The U.S. Air Force has removed web content honoring several trailblazing female pilots, including the first woman to fly with the Thunderbirds, in an effort to comply with Trump administration directives aimed at eliminating diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) content from federal websites. The purge includes webpages, photos, videos, and biographies, many of which celebrated historic firsts for women in military aviation.
Among the most prominent cases is retired Colonel Nicole Malachowski, who served for 21 years and broke barriers as the first woman to pilot with the elite Thunderbirds demonstration team. Malachowski discovered that articles detailing her achievements had been deleted, with links leading to error messages. One such story titled "A life in flight for first woman ‘Thunderbirds’ pilot" is now inaccessible. "When you click on that link, it’ll literally say ‘404 page not found,’" she told 9NEWS.
Public affairs officials from Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in North Carolina confirmed that the content was taken down to align with recent orders from the Trump administration targeting DEI-related material. This move is part of a broader trend across multiple federal agencies, which have been instructed to eliminate content related to diversity and inclusion efforts.
Malachowski, who has logged over 2,300 hours flying various aircraft, including F-15E Strike Eagles, expressed her shock at the censorship. "It’s been really just shocking to me to see that we would censor the historical fact, the historical stories, the historical contributions of service members and veterans," she stated. "There was indeed a time when women and minorities could not serve in our military. For us to act like those barriers never happened or those barriers were never broken is to completely ignore our history."
The removal of Malachowski's articles has drawn criticism from former service members, who argue that such actions distort military history. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth's February 27 order for a "Digital Content Refresh" has frustrated many veterans. The order mandated that components of the Department of Defense must remove and archive articles, photos, and videos promoting DEI, including content related to critical race theory and identity-based programs.
Malachowski described the removal as "un-American" and emphasized the importance of military history accurately reflecting all those who have served. "You’re good enough to serve but not good enough to be remembered. I can’t believe that something like this is happening in the country whose uniform I wore," she remarked.
The deletions extend beyond Malachowski. Reports indicate that multiple online resources related to retired Major General Jeannie Leavitt, the first woman to serve as a fighter pilot in the U.S. military, have also disappeared. Leavitt, who has flown over 3,000 hours, including in combat, had her biographies and tribute content taken down as well.
Moreover, the removal of content has affected historical units such as the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs) of World War II, who played a crucial role in ferrying aircraft during the war. Educational materials recognizing minority military contributions, including those about the Navajo Code Talkers and Private First Class Ira Hayes, have also been scrubbed in recent weeks.
This systematic erasure has raised concerns over selective censorship. "For us to act like those barriers never happened or those barriers were never broken is to completely ignore our history," Malachowski reiterated. "We need our military to reflect the America that it represents."
In response to public backlash, the Department of Defense has acknowledged that some content was removed by mistake and has begun restoring certain high-profile posts. In March, the DoD was compelled to restore articles related to notable figures such as baseball and civil rights legend Jackie Robinson.
As the Pentagon grapples with the consequences of Hegseth's order, it announced earlier this month the formation of a nine-member task force to evaluate the implementation of these directives. Headed by Jules W. Hurst III, an Army veteran and current undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, the task force aims to gather feedback and ensure consistency across the force.
While the Air Force has not confirmed how many pages were removed or if they would be restored, an unnamed spokesperson stated that "purely historical content" might be reinstated after a compliance review. Archived versions of the deleted content remain accessible via the Internet Archive, which confirmed that certain pages were still active as recently as February.
Malachowski, an inductee into both the National Women’s Hall of Fame and the Women in Aviation International Pioneer Hall of Fame, stressed the importance of recognizing the contributions of all service members. "It’s not about one article or one group’s story being erased. It’s about censorship, and censorship is a slippery slope that our country cannot go down," she concluded.
