Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., is investigating the U.S. Military Academy's decision to drop "Duty, Honor, Country" from its mission statement.
It was reported last week that West Point's mission statement will no longer include those words, which have been the academy's motto since 1898 and were highlighted in a famous speech by Gen. Douglas MacArthur in 1962.
Instead, a new mission statement was created: "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."
Col. Terence Kelley, director of communications at West Point, told Newsmax in an email that "Duty, Honor, Country" will remain the academy's motto.
"'Duty, Honor, Country' is carved in granite across West Point, adorns our cadets' uniforms, and will always remain our motto," Kelley wrote. "The mission statement codifies our mission essential tasks: build, educate, train and inspire the Corps of Cadets to be commissioned leaders of character."
According to a timeline in a West Point news release, the military academy's missions statement has changed several times since it was first established in 1925. "Duty, Honor, Country" was first added in 1998.
Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth and Army Chief of Staff Randy George approved the mission statement change. Critics have raised the issue of using "Army Values" as a sign of the military academy going woke, but Kelley told Newsmax the phrase is in Army regulations for evaluations and has been used for decades in grading cadets.
"Army values are loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity, and personal courage," Kelley wrote to Newsmax.
Blackburn sent a letter Tuesday to West Point Superintendent Lt. Gen. Steve Gilland seeking answers on the decision.
"Cadets have long been inspired by the notion of 'Duty, Honor, Country,' a phrase that has become synonymous with the Academy itself," Blackburn wrote. "Those three words serve as a solemn and patriotic reminder that our country is worth defending, with the utmost duty and honor."
The senator questioned the mission statement's change.
"While 'Duty, Honor, Country' has represented a clear and consistent objective for cadets to strive toward for over sixty years, your new mission statement — focused on 'Army Values' — represents a vague subjective that can be changed time and again based on cultural and personal preference," Blackburn wrote.
"More, as Russia, China, Iran and North Korea continue to test the will of the United States, West Point recently held its largest diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) conference. While the U.S. military has been focused on DEI initiatives, our adversaries are plotting against us."
Blackburn wants Gilland to explain which "specific considerations prompted this revision" and name the "external stakeholders" offering input on the change.
She also wants the superintendent to answer two other questions: How does the updated mission statement better align with the timeless principles and values that West Point has upheld for generations?
What do you say to those concerned that "Army Values" can be broadly interpreted to fit the ever-changing cultural climate?
Blackburn mentioned MacArthur in her letter to Gilland regarding "Duty, Honor, Country."
"General MacArthur said it best when he told cadets that the words 'reverently dictate what you ought to be, what you can be, what you will be. They are your rallying point to build courage when courage seems to fail, to regain faith when there seems to be little cause for faith, to create hope when hope becomes forlorn,'" Blackburn wrote.
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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