West Point's new mission statement omits MacArthur's 'duty, honor, country'

The U.S. Military Academy at West Point has updated its new mission statement, which now omits retired Gen. Douglas MacArthur’s famous “duty, honor, country,” and caused a stir among people who disagree with the decision.

In a statement released Monday, Ltg. Steve Gilland, West Point’s superintendent, said the phrase is “foundational” to the academy’s culture and despite the change in mission statement, it will “always remain our motto.”

“It defined who we are as an institution and as graduates of West Point,” he wrote. “These three hallowed words are the hallmark of the cadet experience and bind the Long Gray Line together across our great history.”

Gilland said the academy must “assess ourselves regularly,” and has worked with leaders in the academy and external stakeholders over the last year and a half to revise its mission statement.

The new 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.”

Gilland said the updated mission statement focuses on the new phrases to show the “explicit purpose” of being committed to the Army’s values.

People online have questioned the decision to omit “duty, honor, country” from the new statement.

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Rachel Campos-Duffy, “Fox and Friends” co-host, said West Point has gone “fully globalist,” and criticized the academy for “purposely tanking recruitment of young Americans to make room for the illegal mercenaries.”  

Jeff Kuhner, host of podcast “The Kuhner Report,” posted online that West Point is “going woke.” He argued “we’re watching the slow death of our country,” and said “Gen. MacArthur is rolling in his grave.”

In his statement, Gilland noted the academy didn’t add the phrase to its mission statement until 1998, and that the organization’s “mission has changed nine times” in the past century.

“Our absolute focus on developing leaders of character ready to lead our Army’s Soldiers on increasingly lethal battlefields remains unchanged,” Gilland’s statement said.