National Defense

DOD Orders Purge Of All Agency Media Promoting DEI

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Assistant to the Defense Secretary Sean Parnell issued a memo released Thursday ordering the purging of all Department of Defense (DOD) media promoting diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).

The directive applies to all DOD websites and social media accounts while excluding content “required by law to be publicly available,” according to the memo dated Feb. 26. The move comes as President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth continue their crusade against left-wing initiatives and policies in the DOD.

“By March 5, 2025, Components must take all practicable steps, consistent with records management requirements, to remove all DoD news and feature articles, photos, and videos that promote Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI),” the memo reads. “All articles, photos, and videos removed from DoD websites and social media platforms must be archived and retained in accordance with applicable records management policies.”

Organizations can apply for extensions or exceptions if they provide a “detailed justification” for their content by noon, March 5, according to the memo. Among the exempt items include “base conditions, activities and services,” leadership biographies, DOD Education Activity “school activities, operations, and notifications,” and “Morale, Welfare, and Recreation and Commissary operations and activities.”

Additionally, the directive also includes any content that runs counter to “merit-based or color-blind policies.” Hegseth has long railed against DEI and other left-wing initiatives in the military.

Military experts have blamed left-wing initiatives such as DEI for the persistent recruitment crisis in the armed forces.

Moreover, Hegseth also banned “identity months” at the DOD on Jan. 31, which includes celebrations such as Black History Month and Pride month among many others.

“Our unity and purpose are instrumental to meeting the Department’s warfighting mission,” the DOD said in an announcement banning the celebrations. “Efforts to divide the force – to put one group ahead of another – erode camaraderie and threaten mission execution.”

The Trump administration has cracked down on left-wing “ideologues” as well, with Trump firing the Board of Visitors of the U.S. military academies, such as West Point, the U.S. Naval Academy, Coast Guard Academy and Air Force Academy, on Feb. 10.

The Pentagon did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.