The U.S Military Academy at West Point has updated its motto to simply include the term “Army Values,” dropping the previous inclusion of the words “Duty, Honor, Country.”

West Point Superintendent Lt. Gen. Steve Gilland described the three words as “foundational” to the U.S. Military Academy’s culture and that they would “always remain our motto.” Over the past year and a half, though, West Point has conducted a review of its strategy with “leaders from across West Point and external shareholders” to create soldiers ready for combat, and that it believes its mission ties the Academy to the Army, according to a letter from Gilland.

As such, the mission statement has been updated: 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.

“Duty, Honor, Country is West Point’s motto and the foundation of our culture as it has been since 1898,” a statement from Col. Terence Kelley read, which was given to the Washington Examiner. “As we have done nine times in the past century, we have updated our mission statement to now include the Army Values, loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity, and personal courage.”

The motto “Duty, Honor, Country” was first adopted in 1898, with the U.S. Military Academy’s academic board believing it “clearly and concisely expresses the genius of this institution.” With this updated motto, Kelley has argued that this sentiment still reflects the opinion of the superintendent and every member of the West Point staff and faculty.

This marks the first time since 2005 that it was updated. The phrase “Duty, Honor, Country” itself was not explicitly stated in the mission statement until the 8th update, which was made in 1998.

The latest update has split social media. Among the new statement’s defenders was Mark Hertling, a retired soldier who wrote that “Army Values” expands the mission.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

“BTW, the Army values are Loyalty, DUTY, Respect, Selfless Service, HONOR, Integrity and Personal Courage (LDRSHIP), and all these contribute to serving the country well,” Hertling wrote. “All Americans would do well to live up to these.”

Evangelist Franklin Graham, meanwhile, questioned why the update was made. “What are ‘Army Values’? The U.S. Military Academy at West Point has removed the words ‘Duty, Honor, Country’ from its mission statement and replaced it with ‘Army Values.’ We know what duty, honor, and country mean, but army values can mean anything and change with the wind. This is just another attempt by socialistic Democrats to weaken our military institutions,” Graham wrote on X.