Air Force’s Removal Of Tuskegee Airmen History From Training Courses Reversed

WASHINGTON, D.C.

Until further notice, Air Force recruits will continue to view training course videos of the Tuskegee Airmen and the WASPs – the branch’s first Black men and white wome\n to fly military planes.

The Air Force responded immediately to the Trump Administration’s crackdown on DEI – diversity, equity and inclusion – initiatives by removing training course videos  that taught the storied history of the first Black and women military pilots.

Under Trump’s DEI ban, videos were scrapped by the Air Force about the Tuskegee Airmen, the military’s first Black pilots, and the WASPs – the white female World War II pilots who were vital in ferrying warplanes for the military.

However, following public backlash, that decision was reversed. Newly-confirmed Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth confirmed Sunday (Jan. 26) in a social media post that the U.S. Air Force will continue teaching about the famed Tuskegee Airmen.

The videos were shown to Air Force troops as part of DEI courses they took during basic military training.

According to CBS News, an Air Force official said, ”Immediate steps were taken to remove curriculum that is now under review to ensure compliance with Executive Orders issued by the president. Historical videos were interwoven into U.S. Air Force and Space Force curriculum and were not the direct focus of course removal actions. Additional details on curriculum updates will be provided when they’re available.”

The Tuskegee Airmen, known as the “Red Tails,” were the nation’s first Black military pilots who served in a segregated unit during World War II and completed more than 1,500 missions.

In a statement, the national nonprofit Tuskegee Airmen Inc. said in part, “We believe the content of these courses does not promote one category of service member or citizen over another. They are simply a part of American military history that all service members should be aware of.”