Trump vows to overturn 'ridiculous' Navy SEALs move to be gender-neutral

The Navy’s revamped SEAL ethos replaced gendered language like ‘man’ and ‘brotherhood’ with ‘citizen’ and ‘warrior’

La noticia podría tener un impacto importante en las próximas elecciones presidenciales (Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

Shortly after the US Navy altered its SEAL ethos to include gender-neutral language, President Donald Trump said he plans to reverse the changes.

"I will be overturning this ridiculous order immediately!" Mr Trump tweeted on Thursday, in response to a tweet about the new language.

The Navy recently modified its SEAL ethos and Special Warfare Combatant Crewmen creed to remove gendered words like "man" and "brotherhood," the American Military News reported last week.

One of the changes is an altered sentence that reads, "Common citizens with uncommon desire to succeed" instead of the original, "A common man with uncommon desire to succeed." Other changes include altering the phrase "I am that man" to "I am that warrior" and "brave men" to "brave SEALs." In the SWCC creed, "brotherhood" was changed to a "group of maritime warriors."

It is unclear what action President Trump intends to make, as the military branch appears to have altered the creed of its own accord and not because of an executive order.

Naval Special Warfare spokesman Lt Cmdr Matthew Stroup told American Military News in a statement, "The changes do not in any way reflect lowering standards of entry, rather they ensure that all those who meet the requirements to train to become a SEAL or SWCC are represented in the ethos or creed they live out.

"This improves the posture of the [naval special warfare] force by ensuring we draw from the greatest pool of talent available," he continued.

Mr Stroup added that the previous versions of the ethos and creed were written prior to the law allowing women to serve in the Naval Special Warfare ranks. Thus far, no women have completed the SEAL or SWCC qualifications after a rule change allowing their entry in 2015, though some have come close. Both specialities require a physically and mentally gruelling six-month course at the naval special warfare centre in Coronado, California.