The U.S. Air Force has started shutting down its diversity, equity, and inclusion offices to comply with President Donald Trump's sweeping executive action ordering all federal agencies to dismantle their "radical and wasteful" DEI programming, an official told Air & Space Forces Magazine.
In response to Trump's directive, Acting Secretary of the Air Force Gary A. Ashworth authorized the "disestablishment of all Department of the Air Force Barrier Analysis Working Groups (DAFBAWGs) effective immediately" in a letter to Air Force leaders circulated on social media and confirmed as authentic to Air & Space Forces Magazine.
DAFBAWGs were established to analyze policies and identify "potential barriers to equal opportunity" for women, Hispanic, black, LGBTQ+, and Native American service members. Since their formation, the DEI-focused taskforces have championed body armor built for the female figure, reimbursing the shipping costs of breast milk amid change-of-station moves, and allowing black Airmen to sport beards in uniform.
As part of a push for "inclusive male grooming" standards, the Black/African American Employment Strategy Team, a DAFBAWG, proposed expanding shaving waivers for black Airmen suffering from razor bumps because black men often experience ingrown hairs "at a higher rate than other racial groups." DAFBAWGs were also credited with uniform updates permitting pregnant women in the Air Force to wear cold weather gear and ensuring that mothers do not have to salute their bosses at on-base childcare facilities during morning drop-off.
Ashworth's memo accordingly directed "the cessation of all DAFBAWG activities," including removing "outward facing media."
According to Air & Space Forces Magazine, all DAFBAWG social media pages have since been purged as were webpages and official press releases for the Air Force's Diversity and Inclusion Office, Air Combat Command's Organizational Culture Office, and Air Force Materiel Command's DEIA program.
The service sent a second memo this week mandating that all major commands, field operating agencies, and direct reporting units scrap DEI-related training, withdraw any material regarding DEI, nix DEI-tied contracts, and submit a list of actions they've taken to comply with the commands.
Likewise, across the U.S. Department of Defense, the Secretary of Defense's Office for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion site was scrubbed along with the webpage for the Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute. So was the U.S. Army's Equity and Inclusion Agency portal taken offline, as well as the Marine Corps Culture and Inclusion Branch's page, which featured messaging on "treating each Marine, despite diverse backgrounds, with care and respect."
Officials from the Pentagon and more than half a dozen U.S. Air Force organizations all provided the same response to Air & Space Forces Magazine's queries: "The Department of Defense 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 accordance with Trump's Day One executive order on ending DEI practices within the federal government, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) directed respective DEI offices to cease all operations by 5 p.m. on January 22. DEI officers, meanwhile, were placed on paid administrative leave, with their employment set to terminate by the end of the month.
By noon on January 23, all agencies were supposed to report on "all steps taken to implement this memorandum." The Air Force did so, the official told Air & Space Forces Magazine; however, implementing this directive remains an ongoing project.
Rolling back every DEI program, position, and initiative is expected to be a massive undertaking. Air Force policies related to DEI date back to at least 2012 when the service began mandating diversity training and outreach (Air Force Instruction 36-7001). In Air Force Basic Training, AFI 36-7001 established three hours of diversity courses as the "optimal instruction time" over seven and a half weeks. Air Education and Training Command, which is responsible for tracking and reporting on these courses, did not confirm if that training had been revoked.
It appears the U.S. Air Force Academy pulled its Diversity and Inclusion Studies minor. Now, the informational link redirects to the school's main Academics landing site. "The U.S. Air Force Academy must develop leaders who understand diversity and inclusion," the page previously said. As such, the curriculum "Prepare[s] cadets to lead inclusively within a diverse organization."
According to the student learning objectives, cadets who completed the Diversity and Inclusion Studies minor, which required a minimum of five classes, are able to "Identify and critically assess explanations for construction of specific categories/groups such as sex/gender; race/ethnicity/nation; socio-economic class; religious affiliation; age; (dis)ability; sexual orientation; and cultures."
Well whattaya know, you can no longer minor in DEI at the Air Force Academy pic.twitter.com/xYlEnUd8XE
— Steve (@UberSteve) January 23, 2025
For years, U.S. Air Force recruiters have worked to reach "underrepresented" demographics. Previously, programs such as the Aim High Flight Academy and Air Force Recruiting Service (AFRS) Detachment 1 were designed to diversify the pool of potential pilots by attracting more women and minorities to the field.
Nonetheless, the elimination of such DEI programs is expected to save millions of U.S. tax dollars. The Biden administration's FY 2025 budget request included $162 million in taxpayer funding for "dedicated DEIA activities [...] across the Military Departments, the OSD Office for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and the Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute."
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