Pentagon sued for records about deletion of 'Duty, Honor, Country' from mission statement

The U.S. Defense Department is facing a lawsuit to turn over emails and documents about how the agency came to delete the phrase "Duty, Honor, Country" from the mission statement of the United States Military Academy at West Point.

The conservative legal watchdog organization Judicial Watch filed the lawsuit against the Defense Department last week after the Military Academy failed to respond to its Freedom of Information Act request filed in March 2024.

While the words "Duty, Honor, Country" remain the academy's motto, West Point Superintendent Lt. Gen. Steven Gilland said in March that following a year-and-a-half assessment, the mission statement would be updated.

The new mission statement is: "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 service to the Army and Nation."

Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said that the Military Academy has recently been facing concerns about progressive ideology infiltrating its mission.

"Given the woke virus infecting West Point, deleting the words ‘Duty, Honor, Country’ from its mission statement has sparked justified concern about what the Army’s rising leadership is being taught at the United States Military Academy. And the unlawful stonewalling of the release of records about the issue makes matters worse," Fitton said.

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