Book removal enables the politicization of our Navy and Marine Corps

The message of such action is clear, and it’s racist, prejudiced, and dangerous.

By Tammy Kupperman Thorp

The U.S. Naval Academy (USNA) released a list of 381 books it removed from the library — books by American luminaries such as Maya Angelou (“I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings”), books about racism, books about white privilege, extremism, gender identity and roles, the Holocaust.

Denying or revising history doesn’t erase history, but it does limit intellectual discourse. To be sure, removing a book from a library doesn’t prevent access to it in today’s world of Amazon and the internet—and students might well not read or check out most of these books, anyway. But the message of such action is clear, and it’s racist, prejudiced, and dangerous.

The USNA is entrusted with preparing "young men and women to become professional officers of competence, character, and compassion in the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps." That means, among other important skills and traits, developing their crucial ability to think critically. Doesn’t it? Otherwise, we condemn ourselves to repeat the ugliest parts of our history.

This administration claims to promote free speech, but it wants to hear only its own words of division parroted back. Our nation’s strength is drawn from its diversity of people and thought. By seeking to deny access to different views, this administration is destined to damage the internal and external security of our nation by promoting the dangerous groupthink of a distinct group of people and tolerating hate.

In taking this action—at the behest of the Department of Defense—the USNA is enabling the politicization of our Navy and Marine Corps, eroding—even destroying—a key tenet of our democracy. Trust me, no commander-in-chief should want a politicized military. That leader must then always look over his or her shoulder, not knowing whom in their Potemkin village to trust.

As the former chief of Public Affairs for the Central Intelligence Agency, I can attest to the importance of apolitical institutions in our government. It is the intelligence community's mission and duty to provide unvarnished intelligence to policymakers, enabling the ability to make the best decisions possible for the country. By providing our future leaders only part of the information—cherry-picked information—we endanger national security, and ultimately our women and men, all of whom swore an oath to the U.S. Constitution to support and defend (all elements of) our country, even with their lives.

I'm far from alone in this view. A retired naval officer and USNA graduate has joined forces with an Annapolis bookstore owner in "Operation Caged Bird" to make these books available to midshipmen. I applaud their effort to ensure our future naval leaders continue to have access to information should they seek it. Knowledge is foundational to effective critical thinking, essential to informed decisions by those charting the future course of our nation.

Any midshipman who needs access to one of the 381 books, let me know. I'll find it for you.

Tammy Kupperman Thorp was director of public affairs for the Central Intelligence Agency from 2021-2025 and is an award-winning journalist.

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