Trump signs orders focused on reshaping US military

US President Donald Trump has signed several executive orders focused on reshaping the US military.

One order signed late on Monday bans diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in the military. It will remove the use of race- or sex-based preferences in the armed forces, the Defense Department and the Homeland Security Department.

Another reinstates more than 8,000 service members who were discharged for refusing to get the Covid-19 vaccine.

The White House added that a third executive order tasks officials with formulating a policy on transgender troops. The action does not immediately ban transgender service members.

A fourth order mandates a process to develop an “American Iron Dome” – similar to the one used by Israel in the Middle East; while the White House says a proclamation has been signed to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.

The executive orders were signed by Trump on board Air Force One.

Removing DEI programmes from within the federal government was one of Trump’s central campaign promises – and one he has moved swiftly to implement upon taking office last week.

DEI programmes aim to promote participation in workplaces by people from a range of backgrounds.

Their backers say they address historical underrepresentation and discrimination against certain groups, including racial minorities, but critics say such programmes can themselves be discriminatory.

The Trump administration claims that removing these initiatives from the US military will help boost recruitment levels.

Defence officials have previously said that the military services collectively missed recruitment goals by 41,000 personnel in the 2023 fiscal year.

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has promised to eliminate similar initiatives from the military, telling reporters on Monday that “there are more executive orders coming”.

The order entitled “restoring America’s fighting force” includes a ban on what the administration considers discriminatory race or sex-based preferences by any branch of the military, Department of Defense or the Department of Homeland Security.

Additionally, any remaining DEI-related bureaucracy will be eliminated from those departments., the document said.

Within 90 days of the executive order being signed, the President says the Secretary of Defense will carry out “an internal review that documents actions taken in pursuit of DEI initiatives, including all instances of race and sex discrimination and activities designed to promote a race- or sex-based preferences system”.

It remains unclear what specific programmes will be affected by the order.

In a December 2020 report, the department’s Board on Diversity and Inclusion recommended a number of steps, including the removal of “aptitude test barriers that adversely impact diversity” and incorporating the “value of cultivating diversity and inclusion” into leadership and professionalism curricula.

Over the weekend, it was reported that the US Air Force was reviewing material on the role of black and female pilots during World War Two from its training programmes as part of an effort to comply with Trump’s DEI orders.

But on Sunday, military officials clarified that certain curricula will not be removed from basic military training.

During the campaign in June, Trump said the military’s purpose is “to win wars, not to be woke”.

Hegseth told reporters on Monday that the job of the military is “lethality and readiness and war fighting”.

“Military training will be focused on the readiness of what our troops in the field need to deter our enemies,” he added.

The move forms part of a larger, government-wide effort to remove DEI practices from the federal workforce.

Immediately after taking office, Trump ordered that all US government staff working on DEI schemes were to be put on immediate paid administrative leave.

The White House gave them until 17:00 EST (2200 GMT) the following day to be put on leave before the offices and programmes in question were shut down.

In an order, Trump said that the programmes were “dangerous, demeaning and immoral”.

On Monday, the Department of Veterans Affairs also said it had has placed almost 60 employees on leave as it works to implement Trump’s order last week to eliminate DEI from federal workplaces.

In a statement, the department said that the salary of the employees – who were solely focused on DEI initiatives – were collectively paid about $8m, an average of about $136,000 (£109,000) per year. One employee was making over $220,000 a year.