based on race, religion, sex, color and national origin. 

The other side:

Critics argue that programs encouraging hiring based on these factors are unfair and they advocate providing the same opportunities for everyone, regardless of such factors. 

Big picture view:

President Donald Trump’s administration last week moved to end affirmative action in federal contracting and directed that all federal DEI staff be put on paid leave and eventually be laid off.

That step is the first in an aggressive campaign to upend DEI efforts nationwide, and a number of prominent companies have scaled back or set aside their DEI initiatives that much of corporate America endorsed after the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd. 

Trump has called DEI programs "discrimination" and insisted on restoring strictly "merit-based" hiring.

READ MORE: Target rolls back its DEI goals following Trump’s executive order

Why you should care:

Critics of Trump’s rollback of affirmative action and DEI initiatives say it could result in dramatic shifts in hiring and a return to discriminatory practices of the past.

The Source: Information in this article was taken from statements from the Air Force and Tuskegee Airmen Inc. Background information was taken from The Associated Press. This story was reported from Detroit. 

Equity and InclusionDonald J. TrumpMilitary