General Discussion

SAN ANTONIO — The U.S. Air Force will resume teaching about the nation's first Black pilots, and the women pilots of World War II.

The Air Force paused that part of its basic training curriculum last week pending a review of its Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion policies.

On his first day in office, President Donald Trump issued executive orders prohibiting DEI in federal government agencies and the military. Newly confirmed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth promised to make that a top priority.

By the end of the week, The San Antonio Express News first reported that videos about the Tuskegee Airmen and the Women Airforce Service Pilots — or WASP — were not being taught in basic training at Joint Base San Antonio Lackland......

In a statement, Lt. General Brian Robinson said that one group of trainees had missed this part of the curriculum due to the review, but no trainees will miss this block of instruction.

For years, conservatives have attacked DEI policies as being reverse discrimination. Historians point to the legacies of the Tuskegee Airmen and the WASP as examples of how diversity has made the U.S. military and the country stronger.