Military academy leaders find handful of possibly ‘woke’ courses offered to cadets, midshipmen

Lt. Gen. Steven W. Gilland, superintendent of the U.S. Military Academyt, told lawmakers Wednesday his administration has combed the academy’s curriculum looking for potential violations of President Trump’s ban on “woke” classes and found two: a history course called “Race, Ethnicity, and Nation” and “Power and Difference” offered by the West Point English department.

The White House has ordered the elimination of federal policies and procedures that seek to promote diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, which the president has dismissed as a leftist ideology damaging the country.     

“They were higher-level electives that had a fairly small population of cadets who were enrolled,” Gen. Gilland said during a hearing on Capitol Hill of the Senate Armed Services personnel subcommittee.

Vice Admiral Yvette M. Davids of the U.S. Naval Academy said her staff went through 870 courses offered and also found two that met the criteria for purging: “Gender Matters” and “Gender Sexuality Studies.”

Lt. Gen. Tony D. Bauernfeind, superintendent of the U.S. Air Force Academy, said their review of 737 classes resulted in 55 that warranted additional study. According to an initial assessment, 40% will require no change, while just over 50% of the classes will be adjusted to bring them into full compliance with the Trump administration’s goals. He identified three that might be cancelled.

“I have not made that decision yet, and once I do, I’ll follow up on the record with the names,” Gen. Bauernfeind told lawmakers.

Sen. Tommy Tuberville, the Alabama Republican chairing the subcommittee, said the nation’s service academies are responsible for turning out the next generation of military leaders who will protect the nation at home and abroad.

“Unfortunately, under the Biden administration, woke propaganda made its way into our military, including our service academies,” Sen. Tuberville said.

He called the hearing “an opportunity for superintendents to show American taxpayers what they are doing to implement President Trump and Secretary [Pete] Hegseth’s plan for our service academies.”

“In the end, these institutions are taxpayer-funded and should be 100% focused on educating and training war fighters – not pushing a political agenda,” Sen. Tuberville said.

Adm. Davids said the Naval Academy remains an educational institution focused on STEM – science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

“Without a firm knowledge foundation in these areas, naval officers will not be equipped to understand the full complexity of the modern world to protect America from attack, promote American prosperity, and preserve America’s strategic influence,” she said.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat, pushed back against the White House plan to eliminate all references to diversity and inclusion inside the service academies.

“We need our military academies to continue developing successful leaders from all walks of life, not push away strong recruits because they feel unwelcome or undervalued,” she said. “Hamfisted efforts to reshape the academies are bound to backfire.”

The service academy chiefs said the criteria for selecting new cadets and midshipmen are flexible. While grades and test scores are considered, so too are any opportunities they have taken for leadership positions in extra-curricular activities.

Adm. Davids said a candidate’s race, sex, or ethnicity is not a determining factor in whether an appointment to Annapolis is offered.

“Those individuals are identified also by a ‘whole person multiple’ and an incredibly active and robust admission staff of 22 who go through both objective and subjective insights into each individual’s record,” she said. “We’re looking for gems out there that are going to be proven that not only can they succeed at the Naval Academy, but they have a propensity to serve their nation in the Navy or the Marine Corps.”