The US Navy has modified SEAL Ethos and SWCC Creed by removing wording such as ‘men’ and ‘brotherhood’ in order to be more inclusive.
As the Navy memorandum concerning SEAL Ethos and SWCC Creed stated, the Department proposed pronoun changes “in order to provide more inclusive language” and “better reflect our diverse ranks now and into the future.”
Among other changes to Ethos and Creed approved by Rear Adm. Collin Green, words such as men, brotherhood, and brothers have been replaced with gender-neutral terms.
As seen in the photo of the memo shared by former SEAL Eddie Gallagher, the first paragraph of SEAL Ethos has been amended to read ‘common citizens’ instead of ‘a common man’, ‘they’ instead of ‘he’, ‘their’ instead of ‘his’, and ‘I am that warrior’ instead of ‘I am that man’.
In the fourth paragraph, the word ‘men’ has been replaced with ‘others’, whereas the last paragraph will now read ‘brave SEALs’ rather than ‘brave men’.
Meanwhile, SWCC Creed has undergone changes of its own, whereas ‘them’ has replaced the word ‘brothers’ and the ‘brotherhood’ is now referred to as a ‘group of maritime warriors’.
“The previous versions of the SEAL Ethos and SWCC Creed were written prior to the law allowing women to serve as operators in Naval Special Warfare,” U.S. Navy Lt. j.g. Matthew Stroup, the Naval Special Warfare spokesperson, said as he confirmed the changes.
“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 NSW force by ensuring we draw from the greatest pool of talent available.”
Replaced!