Everybody except those living under a bush know that Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) policies and processes have been in the firing line of Trump’s uncontrolled assault on US democracy. This has manifested itself in numerous ways, with pressure being brought to bear on numerous organisations and businesses to dump their DEI policies. However, this foaming at the mouth attitude to DEI has reached levels which demonstrate how petty and childish the Trump regime is; and how they are driven by racism and misogyny.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General C.Q. Brown has been sacked. He is an African American and was only the second to serve as Chairman, after Colin Powell. Brown drew the ire of conservatives after speaking about his experiences as a Black man in the military after the murder of George Floyd, a black man who was killed when a white Minneapolis police officer pressed his knee on Floyd’s neck for almost 10 minutes while Floyd was handcuffed. Also sacked were Admiral Lisa Franchetti, the first woman to lead the Navy, and General James Slife, vice chief of the Air Force1.
Also sacked were three current Judge Advocates General—Army Lieutenant General Joseph Berger, Air Force Lieutenant General Charles Plummer and acting Navy Judge Advocate General, Navy Rear Admiral Lia Reynolds, who would soon be replaced. These people advise the three arms of the military on how to legally conduct their actions. It has been suggested that the Trump regime is waging war against the rules of war2. I cannot help but wonder if this is a precursor to using the armed services against an increasingly unhappy populace.
Even more pathetic is the removal of some Air Force webpages on pioneering female pilots, from World War II to the modern era. At least a dozen pages on the WWII-era Women’s Airforce Service Pilots, or WASPs, as well as that on retired Major General Jeannie Leavitt, the Air Force’s first female fighter pilot, have been removed. Biographies, photos, museum exhibits, a video and a commentary, have been removed. Leavitt graduated from flight training in 1993 and flew the F15E in more than 3,000 hours including 300 hours in combat above Iraq and Afghanistan. She was also the first female to command an Air Force fighter wing3.
The Secretary of Defense [sic] Hegseth sacked his senior military advisor, Air Force Lieutenant General Jennifer Short, noting that she was a “DEI hire”4, the pejorative used by the Trump administration to describe any person who is in a position of power who isn’t a white heterosexual male.
The head of the Defense [sic] Health Agency, Army Lieutenant General Telita Crosland, an African American, was forced to retire abruptly in late February. She had overseen the Defense [sic] Health Agency, which provides access to health care for 9.5 million troops, their families and retirees5.
Admiral Linda Fagan, the first female to lead the Coast Guard, was sacked on Trump’s first day back in office. The reasons for her dismissal supposedly included failure to address border security threats and an excessive focus on diversity programs6.
Even worse, a webpage celebrating Major General Charles Calvin Rogers’ Medal of Honor was removed. He served in the Vietnam war and was awarded the country’s highest military decoration. Trying to access his webpage led to a ‘404’ error message. The URL was also changed, with the word “medal” changed to “deimedal”. In his medal citation it stated he was wounded three times while leading the defence of a base. Apparently there was such an outcry that the page was restored soon after7. This ‘deimedal’ pejorative is disgraceful coming from a regime led by a person who used fake bone spurs to avoid military service.
The famous photograph of six US Marines hoisting the US flag on the top of Mount Suribachi on Iwo Jima in 1945 was taken down from the US Defense [sic] Department’s website because one of those Marines was one Ira Hayes, a Pima Indian whose contribution was emphasised on the webpage. After an outcry, the webpage was restored8.
In the Pacific war, the US Marines recruited 29 Navajo men to develop a code based on the unwritten Navajo language. These and the hundreds that followed them were referred to as the Navajo code-talkers. The webpages referring to their efforts was also removed by the Trump regime. However, after an outcry from veterans and the public, the pages were restored9.
Also taken down were webpages describing the baseball and civil rights icon Jackie Robinson’s military service, as well as Japanese-America service members who served in Europe during WW29.
This simply illustrated how insipid these little Trumpist men are, such that they feel threatened by women and those of other races who have achieved high office in the military (whatever you think of that), to the point where they want them removed from public view. Little men indeed.
Sources
- https://apnews.com/article/trump-generals-military-firing-cq-brown-republicans-35e22a2c0320eb62f4f186813c64302a
- https://verdict.justia.com/2025/03/04/lets-kill-all-the-lawyers-the-friday-night-massacre-of-judge-advocates-general
- https://www.airforcetimes.com/news/your-air-force/2025/03/18/air-force-purges-photos-websites-on-pioneering-female-pilots/
- https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14427529/Pete-Hegseth-fires-female-military-staffer-military-gets-DOGE-treatment.html
- https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/02/28/pete-hegseth-black-general-fired/80855772007/
- https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2025/03/17/dod-leadership-firings-spark-concerns-over-support-for-female-officers/
- https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/16/defense-department-black-medal-of-honor-veteran
- https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/03/19/japan/politics/us-pentagon-dei-japan-removals/
- https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/pentagon-restores-histories-navajo-code-talkers-native-veterans-public-rcna197215
Excellent. Thank you for this article.
Mike,
Thanks. I think most people realise this about the Trump regime, I just thought it was useful to compile it somewhere.
There is no doubt that future a Psych Test will be used by the Us military, police, Gov., etc to weed out Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) believers.
A stupidity test could also be used, but that would rule out far too many for services.
Warren,
I don’t think Trumpski has much of a future.
The DEI pejorative is used primarily aganst anyone who is smarter than Trump appointees, and/or who has contributed more to the greater good. It’s that abominable administration’s ploy to try either remove os discredit anyone who isn’t a Trump lickspittle or who migh spill the beans on their incompetence and criminality – criminality such as we saw with their use of Signal, despite having been warned that it isn’t a secure platform. The linked article expalins precisely why they continue to do so. Interestingly, Musk has previously recommended Signal on his X cesspit.
If you haven’t read it, this is very illuminating wrt tgheir use of that platform to hide their official discussions and actions: Lock. Him. Up. Here’s what the Espionage Act has to say about disappearing information
https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/other/lock-him-up-here-s-what-the-espionage-act-has-to-say-about-disappearing-information-opinion/ar-AA1BTe9v
Jon,
It has been suggested elsewhere that the use of Signal was designed to allow them to erase any record, which is criminal in that it destroys government records.
That’s the essence of the legal opinion in the link I posted BA.
Little men indeed. Is that what our world is becoming, something born in the 18/19th C? It is not just little men; it is little white men that are feeling ‘so ignored, so neglected’ at this time. Just get over it guys, just accept the real as it happens. You spruik ‘democracy’, how can that be right if the US gov’t is on a mission to destroy America, as we knew it. They, Trump et al, are like a wrecking ball just hell bent on destroying all alliances. Go figure that the Aust gov’t would be in this position in 2025. Maybe a total reset of our ‘friendship’ is way past it’s ‘use by date’.
Marilyn,
In case something happens very soon to rid the US of Trumpski, and return to some mediocre semblance of democracy. I really do not think they can wait until the midterms in late 2026. The nation will be largely destroyed by then and there will be very little left to save.
saw a wonderful little imitation ‘Calvin & Hobbes’ cartoon a little while ago, with Calvin telling Hobbes,
“DEI initiatives were not put in place to ensure that lower qualified minorities could get hired instead of more highly qualified white people, it was put in place to ensure that lower qualified white people were not hired instead of more highly qualified minorities”
and so now we see Pete Hegseth appointing little brother Phil to several senior positions within the Pentagon, although Phil seemingly has ‘an impressive’ CV of working in social media and developing podcasts with Fox.
But it’s reassuring to see J D Vance bucking the trend (against DEI) by appointing a Telugu Indian, Hindu woman to several high flalutin positions. But shhhhhh, Usha Vance just happens to be his wife. She is a clever little cookie though. As opposed to JD, who, more likely, resembles MTG cookie dough.
Clive,
Can’t let policies get in the way of nepotism.