Washington: US President Donald Trump has signed several executive orders focused on reshaping the US military, media reports said.
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 Defence 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 BBC reported.
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.
According to reports, 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, the report said.
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.
According to media reports, 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.”
Trump also signed an executive order directing the military to formulate policies regarding the inclusion of transgender troops and update any guidance on the topic.
A White House fact sheet uses the term “trans-identifying” rather than transgender.
It is unclear how many transgender personnel are serving in the US military – although previous estimates from researchers have put the figure at between 9,000 and 15,000.
As part of the order, the use of pronouns will be forbidden across the defence department, and males will be explicitly forbidden from using facilities designated for females, the report said.
In 2021, then-President Joe Biden signed an order allowing transgender people to serve in the military and preventing discharges based on gender.
During most of Trump’s first term at the White House, transgender personnel were banned from joining or serving unless they received a waiver.
The Trump administration has claimed members who undergo transition surgery are often incapable of the physical demands of their jobs – potentially harming military readiness. The White House did not provide evidence of this claim and the BBC has reached out to the Pentagon for comment.
The third order reinstates US military personnel who were discharged for refusal to accept Covid-19 vaccinations during the pandemic.
Those service members will be reinstated with full back pay and benefits, and receive their former rank, the report said.
In his inauguration speech, Trump said that these service members were “unjustly expelled.”
About 8,000 US military personnel were discharged from service for refusing the vaccines between 2021 and 2023 – of which only 43 were reinstated before Trump’s return to the White House.
