The United States Air Force has authorised the use of gender-neutral and gender-specific pronouns in electronic signature boxes for communications within the department.
"This guidance provides approval for the use of pronouns in electronic signature blocks and expands on written communication by providing official templates posted on e-publishing website available for download," stated the Air Force correspondence dated 9 December.
"The use of pronouns (he/him, she/her, or they/them) in an email signature block is authorised but not required," the memo adds.
Users on social media were unimpressed. Some believed the "woke" approach was too "predictable".
Amid a debate in recent years about the use of nouns and pronouns to suit people of "all genders", organisations ranging from college campuses to workplaces across the US have been adopting "gender-equitable” language in an effort to be more politically correct towards those who don't wish to identify with a single gender or opt to be identified by a gender different from their biological sex.
Earlier this year, the State Department was ridiculed for celebrating International Pronouns Day.
“Today on International Pronouns Day, we share why many people list pronouns on their email and social media profiles,” the department had tweeted.
Social media users deemed “promoting a fringe social agenda” to be not at the top of the department’s current priority issues.
Among other instances of the US military embracing what was slammed as 'woke' by many conservatives was an unconventional recruitment ad.
The video, released by the Pentagon, focused heavily on the diversity and LGBTQ background of its recruits in a colourful cartoon, instead of relying on more traditional messages used in military ads.