U.S. Air Force Removes Tuskegee Airmen and WASPs Training Videos During DEI Review

In a recent major move, lesson plans about the Tuskegee Airmen and the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs) have been removed from the U.S. Air Force basic training curriculum.

These lesson plans that highlighted the Tuskegee Airmen and WASPs were part of DEI training integrated into Air Force basic training. The material aimed to display the contributions of the underrepresented groups throughout military history. However, now under an executive order from Donald Trump that’s targeting DEI initiatives across federal agencies, the curriculum is currently under review.

“Immediate steps were taken to remove curriculum that is now under review to ensure compliance with Executive Orders issued by the president. Historical videos were interwoven into U.S. Air Force and Space Force curriculum and were not the direct focus of course removal actions. Additional details on curriculum updates will be provided when they’re available,” an Air Force official confirmed.

If you’re unaware, the Tuskegee Airmen was established in 1941 and were a group of groundbreaking Black pilots who were trained in Tuskegee, Alabama when racial segregation was high within the U.S. military. At the time, these pilots completed 1,578 combat missions during World War II and earned some of the highest honors in the Army Air Corps.

BREAKING: The U.S. Air Force has reportedly removed a video about the legendary Tuskegee Airmen—trailblazing Black pilots of WWII—from its basic training curriculum at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, following Trump’s executive order banning (DEI) across the federal government.… pic.twitter.com/nhyKWIXrWQ

— Brian Krassenstein (@krassenstein) January 25, 2025

Similarly to the Tuskegee Airmen, the WASPs were a set of trailblazing women pilots who were a major part of World War II with their ability to ferry warplanes, test aircrafts, and train male pilots. Despite their contributions, the WASPs were not recognized as military veterans until 1977. To make matters worse, it wasn’t until recently that the women earned the right to be buried in the Arlington National Cemetery.

Nonetheless, the executive order is one of many that were established by Trump since his recent inauguration. The order seeks to “root out” DEI programs and dismantle similar initiatives across federal agencies.