The Air Force will not use official resources to mark Martin Luther King Jr. Day or Juneteenth, in addition to other cultural awareness holidays and months. 

An Air Force memo sent out Friday listed holidays that were not included in an official Department of Defense news release sent out on the same day. The DOD statement said “Identity Months Dead at DOD” within the military and it will not use any official resources to mark months, such as Black History Month. 

In addition to Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Juneteenth, the Air Force memo listed Women’s Equality Day and the Holocaust Remembrance Day/Days of Remembrance as holidays that will not be officially celebrated.  

The Air Force memo mirrored language in the DOD new release that said service members will be allowed to go events in their spare time and installations, units and offices are encouraged to celebrate individuals. 

“We are proud of our warriors and their history, but we will focus on the character of their service instead of their immutable characteristics,” it said. 

The memo was circulating on social media over the weekend and the Pentagon authenticated it on Monday. 

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The months the DOD listed in its official news release were National African American/Black History Month, Women’s History Month, Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, National Hispanic Heritage Month, National Disability Employment Awareness Month and National American Indian Heritage Month.

The announcements followed President Donald Trump’s executive order ending all Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs and putting all employees focused on those programs on leave. 

However, on Friday, Trump signed an executive order recognizing Black History Month. 







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The text of an Air Force memo listing cultural awareness holidays that will not be recognized.








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The list of cultural awareness holidays and months the Air Force will not use official resources to mark.