03-18-2025, 03:36 PM
Navajo Code Talkers disappear from military websites after Trump DEI order
https://forums.macresource.com/posting.php
Articles about the renowned Native American Code Talkers have disappeared from some military websites, with several broken URLs now labeled "DEI."
Why it matters: From 1942 to 1945, the Navajo Code Talkers were instrumental in every major Marine Corps operation in the Pacific Theater of World War II.
They were critical to securing America's victory at Iwo Jima.
Driving the news: Axios identified at least 10 articles mentioning the Code Talkers that had disappeared from the U.S. Army and Department of Defense websites as of Monday.
How it works: The Defense department's URLs were amended with the letters DEI, suggesting they were removed following President Trump's executive order ending federal diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
The Internet Archive shows the deleted Army pages were live as recently as November, with many visible until February or March. None are shown with error messages until Trump took office.
The other side: Asked about the missing pages, Pentagon Press Secretary John Ullyot replied in a statement: "As Secretary [Pete] Hegseth has said, DEI is dead at the Defense Department. ... 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."
The statement did not address whether the Code Talkers are considered divisive DEI figures that "erode camaraderie and threaten mission execution."
Catch up quick: In both World Wars, the military deployed units that used Indigenous American languages to secretly transmit information in pivotal battles.
Choctaw soldiers flummoxed German troops during World War I's deadly Meuse-Argonne Offensive.
At Utah Beach, Comanche troops created terms that didn't exist in the language: Bombers were "pregnant airplanes," tanks were "turtles" and Adolf Hitler was "Po'sa taiboo" — "Crazy White Man."
Meskwaki Code Talkers were sent to North Africa after 16% of the tribe's Iowa population enlisted during World War II. As of Monday, the word "Meskwaki" no longer appeared on the DOD's website.
Zoom in: The Navajo Code Talkers rapidly and meticulously shared hundreds of messages in the complex Diné language — often during intense battles, making them exemplars of courage under fire.
At Iwo Jima, six Code Talkers sent more than 800 messages without any errors.
They likely saved countless American and Allied lives by using languages the U.S. government had tried for generations to eliminate.
Meanwhile, the Code Talkers' function was predicated on diversity in the military; languages with more widespread use couldn't have provided effective encryption.
Stunning stat: Indigenous Americans have enlisted in the U.S. military at a rate five times the national average, per Trump's own proclamation in 2018.
That proclamation has also been removed.
https://forums.macresource.com/posting.php
Articles about the renowned Native American Code Talkers have disappeared from some military websites, with several broken URLs now labeled "DEI."
Why it matters: From 1942 to 1945, the Navajo Code Talkers were instrumental in every major Marine Corps operation in the Pacific Theater of World War II.
They were critical to securing America's victory at Iwo Jima.
Driving the news: Axios identified at least 10 articles mentioning the Code Talkers that had disappeared from the U.S. Army and Department of Defense websites as of Monday.
How it works: The Defense department's URLs were amended with the letters DEI, suggesting they were removed following President Trump's executive order ending federal diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
The Internet Archive shows the deleted Army pages were live as recently as November, with many visible until February or March. None are shown with error messages until Trump took office.
The other side: Asked about the missing pages, Pentagon Press Secretary John Ullyot replied in a statement: "As Secretary [Pete] Hegseth has said, DEI is dead at the Defense Department. ... 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."
The statement did not address whether the Code Talkers are considered divisive DEI figures that "erode camaraderie and threaten mission execution."
Catch up quick: In both World Wars, the military deployed units that used Indigenous American languages to secretly transmit information in pivotal battles.
Choctaw soldiers flummoxed German troops during World War I's deadly Meuse-Argonne Offensive.
At Utah Beach, Comanche troops created terms that didn't exist in the language: Bombers were "pregnant airplanes," tanks were "turtles" and Adolf Hitler was "Po'sa taiboo" — "Crazy White Man."
Meskwaki Code Talkers were sent to North Africa after 16% of the tribe's Iowa population enlisted during World War II. As of Monday, the word "Meskwaki" no longer appeared on the DOD's website.
Zoom in: The Navajo Code Talkers rapidly and meticulously shared hundreds of messages in the complex Diné language — often during intense battles, making them exemplars of courage under fire.
At Iwo Jima, six Code Talkers sent more than 800 messages without any errors.
They likely saved countless American and Allied lives by using languages the U.S. government had tried for generations to eliminate.
Meanwhile, the Code Talkers' function was predicated on diversity in the military; languages with more widespread use couldn't have provided effective encryption.
Stunning stat: Indigenous Americans have enlisted in the U.S. military at a rate five times the national average, per Trump's own proclamation in 2018.
That proclamation has also been removed.
