West Point takes ‘Duty, Honor, Country’ out of mission statement

(NewsNation) — While “Duty, Honor, Country” has been the U.S. Military Academy at West Point‘s motto since 1898, it has been taken out of its updated mission statement.

In a news release Monday, West Point said that “Duty, Honor, Country is foundational” to its culture and “will always remain our motto.”

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

However, after working to review West Point’s “vision, mission and strategy” with internal and external stakeholders, officials decided to recommend a new mission statement to senior Army leadership.

The school’s motto, “Duty, Honor, Country,” first appeared in the mission statement in 1998.

Now, though, the military academy’s mission will be 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.”

Both the secretary of the Army and the Army chief of staff approved this recommendation.

While some online took issue with the change, West Point said the new mission statement focuses on “essential tasks” crucial to becoming “leaders of character.”

This is the ninth time West Point’s mission has changed.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.