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."

He continued: "As a result of this assessment, we recommended the following mission statement to our senior Army leadership: ‘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.’"

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In a letter sent to students and supporters, Superintendent Lt. Gen. Steve Gilland said West Point has removed the motto "Duty, Honor, Country" from its mission statement. (Timothy A. Clary/AFP via Getty Images, File)

The lieutenant general said the new mission statement "binds the Academy to the Army." He clarified that the patriotic phrase would "always" remain the school’s motto.

"Duty, Honor, Country is foundational to the United States Military Academy's culture and will always remain our motto," Gilland wrote. "It defines who we are as an institution and as graduates of West Point. These three hallowed words are the hallmark of the cadet experience and bind the Long Gray Line together across our great history."

"Duty, Honor, Country is West Point's motto and the foundation of our culture as it has been since 1898. As we have done nine times in the past century, we have updated our mission statement to now include the Army values [of] loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, integrity and personal courage," Army Col. Terence Kelley, a West Point spokesman, told Fox News.

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Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth and Army Chief of Staff Randy George both approved the change, according to Gilland.

Gilland said West Point has changed its mission statement nine times in the last 100 years. (JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)

"Our updated mission statement focuses on the mission essential tasks of Build, Educate, Train, and Inspire the Corps of Cadets to be commissioned leaders of character, with the explicit purpose of being committed to the Army Values and Ready for a lifetime of service," Gilland explained.

Gilland said "Duty and Honor, and Country" is reflected in the various actions of the Army’s cadets and soldiers. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Despite removing the phrase from the mission statement, Gilland said duty, honor, and country are reflected in the various actions of the Army’s cadets and soldiers, such as "Loyalty, bearing true faith and allegiance to the U.S. Constitution, the Army, your unit, and other Soldiers."

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"Our absolute focus on developing leaders of character ready to lead our Army's Soldiers on increasingly lethal battlefields remains unchanged," Gilland concluded the letter, signing it: "Go Army! Duty Honor Country!"

Fox News' Jennifer Griffin contributed to this report.