West Point military academy drops 'Duty, Honor, Country' from mission statement

The U.S. Military Academy at West Point has made the decision to remove the "Duty, Honor, Country" motto from its mission statement.

Officials stressed that the phrase would remain West Point's motto, however, and that the mission statement has changed on a regular basis; this new mission statement is West Point's tenth since 1925. "Duty, Honor, Country" hadn't been included as part of the mission statement until 1998.

In a letter sent to students and supporters, Superintendent Lt. Gen. Steve Gilland said the phrase would be replaced in the mission statement with the words, "Army Values."

"Our responsibility to produce leaders to fight and win our nation's wars requires us to assess ourselves regularly," Gilland wrote in a letter to cadets and supporters on Monday. "Thus, over the past year and a half, working with leaders from across West Point and external stakeholders, we reviewed our vision, mission, and strategy to serve this purpose."