Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's campaign against DEI has affected one aspect of Air Force life after another.
Posted on 04/06/2025 2:08:13 PM PDT by Responsibility2nd
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's campaign against DEI has affected one aspect of Air Force life after another.
Government-funded observances of Black History Month, National Hispanic Heritage Month and other cultural awareness events were canceled. Coursework and videos that celebrated diversity, equity and inclusion were stripped from the basic training curriculum at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland. Tributes to pathbreaking Black aviators and other notable minorities were removed from military websites. Jobs, contracts and trainings that promoted diversity were eliminated.
Now, however, the Air Force is walking back one element of the DEI purge.
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Uniformed and civilian personnel again will be allowed to list their preferred pronouns in emails, social media posts and other official communications.
In other words, he/him, she/her and they/them are back, at least for those who want to use them.
Military.com was first to report the change.
The Air Force prohibited pronouns in February in response to an executive order by President Donald Trump titled "Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government."
In a news release last week, the Air Force did an about-face. It said the "directive to cease the use of 'preferred pronouns' (he/him, she/her, or they/them) to identify one's gender identity in professional communications (email signature blocks, memoranda, letters, papers, social media, official websites and any official correspondence) is rescinded."
That earlier directive was issued Feb. 4 by Gwendolyn DeFilippi, assistant Air Force secretary for manpower and reserve affairs.
“Cease the use of ‘preferred pronouns’” was the first in a list of steps to be taken “immediately” to root out DEI, DeFilippi wrote.
The others included killing all programs, trainings, contracts, grants and support groups “that promote or inculcate gender ideology.” Any Air Force personnel whose jobs involved promoting gender ideology were to be put on paid leave, and public-facing websites and social media accounts that showcased DEI were to be deleted, DeFilippi said.
The memo also instructed commanders to:
Military.com reported that the Air Force walked back the pronoun ban because of a provision in the National Defense Authorization Act, which was signed into law by then-President Joe Biden in 2023.
It says the defense secretary "may not require or prohibit a member of the armed forces or a civilian employee of the Department of Defense to identify the gender or personal pronouns of such member or employee in any official correspondence of the Department."
Although the Air Force withdrew the prohibition on pronouns, it said the rest of DeFilippi's Feb. 4 memo "remains in effect."
Am I mistaken, isn't that also a liberal site? Even prohibited here at FR?
I was mistaken in the sense that military.com was prohibited. I just partially posted from that site, and it would have gone through.
Didn't Earn It.
DEI needs to DIE before more people DIE because of DEI!!!!!
Great way to find those who went round. Their egos will force them back into the light...
If this is actually going on in the Air Force, Hegseth or one of those working for him, needs to come down quick and hard with penalities for defying an order. I believe that would be classed as some form of purposeful insubordination.
All this DEI, divisive nonsense needs to be wiped out, with zero wiggle room.
Personal pronouns can be useful when the name is ambiguous about sex. Captain Ashley Wilkes can legitimately note that he is male. And wholly foreign names can be clarified for the same reason.
Some AF general is pulling a bait and switch to try to impede Hegseth. Some tried this at the Pentagon, by, in a ridiculous example, removing references to the Enola Gay because it included the word "gay."
I can tell you, whether they’re permissible or not, the fallback will be not to tell anyone your special pronouns. They’ve fallen out of favor. They’re not popular anymore. And, they’re out of fashion. All of those things. Only an idiot would tell people their preferred pronoun. The people who do, will likely be at the bottom of the promotion ladder and eventually eased out.
Bree is happy though
Video
Pentagon official Lt. Col. Bree Fram:
“Share your pronouns in your email, particularly if you are a person that doesn’t think they need to.”
https://rumble.com/v4gkna8-transgender-lt.-col.-bree-fram-tells-everyone-to-share-their-pronouns.html
“Great way to find those who went round. Their egos will force them back into the light...”
“he/him, she/her and they/them are back, at least for those who want to use them.”
My thought, too. Great way to ferret out the DEI crowd “who want to use them” and find other ways to get rid of them.
Let’s hope!
Personally, I support letting them put their personal pronouns out for everyone to see. Makes it a lot easier to identify the freaks that need to be thrown out of the military.
Actually this is smart. Now we know who to fire...those that use them.
Male is an adjective.
Uh, Pete? Pete?
Figures it would be the Air Force.
Yep, for a defined period of time, just make a list, keep it updated, and wham. Walk the plank!
Not that I ever had to deal with it much, but I liked people advertising their pronouns. It immediately let me know I was dealing with an idiot.
Anyone addressing them needs to figure it out. The practice of putting pronouns in any type of Air Force correspondence needs to stop immediately. It should have never been allowed to begin. If they’re pronouns, are that much a part of their existence, then they need to go, because they are not putting national security in the role that they play in that service first. The military is here to serve one purpose.
Military pronouns are your rank followed by your last name. They can enjoy their “personal pronouns” on their discharge documents listed after Reason For:
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