Books Pulled from Naval Academy Library Back on Shelves

All but a few of the nearly 400 books that the U.S. Naval Academy removed from its library because they dealt with diversity, equity and inclusion, as well as gender issues are back on the shelves after the latest Pentagon-ordered review.

It is the latest turn in a dizzying effort to rid the military of materials related to DEI programs.

Based on the new review, about 20 books from the academy's library are being pulled aside to be checked, but that number includes some that weren't identified or removed in last month's initial purge of 381 books, defense officials told The Associated Press.

A few dozen books at the Air Force libraries — including at the Air Force Academy — also have been pulled out for review, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the process is still ongoing.

The reviews and changes at military libraries and to websites, social media accounts and more are part of the Trump administration's efforts to purge DEI content from federal agencies.

The Pentagon earlier this month issued a detailed directive to all military leaders and commands to pull and review all library books addressing diversity, anti-racism or gender issues by Wednesday. The order contained more specific search words than earlier guidance and verbal orders from Defense Department leaders, and officials said it resulted in dramatically fewer permanently removed books than initially thought.

The Navy said in a statement Wednesday that it reviewed the library collections at all of its educational institutions to ensure compliance with the directives, noting that materials have been "identified and sequestered." The Army and Air Force also have reviewed their collections.

All of the services' libraries had to provide their new lists of books to Pentagon leaders. Additional guidance will be given on how to cull those lists, if needed, and determine what should be permanently removed. The review also will "determine an appropriate ultimate disposition" for those materials, according to a Defense Department memo.

The May 9 memo — signed by Timothy Dill, who is acting deputy defense undersecretary for personnel — did not say what will happen to the books or whether they will be stored or destroyed.

The libraries at the military academies and those at other schools and commands had to remove educational materials "promoting divisive concepts and gender ideology" because they are incompatible with the Defense Department's core mission, the memo said.

A temporary Academic Libraries Committee set up by the department is overseeing the process, and it provided a list of search terms to use to determine which books to pull and review.

Those search terms included: affirmative action, anti-racism, critical race theory, discrimination, diversity, gender dysphoria, gender identity and transition, transgender and white privilege.

The Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, removed 381 books from its library in early April after being told by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's office to get rid of those that promoted DEI.

The Navy on Wednesday could not confirm which books have been returned to the library.

About two weeks after the Naval Academy purge was ordered, the Army and Air Force libraries were told to go through their stacks to find and remove books related to DEI.

Throughout the process, leaders of the military services sought more detailed guidance on which books had to go because the initial order to the Naval Academy was verbal and vague. Dill's memo provided that additional guidance.

Similarly, directives to reenlist troops forced out for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine and to remove transgender service members from the military have had to be clarified over time.

Defense leaders have had to provide additional guidance and wording to address questions from the services on how to implement the orders legally and accurately. And in several cases, orders had to be refined and reissued.