The United States Military Academy, commonly known as West Point, has removed the phrase “Duty, Honor, Country” from its mission statement. The modification, which took 18 months to complete, has been sanctioned by Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth and Army Chief of Staff Randy George.
West Point Superintendent Lt. Gen. Steve Gilland claimed that the new mission statement — “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 professional excellence and service to the Army and Nation” — better aligns the Academy with the Army’s objectives.
The previous statement read: “To educate, train and inspire the Corps of Cadets so that each graduate is a commissioned leader of character committed to the values of Duty, Honor, Country and prepared for a career of professional excellence and service to the nation as an officer in the United States Army.”
Gilland asserted that the phrase “Duty, Honor, Country,” added to the mission statement in 1998, remains integral to West Point’s culture and ethos despite its omission from the mission statement. West Point’s mission statement has seen nine revisions in the last century.
However, critics contend that the change in the mission statement is due to pressure from ‘woke’ politics. The Supreme Court recently decided to allow West Point to continue its race-based admissions practices.