U.S. Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcons pilots conduct pre-flight checks prior to a bilateral air defense training mission during exercise Balikatan 22 at Basa Air Base, Philippines, April 1, 2022. (Steve Cushman/U.S. Marine Corps)
The Air Force has reversed its ban on the use of personal pronouns in professional communications after officials realized it violated a provision in the 2024 version of an annual Defense Department policy bill.
The April 2 memo, from acting assistant secretary for manpower and reserve affairs Gwendolyn DeFilippi, walks back a February directive instructing the Air Force to “cease the use of ‘preferred pronouns’” in professional communications, such as email signatures, memoranda, letters, social media and official websites.
The Air Force said it lifted the ban after realizing it flouted a provision of the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act, which prohibits Pentagon officials from establishing any policy “regarding identification of gender or personal pronouns in official correspondence” — for or against. A similar policy rolled out by the Army in February was quickly reversed a day later.
“The Department of the Air Force updated the policy to comply with federal law after it was brought to DAF attention that the Feb 4 policy was not compliant with the fiscal year 2024 National Defense Authorization Act,” an Air Force spokesperson said in a statement to The Washington Post.
On Jan. 20, President Donald Trump signed executive orders recognizing only two genders and ordering federal agencies to terminate all DEI offices and positions. A week later, he signed another executive order directing the Pentagon to revise its policy on transgender troops.
Since then, the Pentagon has restricted access to books and learning materials on subjects such as immigration and psychology in its school system; Arlington National Cemetery has scrubbed information about prominent Black, Hispanic and female service members and topics such as the Civil War from its website; the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, shut down a dozen extracurricular and social clubs for cadets centered around gender, race and ethnicity; and the Air Force has shuttered Women’s Initiatives Team, a working group that since 2008 has sought to eliminate arbitrary barriers to women’s service.
The Air Force said it had implemented the pronouns ban in accordance with Trump’s Jan. 20 executive order, titled “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government.”
The order directed all federal agencies to remove and stop issuing “all statements, policies, regulations, forms, communications, or other internal and external messages that promote or otherwise inculcate gender ideology.”
In a statement to The Post, the Army said it had also banned the use of pronouns in official correspondence. The memo was sent to senior Army leaders in early February but quickly walked back after officials realized it ran afoul of the NDAA.
“A memorandum dated Feb. 3 directed the removal of preferred pronouns and was distributed internally but was quickly updated on Feb. 4 to ensure we remain in compliance with the law and [Secretary of Defense] guidance,” Army Spokesperson Lt. Col. Ruth Castro said.
The Marine Corps said it does not have a specific policy outlining what can or cannot be included in one’s email signature.
