Military to remove 'Enola Gay' photos for violating DEI rules
A photo of Army biologists was on a list of images to be purged, seemingly because it mentioned they were recording data about fish that included their gender.
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Images of "Enola Gay," the aircraft that dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima in Japan are among those targeted by the U.S. military in an initiative to eliminate content related to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).
They are among a number of photos unrelated to DEI that have been mistakenly flagged, including those from an Army Corps of Engineers dredging project in California, seemingly because an engineer in the image had the last name "Gay."
Why It Matters
The military is set to remove thousands of photos and online posts in the DEI purge following an executive order issued by President Donald Trump.
The Pentagon's directive to remove DEI-related content has resulted in the flagging of more than 26,000 images across all military branches, though officials suggest the final count could exceed 100,000 as reviews continue.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has defended the move, arguing that DEI initiatives undermine military cohesion and operational effectiveness.
What to Know
The executive order mandating the removal of DEI-related content required all military branches to review years of archived material, including website postings, photos, news articles and videos.
If the materials could not be reviewed by the deadline, they were to be "temporarily removed from public display" until further assessment.
A Marine Corps official stated that all flagged images within their database had either been removed or would be removed soon.
However, the process has been slow because of limited personnel numbers. The Marine Corps has only one civilian employee handling the removals, and an estimated 1,600 military-related social media accounts remain under review.
The removal effort has sparked confusion, as some images appear to have been marked for deletion because their filenames contain the word "gay," including those of service members with that last name and the Enola Gay, the Boeing B-29 aircraft that dropped the first atomic bomb in combat during World War II.
The vast majority of the Pentagon purge targets women and minorities and it also removes a large number of posts that mention various commemorative months—such as those for Black and Hispanic people and women.
Images of historically significant military achievements or personnel, such as the Tuskegee Airmen and the first female Marine Corps infantry graduates, have been flagged for removal.
And a photo of Army Corps biologists was on the list, seemingly because it mentioned they were recording data about fish—including their weight, size, hatchery and gender.
What People Are Saying
Pentagon spokesman John Ullyot confirmed the removals: "We are pleased by the rapid compliance across the Department with the directive removing DEI content from all platforms. In the rare cases that content is removed that is out of the clearly outlined scope of the directive, we instruct components accordingly."
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said: "DEI is dead. We are returning the focus of the military to merit and mission readiness."
What's Next
Military branches are continuing to review content, but officials have acknowledged that inconsistencies in archival procedures may make it difficult to recover deleted materials.
Some historians and military experts have raised concerns that the removals could lead to the loss of important records documenting the evolution of the armed forces.
This article uses reporting by The Associated Press.
