The U.S. Military Academy at West Point is being sharply criticized over its updated mission statement, which omits three words long associated with the institution.
The new statement proposed to senior Army leadership reads, “To build, educate, train, and inspire the Corps of Cadets to be commissioned leaders of character committed to the Army Values and ready for a lifetime of service to the Army and Nation," removing retired Gen. Douglas MacArthur’s “duty, honor, country.”
In a statement announcing the change, Lt. Gen. Steve Gilland, West Point’s superintendent, emphasized that even though these three words no longer appear, they continue to be “foundational to the United States Military Academy's culture and will always remain our motto.”
“It defines who we are as an institution and as graduates of West Point,” he added. “These three hallowed words are the hallmark of the cadet experience and bind the Long Gray Line together across our great history.
“Our responsibility to produce leaders to fight and win our nation's wars requires us to assess ourselves regularly,” Gilland continued. “Thus, over the past year and a half, working with leaders from across West Point and external stakeholders, we reviewed our vision, mission, and strategy to serve this purpose. We believe our mission binds the Academy to the Army - the Army in which our cadets will serve.”
But critics sounded off on the change, which has already been approved.
"How much farther toward the bottom of hell can we go? We are due for a revolution in this country. The center cannot hold..." conservative commentator Eric Metaxes said on X in response.
"We are not a serious country," argued X account Breaking911.
.@KennethRWebster, there is nothing more foundational than "Duty, Honor, Country” to future combat leaders and those three hallowed words are so instilled into every young officer, that they must be part of the mission statement. https://t.co/RBuQm9xIF7 pic.twitter.com/vNWwPHT2wI
— Alexandra del Moral Mealer (@AlexMealerTX) March 14, 2024
Just when you think the modern Army can’t become any worse, it manages to become worse. No more Duty Honor Country.
— Kurt Schlichter (@KurtSchlichter) March 13, 2024
Some bureaucrat thought it was a great idea to lose Douglas MacArthur’s famous formulation in favor of some watered-down HR-speak word salad, and no one told him…
First, the U.S. Army imposed vaccine mandates.⁰
— Lance Gooden (@Lancegooden) March 14, 2024
Then, the U.S. Army implemented DEI training.
Now, the U.S. Army has replaced its motto "Duty, Honor, Country" with "Army Values."
The Army should focus on hitting recruitment numbers, not woke nonsense!
"Our updated mission statement focuses on the mission essential tasks of Build, Educate, Train, and Inspire the Corps of Cadets to be commissioned leaders of character, with the explicit purpose of being committed to the Army Values and Ready for a lifetime of service," Gilland said. "The Army Values include Duty and Honor, and Country is reflected in Loyalty, bearing true faith and allegiance to the U.S. Constitution, the Army, your unit, and other Soldiers. In the past century, West Point's mission has changed nine times. Many graduates will recall the mission statement they learned as new cadets did not include the motto, as Duty, Honor, Country was first added to the mission statement in 1998.
"Our absolute focus on developing leaders of character ready to lead our Army's Soldiers on increasingly lethal battlefields remains unchanged," he concluded.