These are the US military's diversity photos Trump doesn't want you to see

Over the last month, Hegseth has criticized the Pentagon's diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives as divisive, saying he thinks "the single dumbest phrase in military history is, 'Our Diversity is Our Strength.'"

"I think our strength is our unity, our strength is our shared purpose; regardless of our background, regardless of how we grew up, regardless of our gender, regardless of our race, in this department we will treat everyone equally," the defense secretary said during a town hall at the Pentagon in February.

"We will treat everyone with fairness. We will treat everyone with respect," Hegseth continued. "And we will judge you as an individual by your merit and by your commitment to the team and the mission."

The Trump administration took the concerning and unprecedented move to axe top military leaders within the US military as part of its DEI pushback, including Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., who served as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the first Black officer to lead a military branch, and Adm. Lisa Franchetti, the Navy's first female service chief.

Hegseth said he believes diversity-related initiatives "erode camaraderie and threaten mission execution."

Hegseth said in a January press release that viewing troops by anything other than their "merit" is meant to "divide or create complications that otherwise should not and do not exist."

And the wide-ranging online content removal is ensuring that diversity content doesn't exist — at least on US government websites.

As one of the largest employers in the US, the Defense Department oversees a geographically and racially diverse workforce and has recognized traditions like Black History Month for decades.

The US military's active-duty force of 1.3 million is predominantly male, with white as the largest self-identifying race at 68%, according to the Pentagon's 2023 demographic report. The enlisted ranks are more diverse than the officer corps, with Black troops accounting for 19.5% and Latinos 21.7%.

Of the more than 400,000 racial minority troops, only about 15% are officers, and the lowest percentage of racial diversity is found among the highest-ranking officers across all service branches.

In addition to halting DEI efforts at the Pentagon going forward, Hegseth also mandated a "digital content refresh across all DoD public platforms," ordering the removal of diversity-related content by March 5.

A memorandum of the February 27 mandate broadly described relevant content as "information that promotes programs, concepts, or materials about critical race theory, gender ideology, and preferential treatment or quotas based upon sex, race or ethnicity, or other DEI-related matters with respect to promotion and selection reform, advisory boards, councils, and working groups."

The mandate also required the removal of content related to "merit-based or colorblind policies" and cultural heritage months.

Since late February, photos and videos of cultural celebrations and stories highlighting groundbreaking servicemembers have been erased from military-run social media accounts and the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service, or DVIDS, the Pentagon's public media database.

The vague directive has led to a slew of content related to women, racial minority groups, and LGBTQ+ troops disappearing from military-run websites.

"I guess I'll just stop taking photos of and sharing the stories of women and Black soldiers," an Army public affairs official told Military.com. "Not sure how else to interpret this."

People have taken to social media to share the stories of diversity that have gone dark on the Pentagon's official digital platforms.

A transgender US soldier noticed the official Facebook account of the US Army's I Corps had taken down her 2021 Army Heritage Month video and re-shared the video on social media.

Similarly, an article published in May 2023 about the legacy and achievements of West Point female graduates was taken down. The article mentioned trailblazing women like Maj. Kristen Griest, one of the first two women to graduate from the US Army Ranger School, and 2nd Lt. Emily Perez, who had been a high-ranking cadet leader at West Point.

Perez was also the first Black female officer in US military history to die in combat after she was killed in action while leading a convoy in Iraq in 2006. Some videos about Perez's service were erased on the Army's public platforms.

"I also talked about how my dad served for 24 years and the impact of 9/11. Now it's just gone," a user who identified herself as a former soldier said on social media after noticing a video profiling her was deleted. "Not going to lie it stings knowing my dad's service didn't matter, Emily's service didn't matter to them, and mine doesn't either."

In an internal memo sent last week, the Army's Office of the Chief of Public Affairs listed nearly 60 keywords for officers to use to target online material for removal, Military.com reported.

The internal memo included terms like "culture," "diversity," "racism," and "sexuality." "Respect," one of the Army's core values, was also among the list of search terms for removable content.

"This directive is antithetical to everything public affairs is supposed to be about," an Army public affairs official told Military.com. "The Army has ethically compromised everyone."