By Idrees Ali and Phil Stewart
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump signed a series of executive orders on Monday to remove diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) from the military, reinstate thousands of troops who were kicked out for refusing COVID-19 vaccines during the pandemic, and take aim at transgender troops.
Earlier on Monday, Pete Hegseth, who narrowly secured enough votes to become defense secretary, referred to the names of Confederate generals that were once used for two key bases during his remarks to reporters as he entered the Pentagon on his first full day on the job.
Trump signed the executive orders while flying back from Miami to Washington D.C.
One of the executive orders signed by Trump said that expressing a "gender identity" different from an individual's sex at birth did not meet military standards.
While the order banned the use of "invented" pronouns in the military, it did not answer basic questions including whether transgender soldiers currently serving in the military would be allowed to stay and, if not, how they would be removed.
Trump's plans have been heavily criticized by advocacy groups, which say his actions would be illegal.
"President Trump has made clear that a key priority for his administration is driving transgender people back into the closet and out of public life altogether," Joshua Block, with the ACLU, said earlier on Monday.
During his first term, Trump announced that he would ban transgender troops from serving in the military. He did not fully follow through with that ban - his administration froze their recruitment while allowing serving personnel to remain.
Biden overturned the decision when he took office in 2021.
The military has about 1.3 million active-duty personnel, Department of Defense data shows. While transgender rights advocates say there are as many as 15,000 transgender service members, officials say the number is in the low thousands.
When Trump announced his first ban in 2017, he said the military needed to focus on "decisive and overwhelming victory" without being burdened by the "tremendous medical costs and disruption" of having transgender personnel.
INTERNAL FOCUS
Hegseth has promised to bring major changes to the Pentagon and he has made eliminating DEI from the military a top priority.
Trump's executive order on ending DEI in the military said service academies would be required to teach "that America and its founding documents remain the most powerful force for good in human history."
The Air Force said on Sunday that it will resume instruction of trainees using a video about the first Black airmen in the U.S. military, known as the Tuskegee Airmen, which has passed review to ensure compliance with Trump's ban on DEI initiatives.
Hegseth was warmly greeted on the steps of the Pentagon by the top U.S. military officer, Air Force General C.Q. Brown, whom Hegseth criticized in his latest book. Asked if he might fire Brown, Hegseth joked that he was standing right next to him.
"I’m standing with him right now. I look forward to working with him," as he patted Brown on the back.
Reuters has previously reported about the possibility of mass firing among top brass, something Hegseth repeatedly refused to rule out during his confirmation process.
Hegseth referred to Fort Moore and Fort Liberty by their previous names, Fort Benning and Fort Bragg, while speaking with reporters.
The names honouring Confederate officers were changed under former President Joe Biden as part of an effort to reexamine U.S. history and the Confederate legacy.
"I'm thinking about the guys and gals in Guam, Germany, Fort Benning and Fort Bragg," Hegseth said.
Much of Hegseth's focus at the Pentagon could be internal to the military, including making good on Trump's executive order on bringing back troops discharged for refusing COVID vaccines.
Thousands of service members were removed from the military after the Pentagon made the vaccine mandatory in 2021.
MISSILE DEFENSE FOR U.S.
Trump also signed an executive order that "mandated a process to develop an ‘American Iron Dome’."
The short-range Iron Dome air defense system was built by Israel's Rafael Advanced Defense Systems with U.S. backing, and was built to intercept rockets fired by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas in Gaza towards Israel.
Each truck-towed unit fires radar-guided missiles to blow up short-range threats such as rockets, mortars and drones in midair.
The system determines whether a rocket is on course to hit a populated area. If not, the rocket is ignored and allowed to land harmlessly.
Any such effort would take years to implement in the United States.