WASHINGTON (AP) – The Pentagon has issued a directive requiring military leaders and commands to pull and review all library books related to diversity, anti-racism, and gender issues by May 21. This directive, detailed in a memo distributed on Friday, marks one of the broadest efforts yet by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to eliminate diversity and equity programs, policies, and instructional materials from military institutions.
The Associated Press obtained the memo signed by Timothy Dill, acting undersecretary for personnel. This initiative follows previous removals of hundreds of books from the libraries of military academies. Hegseth's directive to the military academies emphasizes admissions processes that are based solely on merit, stating there should be "no consideration of race, ethnicity, or sex." The memo specifically highlights that the academies can still evaluate unique athletic talents, prior military experience, or applicants from military prep schools.
Under the new directive, the secretaries of the armed services must ensure compliance within 30 days by certifying that admissions processes are merit-based and ranking candidates according to their scores across various nomination categories. This includes students who are children of service members or those nominated by influential political figures such as the vice president and members of Congress.
The memo regarding the library purging specifies that educational materials in military libraries promoting what it terms as "divisive concepts and gender ideology" are incompatible with the Department of Defense's core mission. Department leaders are instructed to promptly identify and sequester incompatible books by the May 21 deadline. Additional guidance is promised for determining the ultimate disposition of these materials, though it remains unclear what will happen to the books—whether they will be stored, destroyed, or otherwise disposed of.
A temporary Academic Libraries Committee has been established to assist in the review process and make decisions about the selected books. The committee provided a list of search terms to facilitate the identification of materials to be pulled. Some of the key terms include "affirmative action," "anti-racism," "critical race theory," "discrimination," "diversity," "gender dysphoria," "gender identity," and "white privilege."
In early March, the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, was instructed to remove nearly 400 books from its library in alignment with Hegseth's guidelines. This removal led to significant criticism as it included essential works addressing historical and contemporary issues surrounding the Holocaust, feminism, civil rights, and racism. Notably, it resulted in the removal of Maya Angelou's celebrated autobiography, "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings," along with other important titles such as "Memorializing the Holocaust," "Half American," "A Respectable Woman," and "Pursuing Trayvon Martin."
The subsequent directives and their implementation mark a pivotal moment in the ongoing debate over the role of diversity and inclusion in military education and the broader implications it may have on institutional policies moving forward.
