Online censorship of military firsts makes being ‘404ed’ a new badge of honor
What was once a hallmark of authoritarian regimes is creeping into U.S. military culture. The achievements of extraordinary women and people of color are quietly vanishing from official websites.
In the digital age, information warfare isn’t just about disinformation — it’s about erasure. China’s DeepSeek search engine systematically removes politically inconvenient truths from the public record. Use it to search for Tiananmen Square or the Uyghurs, and you’ll find nothing.
What was once a hallmark of authoritarian regimes is creeping into U.S. military culture. The achievements of extraordinary women and people of color are quietly vanishing from official websites, replaced by an error message: 404 — page not found.
This deletion isn’t random — it’s a deliberate rewriting of cultural narratives. And it now targets Gen X women who broke barriers after the 1994 repeal of the combat exclusion policy.
If these women weren’t exceptional, their records wouldn’t threaten anyone.
When Secretary of Defense Les Aspin lifted the ban in 1993, I had just begun active duty. Though my poor vision kept me from flying, the policy change opened doors for many of my sisters-in-arms.
One of them was retired Air Force Col. Laurel “Buff” Burkel. She graduated from navigator training just days before the ban was lifted. I remember her joking that had her graduation been delayed, she could have flown the B-52 — making her “Buff flying the Buff.” Determined to serve in combat, she racked up over 2,100 flight hours, including 285 in combat and combat support missions in the C-141 and C-130.
In 2015, Buff survived a NATO helicopter crash in Kabul, Afghanistan, and endured a brutal recovery. I’ll never forget the photo she shared, smiling in a halo neck brace, triumphant after her first workout post-injury. Today, she inspires veterans through hockey and motivational speaking.
Recently, Buff found that an Air Force webpage featuring her story had been deleted — “404ed” — as part of an anti-diversity, equity, and inclusion purge. The article’s URL included “deiwomens-history-month,” making it easy for AI-driven censorship to flag and remove it.
She soon learned she wasn’t alone. Col. Nicole Malachowski, the first woman to fly with the Thunderbirds, discovered parts of her story were scrubbed, as well. “Super weird to have some of my career accomplishments removed,” Malachowski said. “Censored.”
Other trailblazers who have felt censorship impacts included Adm. Lisa Franchetti, the first female chief of naval operations; Adm. Linda Fagan, the first woman to lead the Coast Guard; and Maj. Gen. Jeannie Leavitt, the first woman to fly an F-15 and former commander of the 57th Wing. The once-prominent stories about them have been disappearing from official sites, though not all have been deleted yet, and in a few instances, as pushback to the censorship has grown, a few have been restored.
Still, as a college professor, I never imagined telling students that Wikipedia is now more reliable than U.S. Department of Defense websites.
This isn’t about removing outdated content — it’s about reshaping the narrative. To push the idea that women and people of color succeed only through quotas, those whose records prove otherwise must be erased. It’s easier to discredit DEI when you hide its results.
During my 2010 deployment for Operation Enduring Freedom, I worked in information operations focused on winning hearts and minds. One of the most successful programs was the Female Engagement Teams. These women gathered intelligence that male troops couldn’t by connecting with women and children in local communities. Their impact was historic.
» READ MORE: Diversity benefits our military, and civilians must be protected | Opinion
Being 404ed has become a badge of honor. If these women weren’t exceptional, their records wouldn’t threaten anyone.
I first met Buff at ROTC Field Training in 1991. When I nearly failed my fitness test due to a knee injury, she ran beside me, shouting encouragement. I retired 22 years later as a lieutenant colonel.
I’m just one of the thousands Buff has inspired. No matter how many webpages disappear, her legacy — and that of so many others — cannot be erased.
Lt. Col. Tamara Schwartz, U.S. Air Force (retired), is an associate professor of cybersecurity and strategy at York College of Pennsylvania, a board member of the Cognitive Security Institute, and the 2011 Information Operations Supporting Officer of the Year. These are Schwartz’s views and do not represent those of York College of Pennsylvania.