The U.S. military is facing criticism for flagging 26,000 images for removal due to "DEI" as part of an ongoing purge initiated by the Department of Defense (DOD), including the Enola Gay, which dropped the first atomic bomb on Japan in World War II.
The database, verified by U.S. officials and reported by the Associated Press, contains over 26,000 images flagged for removal across all branches of the U.S. military — a number that could ultimately rise much higher.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had set a Wednesday deadline for the military to eliminate content highlighting diversity initiatives, following President Donald Trump’s executive order terminating those programs across the federal government.
The bulk of the Pentagon’s content purge overwhelmingly targets women and minorities, erasing notable milestones and achievements in military history. In some instances, images appeared to be flagged solely because the word “gay” appeared in their file name — including photos of service members with that last name and an image of the Enola Gay, the B-29 bomber that dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima during World War II.
And the mockery was swift.
Some of the flagged removals appear just as baffling.
Images from an Army Corps of Engineers dredging project in California were reportedly targeted, seemingly because a local engineer featured in the photos had the last name Gay. Likewise, a photo of Army Corps biologists was added to the list, apparently due to its mention of fish data — including metrics like weight, size, hatchery, and gender.
Additionally, some photos of the Tuskegee Airmen — the nation’s first Black military pilots who served in a segregated unit during World War II — were included in the database. However, these images are likely to be preserved due to their historical significance.
The database of 26,000 images was compiled to comply with federal archival laws, allowing military branches to demonstrate adherence if questioned in the future, a U.S. official said. However, ensuring that all the content is properly archived could prove challenging, as the responsibility for preserving each image falls on individual units.
In many instances, personnel are capturing screenshots of the pages slated for removal, but restoring them later would likely be difficult, according to another official who, like the others, spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss details not yet made public.
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