The Tuskegee Airmen, known as the “Red Tails” were America’s first Black military flyers. They took to the skies in P-47 Thunderbolt, P-51 Mustang and other fighter aircraft to escort bombers on dangerous missions over Germany in World War II. (U.S. Air Force)
The Air Force is restoring videos of the Tuskegee Airmen and Women Airforce Service Pilots, or WASPs, to its basic training curriculum, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced Sunday.
Courses featuring videos about the pioneering Black combat pilots and female flyers who ferried warplanes during World War II were removed last week, according to the Air Force, to comply with the President Donald Trump administration’s crackdown on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
The move prompted Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., to post Sunday on social platform X, tagging Hegseth, that she expected he would correct “malicious compliance” seen in recent days.
“As the Pentagon under @PeteHegseth’s leadership restores its focus to lethality, there is no greater historical example of a highly skilled, valiant fighting force than the Tuskegee Airmen,” Britt wrote. “These role models will continue to inspire the next generation of courageous, selfless American servicemembers.”
The post drew a quick response from Hegseth, who replied “Amen! We’re all over it Senator. This will not stand.”
Within hours he announced, again on X, that the decision to remove the videos had been “immediately reversed.”
The Tuskegee Airmen, known as the “Red Tails” during World War II, were America’s first Black military flyers. They took to the skies in P-47 Thunderbolt, P-51 Mustang and other fighter aircraft to escort bombers on dangerous missions over Germany. The all-Black 332nd Fighter Group had one of the lowest loss records of all the bomber escorts in the war.
President George W. Bush awarded the Tuskegee Airmen the Congressional Gold Medal in 2007.
Though Women Airforce Service Pilots, or WASPs, played an important role during World War II, they were not recognized as military pilots until 1977, after Congress distinguished them as WWII veterans. (U.S. Air Force)
The WASPs ferried new bombers from the assembly lines to airfields where they were shipped off to war, freeing up male pilots for combat missions. They earned the right to be buried in Arlington National Cemetery just in the last decade.
“The documented historic legacy and decorated valor with which these units and Airmen fought for our nation in World War II and beyond will continue on 27 January,” Lt. Gen. Brian Robinson, head of the Air Education and Training Command, said in a statement to the San Antonio Express-News that day. The command is based at Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph.
“Their personal examples of service, sacrifice and combat effectiveness are illustrative of the core values, character and warrior ethos necessary to be an Airman and Guardian,” he said in the statement.
No curriculum or content highlighting the honor and valor of the Tuskegee Airmen or WASPs had been removed, Robinson’s statement said. Rather, a “lesson block” that included the Tuskegee Airmen and WASP videos “went into revision” to get rid of DEI material last week, and some recruits did not receive the instruction or see the videos.
“No Airmen or Guardians will miss this block of instruction due to the revision,” the statement said.
Trump celebrated the Tuskegee Airmen during his first term, promoting legendary aviator Charles McGee to brigadier general and pinning his stars in the Oval Office, Britt posted.
In 2020, during his State of the Union address, Trump announced he had promoted McGee, one of the last surviving Tuskegee Airmen. McGee died in 2022 at age 102.
