On Monday, West Point Superintendent Army Lt. Gen. Steve Gilland announced a new mission statement for the historied institution that replaced “duty, honor, country” with “Army values,” according to Breitbart.
OUTRAGEOUS! West Point Removes ‘Duty, Honor, Country‘ from Its Mission Statement https://t.co/kCWm5JiOTL via @BreitbartNews
— Tom Fitton (@TomFitton) March 13, 2024
The break with tradition punctuates the worst military recruiting problem the U.S. has seen in years.
West Point’s 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.”
The new version states:
“To build, educate, train, and inspire the Corps of Cadets to be commissioned leaders of character committed to the Army Values and ready for a lifetime of professional excellence and service to the Army and Nation.”
Renowned Army Gen. Douglas MacArthur uttered the words “duty, honor, country” in a speech to the Corps of Cadets in 1922. After returning from service in World War I, Gen. MacArthur served as superintendent of West Point from 1919 to 1922.
“Duty, Honor, Country,” MacArthur said, “those three hallowed words reverently dictate what you ought to be, what you can be, what you will be. They are your rallying points: to build courage when courage seems to fail; to regain faith when there seems to be little cause for faith; to create hope when hope becomes forlorn.”
West Point Director of Communications Army Col. Terence Kelley, in a statement to Breitbart News, defended the move from tradition.
“Duty, Honor, Country is and always will be the motto of West Point,” Kelley claimed. “As we have done ten times in the past century, we have updated our mission statement, now including the Army Values, Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Integrity, and Personal Courage.”
The use of the word “including” can be seen as an insertion of the progressive catcall of “inclusion,” a defining factor in the “Diversity, Equity, Inclusion” motto of radical progressives.
Critical race theory is an integral component of DEI mechanics. Before his retirement, Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Gen. Mark Milley advocated for CRT in front of Congress. It’s no surprise this advocacy has trickled down to West Point.
The values touted by Kelley — respect, selfless service, integrity and personal courage — are implicit in the traditional military values of duty, honor and country.
Replacing the latter can be seen as either a senseless bureaucratic exercise devised by characterless experts or an overt attempt to undermine traditional American values.
The attempt to undermine tradition appears likely when considering the Biden administration’s commitment to DEI.
“Shortly after assuming office,” retired lieutenant general Thomas Spoehr told The Center Square, “President Joe Biden signed three separate executive orders directing all federal agencies to commit extensive time and resources towards Diversity, Equity and Inclusion efforts.”
Spoehr is a Heritage expert who served more than 36 years in the U.S. Army.
West Point’s new mission statement is falling in line with the Biden administration’s directive.
