What was Enola Gay named after ? Pentagon anti-DEI controversy explained as chaos erupts online

Following the orders of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, the defense department is erasing apparent diversity, equity, and inclusion content from its records, including bomber flight Enola Gay. Some other flagged historical content includes images of Tuskegee airmen and female Marines, among others. Netizens have since taken to the internet to react to the latest administrative order.

Following President Donald Trump’s executive order, Pete Hegseth ordered the Pentagon to “remove all DoD (Department of Defense) News and feature articles, photos, and videos that promote Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)” on Wednesday, March 5, 2025.

The quality control included an image of the prominent World War II bomber aircraft, Enola Gay. It has been speculated that the image was wiped out because the aircraft’s name includes “Gay,” which is very visible in photos and violates the new anti-DEI rules.

As per People Magazine, the Enola Gay fighter jet was the first-ever aircraft to drop an atomic bomb by releasing the U.S.-made explosive in Hiroshima, Japan, in August 1945. The flight was named after Enola Gay Tibbets, the mother of the plane’s pilot, Col. Paul Tibbets.

While reacting to the controversy, some netizens commented:

“This has to be satire lol,” an X user said.

“Is this a joke?” another netizen said in disbelief.

“Snow flakes,” a platform user commented.

As per Forbes, the Enola Gay aircraft was a Boeing B-29 Superfortress. Five years ago, the Department of Defense published a 75th-anniversary tribute to the aircraft by recognizing it as a catalyst that brought “an end to a long and devastating World War II.” Meanwhile, some other comments read:

“I hope this is parody,” an X user said.

“Woke Right is going strong,” an internet user said.

“Man conservatives are soft these days,” a platform user said.

The anti-DEI rules also triggered images of service members with “gay” being included in their uniform name tags being removed. As per Forbes, the deletion of content has also led to references of some of the country’s first Black military pilots disappearing. Meanwhile, some other reactions read:

“This is so ridiculous,” an X user said.

“This can’t be real. OMG. This administration is the STUPIDEST in American history,” another internet user said.

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“DEI is dead”: Pentagon spokesperson confirms that the anti-DEI order has been set in motion amid Enola Gay controversy

As per People magazine, Pentagon spokesperson John Ullyot confirmed that the DEI order had been initiated and that the department complied with the orders. Ullyot reportedly said in a press statement:

“We are pleased by the rapid compliance across the Department with the directive removing DEI content from all platforms. In the rare cases that content is removed that is out of the clearly outlined scope of the directive, we instruct components accordingly.”

Ullyot added that the:

“DEI is dead.”

On January 29, Hegseth released a memo stating that the DEI was “incompatible with the values” of the Defense Department. He added:

“The DoD will strive to provide merit-based, color-blind, equal opportunities to Service members but will not guarantee or strive for equal outcomes.”

Adding to Trump’s directive, he has also effectively banned transgender people from serving in the military. The Pentagon confirmed that current transgender troops will be removed from their posts as well.