Authorities ordered a swift sweep of Pentagon websites, focusing on keywords such as 'initial' and 'chronicle'.
Going Rogue on DEI: The Scrutinized Bucking of Diversity at the Pentagon
In an abrupt about-face, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth issued a thinly-veiled memo in February, ordering all traces of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) content to be scrubbed from Pentagon websites. The memo, so vague it could've been penned in hieroglyphics, left military units scrambling to pry out DEI-related material using keyword searches such as "racism," "history," and "firsts."
The scope of this purge was vast, with the Defense Department managing over a thousand public-facing websites and a digital media database known as DVIDS. Fearing catastrophic consequences if they missed even a single nugget of DEI culture, officials were expected to purge everything relevant within two weeks. To make matters worse, an algorithm was deployed to aid the process, adding fuel to the fire.
The list of keywords officials were instructed to search for was more extensive than an encyclopedia, including terms like "LGBTQ," "historic," "accessibility," "opportunity," "belonging," "justice," "privilege," "respect," and "values." Even content about the first female ranger and the first Black commanding general wasn't spared.
An official confessed that the tight deadline for the cleanse could have been better managed, stating that the keyword search list was merely a suggestion from an internal defense agency. The Pentagon spokesperson, Sean Parnell, confirmed the purge in a video posted to [X], admitting that some historically significant content was inadvertently removed.
Some officials expressed concern over potential violations of government record retention laws, but their plea for an extension was denied. Undaunted, they mobilized reinforcements to get the job done, pulling them away from other tasks.
Now, validation teams are being dispatched to military bases to verify compliance with Hegseth's directive. Meanwhile, a lieutenant colonel is reportedly trekking from the Pentagon to every combatant command around the world, ensuring adherence to the new policy.
The lack of guidance and the pressure from above have brought about a massive "overcorrection," leading to the removal of countless articles and images unrelated to DEI issues. Topics like Holocaust remembrance, suicide prevention, and commemoration of war heroes like Pfc. Harold Gonsalves and the Navajo code-talkers were inexplicably targeted.
While units made attempts to archive content internally, the constraints of social media platforms like Facebook and [X] made it arduous to save content for future reference. The only resort was to take screenshots and delete the posts permanently.
The Department of Defense is now working diligently to republish some of the content, but the confusion wrought by this administrative overhaul has left many scratching their heads. Resources that could have been used to focus on warfighting and "lethality" have been squandered in this botched attempt to eliminate DEI content from the military's digital landscape.
And to add insult to injury, the Pentagon is planning to go through the content again, this time with human eyes for a more thorough review. But judging by the time spent on this error-prone automated purge, one can only wonder how long this process will take.
- The Department of Defense is planning to restore some of the content that was inadvertently removed during the purge, with a more thorough review by human eyes to prevent any future mistakes.
- The tight deadline for the content cleanse resulted in the prevention of numerous articles and images unrelated to DEI issues from being saved for future reference, including topics like Holocaust remembrance and war hero commemoration.
- To commemorate the first female ranger and the first Black commanding general, keywords such as "firsts" were used in the initial keyword search list, but the content related to these achievements was not spared during the DEI content purge.
