Most of the regular readers of FriarMusings either know or have deduced that I am a graduate of the US Naval Academy – Class of 1974 to be exact. As a loyal alumni I follow the Academy via various channels and outlets. Recently the school made national news when it was reported that, at the direction of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, some 381 books were removed from the school library. Removing these books was part of the current administration’s effort to eliminate DEI content from federal agencies and in this case from government military schools. Which books were removed? Hard to say as no list has been published – and, in any case, this post is not a comment about the action. The US Naval Academy is not a private university. It is a military installation with a base commander and all the midshipmen (students) are on active duty in the US Navy. In other words, they were given valid orders.

The Academy, as part of an ongoing lecture series, invited Ryan Holiday to speak to the midshipmen on April 14th.  Mr. Holiday had spoken at the Academy several times before.