The administration aims to reform the U.S. military.
President Donald Trump on Monday named a group of his allies, including conservative media personalities, Republican lawmakers, and advisers from his first administration, to the boards of visitors at the nation’s military academies.
The boards are traditionally composed of a mix of presidential and congressional appointees. They oversee and guide the morale, finance, academics, and student life at each academy, which trains the officer corps of the corresponding military branch.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump announced the appointment of former national security adviser retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn to the United States Military Academy’s board of visitors, along with Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-Texas); Maureen Bannon, a West Point alumna and daughter of former White House strategist Steve Bannon.
The list also includes Medal of Honor recipient David Bellavia, retired Maj. Gen. Dan Walrath, and Meaghan Mobbs, a West Point graduate and conservative activist.
“They will make our Country proud,” Trump
wrote. “Congratulations to all!”
Trump also
named Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, retired Col. Doug Nikolai, and former deputy national security adviser Dina Powell to the Air Force Academy’s board of visitors.
For the Naval Academy, the president
appointed Sen. Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.), Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Texas), Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-Wis.), former White House press secretary Sean Spicer, former Rep. Earl Ehrhart (R-Ga.), and his personal aide, Walt Nauta. Spicer previously served on the Naval Academy’s board of visitors before the Biden administration removed him in 2021.
Trump last month dismissed all members of the boards of visitors at the Naval, Army, Air Force, and Coast Guard academies as part of his administration’s broader effort to refocus the U.S. military from championing progressive social causes to its core mission of preparing for and winning wars.
“Our Service Academies have been infiltrated by Woke Leftist Ideologues over the last four years,” Trump
wrote on Feb. 10 in a post on Truth Social. “We will have the strongest Military in History, and that begins by appointing new individuals to these Boards. We must make the Military Academies GREAT AGAIN!”
To implement the president’s vision for the military, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth in January
ordered his department to eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives and offices, including ceasing the practice of considering one’s race or sex when admitting cadets at military academies.
The Pentagon recently
directed that service members and recruits with gender dysphoria be separated from the U.S. military. An
explainer issued by the department said its pursuit of high standards for service members is inconsistent with the “medical, surgical, and mental health constraints” on individuals who have a history, diagnosis, or symptoms of gender dysphoria.
“A foundational tenet of the DoD must always be that the most qualified individuals are placed in positions of responsibility in accordance with merit-based, color-blind policies,” Hegseth wrote in his January
memo.
“The DoD mission is to win the Nation’s wars,” he continued. “To do this, we must have a lethal fighting force that rewards individual initiative, excellence, and hard work based on merit.”
