DEI purge targets groundbreaking female service members

What you probably already know: The federal government is purging what it calls “illegal” diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) content and programs. Companies, science agencies, nonprofits, and schools are scrambling to comply with President’s Trump’s executive orders or, in some cases, push back. While the full extent of the DEI rollback fallout has yet to unfold, the legacies of countless women, LGBTQ+ people, and people of color have been decidedly compromised. Multiple trailblazing female pilots are among those whose stories have been erased from government websites and databases.

Why? The U.S. Air Force recently removed web articles, photos, videos, and biographies that celebrated women who broke barriers in military aviation, including retired Col. Nicole Malachowski. Malachowski served for 21 years, completing tours in England and Iraq, and was the first female pilot to fly with the Thunderbirds, an elite squadron known for showcasing the Air Force’s capabilities from the cockpits of F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft in air shows and flyovers across the globe. She has also advocated for the recognition of the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs), America’s first female military aviators who served during World War II. A spokesperson for Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in North Carolina, where Malachowski trained with the 4th Fighter Wing, confirmed the content was removed to comply with President Trump’s executive orders. She isn’t the only woman service member to be targeted.

What it means: “You’re good enough to serve but not good enough to be remembered,” Malachowski told 9NEWS, a Colorado-based news station that first broke the story. "I can't believe that something like this is happening in the country whose uniform I wore." Content honoring women's advancement in the U.S. military, including retired Major Gen. Jeannie Leavitt’s status as the first female fighter pilot and information about the WASPs, has also been archived. References to commemorative months, such as those honoring women and Black and Hispanic people, as well as photos containing the file word “gay” (including those in reference to the B-29 Enola Gay aircraft) were flagged for removal. Hundreds of books including Maya Angelou’s “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” were removed from the U.S. Naval Academy’s Nimitz Library. NASA dropped its commitment to land the first woman and the first person of color on the Moon. Articles about minority groups — including the Native American Code Talkers, whose unbreakable codes based on tribal languages played a key role in securing Allied victory during World War II — have vanished from some military websites. Some museum exhibits may have also been removed. Malachowski said erasing key accomplishments because they’re specifically related to women or minorities makes it “like those barriers never happened or those barriers were never broken.”

What happens now? An Air Force spokesperson told the Air Force Times that some “purely historical content” could be reinstated following a compliance review. Formidable reached out to a handful of military-related museums to ask whether any exhibits have been changed as part of the government’s compliance process. A spokesperson with the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force said they are fully in compliance with the government’s requests and have not removed any artifacts related to women in aviation. We also found a CIA webpage dedicated to little-known World War II spy Virginia Hall, which still recognizes her as “the only civilian woman” to be awarded the Distinguished Service Cross.