AbdulQadir7
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In honor of retired Colonel Nicole Malachowski, the first female pilot to fly with the elite Thunder birds demonstration team, the US Air Force has taken down a number of publications and online content from its official military websites. A larger instruction from the Trump administration to remove Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) content from federal government platforms includes this step.
Malachowski herself discovered the deletions when links to some of her archived stories, such as “A life in flight for first woman ‘Thunder birds’ pilot,” began leading to “404 page not found” errors on Air Force and Marine Corps websites. Public affairs officials from Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in North Carolina confirmed the removals were made to comply with recent presidential directives targeting DEI-related material.
The removed content included biographies, feature stories, images, and videos highlighting Malachowski’s historic achievements and contributions during her 21-year career, including commanding a fighter squadron and flying F-15E Strike Eagles. Other pioneering female aviators, such as retired Major Jeannie Leavitt—the first female pilot in the U.S. military—have also seen their biographies and tributes taken offline as part of the same purge.
Malachowski expressed deep disappointment over the removals, stating, “You’re good enough to serve but not good enough to be remembered.” She criticized the erasure of her and other women’s accomplishments as a harmful message that disregards the barriers overcome by service members. “There was indeed a time when women and minorities could not serve in our military. There was indeed a time when women and minorities could not fly aircraft in defense of their country. For us to act like those barriers never happened or those barriers were never broken is to completely ignore our history,” she said.
A February 2025 Pentagon document directing all Defense Department entities to remove news stories, images and videos that promote DEI—including those that deal with critical racial theory, gender ideology and identity-based programs—is the source of the mandate to remove DEI information, while agencies must archive the deleted material, they are not allowed to show it in public, in an attempt to bring military communications into line with the current administration's priorities, this "digital content refresh" has drawn criticism from veterans and former service members who contend that deleting such historical accomplishments distorts military history and undercuts acknowledgment of a variety of contributions.
While some removed content has been reinstated following public backlash, the overall effort to eliminate DEI-related material remains ongoing. The removals are not isolated to Malachowski but affect thousands of pages across military and federal websites, including content related to Black History Month, Women’s History Month, and minority military contributions.
Malachowski herself discovered the deletions when links to some of her archived stories, such as “A life in flight for first woman ‘Thunder birds’ pilot,” began leading to “404 page not found” errors on Air Force and Marine Corps websites. Public affairs officials from Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in North Carolina confirmed the removals were made to comply with recent presidential directives targeting DEI-related material.
The removed content included biographies, feature stories, images, and videos highlighting Malachowski’s historic achievements and contributions during her 21-year career, including commanding a fighter squadron and flying F-15E Strike Eagles. Other pioneering female aviators, such as retired Major Jeannie Leavitt—the first female pilot in the U.S. military—have also seen their biographies and tributes taken offline as part of the same purge.
Malachowski expressed deep disappointment over the removals, stating, “You’re good enough to serve but not good enough to be remembered.” She criticized the erasure of her and other women’s accomplishments as a harmful message that disregards the barriers overcome by service members. “There was indeed a time when women and minorities could not serve in our military. There was indeed a time when women and minorities could not fly aircraft in defense of their country. For us to act like those barriers never happened or those barriers were never broken is to completely ignore our history,” she said.
A February 2025 Pentagon document directing all Defense Department entities to remove news stories, images and videos that promote DEI—including those that deal with critical racial theory, gender ideology and identity-based programs—is the source of the mandate to remove DEI information, while agencies must archive the deleted material, they are not allowed to show it in public, in an attempt to bring military communications into line with the current administration's priorities, this "digital content refresh" has drawn criticism from veterans and former service members who contend that deleting such historical accomplishments distorts military history and undercuts acknowledgment of a variety of contributions.
While some removed content has been reinstated following public backlash, the overall effort to eliminate DEI-related material remains ongoing. The removals are not isolated to Malachowski but affect thousands of pages across military and federal websites, including content related to Black History Month, Women’s History Month, and minority military contributions.
