The U.S. Military Academy at West Point is a selective institution that prepares students to become officers in the U.S. Army. (iStock)
"AVOID the perception that the External Review Team was political or made the decision. The Academy selected them. They advised. Academy leadership made Decisions," the document said.
The term "Army Values" keeps "duty" and "honor" within its core set of values, but also includes the following: loyalty, respect, selfless service, integrity and personal courage.
Gilland said in a statement announcing the change that "country" is reflected in the term "loyalty."
"The Army Values include Duty and Honor, and Country is reflected in Loyalty, bearing truth faith and allegiance to the U.S. Constitution, the Army, your unit, and other Soldiers," Gilland said in an announcement about the mission statement change.
Gilland also said that "duty, honor, country" is "foundational to the United States Military Academy's culture and will always remain our motto."
An Army spokesperson directed Fox News Digital to Gilland's original announcement where he wrote: "Our absolute focus on developing leaders of character ready to lead our Army's Soldiers on increasingly lethal battlefields remains unchanged."
West Point is one of several U.S. military academies that trains students to become military officers.
Meanwhile, West Point’s mission statement has been changed nine times in the past century, and the words "duty, honor, country" didn’t make it into West Point’s mission statement until 1998.
As of March 2024, West Point’s 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."
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West Point cadets in formation. (U.S. Military Academy)
West Point’s previous mission statement, first adopted in 2005, remained: "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."
West Point’s superintendent at the time, Lt. Gen. William Lennox, requested the change in 2005 and then-Army Chief of Staff Gen. Peter Schoomaker approved the change.
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Meanwhile, Republicans have pushed to incorporate "duty, honor, country" back into the mission statement. For example, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, spearheaded legislation in January to add the words back to the military academy’s mission statement.
"For centuries, the United States Army has set the global standard for military excellence because its leaders embrace a lifetime of selfless service and embody the values of ‘Duty, Honor, Country.’ West Point’s removal of these core values from its mission statement risks eroding the foundation of American military leadership," Cruz said in a statement in January.
Diana Stancy is a politics reporter with Fox News Digital covering the White House.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/west-point-decision-cut-duty-honor-country-from-mission-statement-under-fire-again