Rather than the words “Duty, Honor, Country,” the new mission statement includes the words “To build, educate, train, and inspire.”
The U.S. Defense Department is facing a lawsuit to turn over emails and documents about how the agency came to delete the phrase “Duty, Honor, Country” from the mission statement of the United States Military Academy at West Point.
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The military could seek to formally punish service members for refusing to use another service member’s preferred pronouns under existing policy, according to military experts.
A 2020 Equal Opportunity law opened the door for commanders to subject someone who refuses to affirm a transgender servicemember’s so-called gender identity to the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) for charges related to harassment, Capt. Thomas Wheatley, an assistant professor at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, told the Daily Caller News Foundation. Such a move would likely infringe on a servicemember’s constitutional rights to uphold their conscience, but it might not prevent leaders from employing more subtle ways of disciplining service members.
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The United States Military Academy has removed the words “Duty, Honor, Country” from its mission statement, a move approved by Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth and Army Chief of Staff Randy George.
The previous mission statement read “To educate, train and inspire the Corps of Cadets so that each graduate is a commissioned leader of character committed to the values of Duty, Honor, Country and prepared for a career of professional excellence and service to the nation as an officer in the United States Army.”
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A federal judge allowed the U.S. Military Academy at West Point on Wednesday to continue considering race as a factor in its admissions process.
Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA), the same group whose lawsuits against Harvard University and the University of North Carolina prompted the Supreme Court to overturn affirmative action in June, sued West Point in September. U.S. District Judge Philip Halpern, a Trump appointee, declined to issue a preliminary injunction blocking the military school’s use of race, noting in his 27-page ruling that it is currently “mid-admissions cycle.”
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A federal judge ruled Thursday against an injunction that would have temporarily halted the Naval Academy’s race-based admissions policies, according to Reuters.
Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) filed a lawsuit against West Point in September and launched a second against the Naval Academy in October after winning two cases involving Harvard University and the University of North Carolina on the same issue at the Supreme Court in June. U.S. District Judge Richard Bennett, however, ruled against SFFA’s request for an injunction, claiming that he felt the group had not proven the military’s use of race-based admissions for its academies was discriminatory, according to Reuters.
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On Tuesday, an anti-affirmative action group filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Military Academy at West Point over its race-based admissions process in the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s decision overturning such practices.
As reported by Axios, the lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York by Students for Fair Admissions (SFA), the same advocacy group that ultimately ended affirmative action through two cases it had filed before the Supreme Court, Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard and Students for Fair Admissions v. University of North Carolina. In both cases, SFA successfully argued that affirmative action unfairly benefits black and Hispanic students, while disproportionately discriminating against White and Asian students.
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The student group that defeated affirmative action in the Supreme Court is turning their attention to American military academies exempted from the ban.
The group is currently collecting experiences of students who applied to the Air Force, Army and Navy military academies.
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Daesol Ausys, a South Korean automotive supplier, announced Tuesday it will invest $72 million to establish a new manufacturing facility in Harris County.
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A potential GOP contender to run for U.S. Senate against Ohio Democratic U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) in 2024 declined to run for the seat.
U.S. Representative Warren Davidson (R-OH-08) informed supporters on Tuesday that instead of pursuing the U.S. Senate seat held by Brown he will run for reelection to the U.S. House of Representatives.
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Over these December holidays, the United States Military Academy at West Point started the process of removing aspects of the Confederate States of America in the name of altering its “racist-past references.”
Congress’ Naming Commission, comprised of four U.S. military veterans and four civilians, made its final recommendations this past summer.
Among them were renaming “seven different Department of Defense ‘assets’ dedicated to Confederate generals Robert E. Lee, P.G.T. Beauregard, and William Hardee,” and the removal of Lee’s portrait from the library in Jefferson Hall.
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This year the U.S. Army missed its annual recruiting goal by 25 percent, or 20,000 soldiers. That’s more than an entire division, which includes 10,000-20,000 troops. The National Guard missed its target by 9,000 recruits and applications are down more than 20 percent at Annapolis and West Point. This has the Pentagon looking for new ways to fill the ranks, but an old one might get the nod.
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The Biden administration told 11 Trump-appointed individuals they must resign or be fired from their positions on military service academy boards of visitors, and leading Arizona Republicans are speaking up about it. The appointees include former White House press secretary Sean Spicer, former senior counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway, former national security adviser H.R. McMaster, and former director of the Office of Management and Budget, Russell Vought. Others include top former military brass.
Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich, who served in the National Guard reserves, including as a Command Staff Judge Advocate, told The Arizona Sun Times, “It is abundantly clear that choosing the right people to lead our nation’s military is not the Biden Administration’s strength. Categorically removing distinguished men and women who have faithfully served our military boards for years is a shameful example of how the Biden Administration continues to put its radical politics above the safety of all Americans.”
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A day after the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and the United States Naval Academy (USNA) refused to comment on whether they will enforce President Joe Biden’s directive to fire all of former President Donald J. Trump’s appointed advisors, the United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) did the same.
“[W]e’re going to have to refer you to the White House on this query,” USAFA’s Chief of Media Relations Dean Miller told The Tennessee Star by email.
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President Joe Biden’s decision to fire 18 of his predecessor Donald Trump’s appointees to the advisory boards of U.S. service academies has so far elicited no comment from Pennsylvania’s Republican Party.
On Thursday, The Star News Network contacted the Pennsylvania GOP, the office of Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA) and the offices of each Republican member of Congress from Pennsylvania asking for their response to the action the White House took the day before. At this writing, none have provided comment.
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Representative Mark Green (R-TN) joined the lawsuit over the suspension of the service academy Boards of Visitors. The boards were suspended by Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, which Green calls “unacceptable.” Green, a member of the United States Military Academy Board of Visitors and an alumnus from the Military Academy, said that “Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has no authority to suspend the Board of Visitors, and he is violating federal law by doing so.”
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A U.S. congressman is seeking transparency from West Point Military Academy after hearing complaints regarding elements of critical race theory present in its training curriculum.
Rep. Mike Waltz, a member of the U.S. House Armed Services Committee, sent a letter to West Point leaders requesting copies of teaching materials provided at West Point after receiving complaints from various families and cadets.
In a phone interview with The College Fix, the Florida Republican explained that many families of West Point cadets come from military or law enforcement backgrounds, saying “they found it incredibly divisive.”
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U.S. Rep. Dr. Mark Green announced Tuesday that he has begun accepting applications for nominations to U.S. military service academies. Later in the fall of 2019, members of Green’s staff will host information sessions across the state for high school students and recent graduates who are interested in applying to enter an academy, Green’s office said in a press release. Four of the five service academies — the U.S. Military Academy (West Point), the U.S. Naval Academy, the U.S. Air Force Academy and the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy — require a congressional, vice presidential or service-connected nomination as part of the application process. The U.S. Coast Guard Academy does not require a nomination. Representatives from Green’s office, the Tennessee congressional delegation and the military service academies will be available at the upcoming information fall sessions to field questions from prospective applicants and parents. Green tweeted, “I have the privilege of nominating some of the best and brightest young people from across Tennessee to our nation’s military service academies. These nominees are the future leaders of our military.” I have the privilege of nominating some of the best and brightest young people from across Tennessee to our nation's military service academies. These nominees are the future leaders of our military. https://t.co/mbbqsDVQH1 — Rep. Mark…
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FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — U.S. Military Academy West Point is posthumously admitting Florida school shooting victim Peter Wang, who dreamed of attending the prestigious academy. Wang could have been in the Class of 2025. The 15-year-old’s funeral is today.
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The U.S. Army should nullify unabashed communist 2nd Lt. Spenser Rapone’s military commission and require him to pay back his tuition costs, Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio requested in a Wednesday letter to acting Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy. “I respectfully request the United States Army immediately nullify Rapone’s commission and pursue all available disciplinary options under…
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