Pete Hegseth pushes to make promotion color blind, based on merit
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth stated that the Department of Defense’s core mission is to win wars. This needs a military that’s a lethal fighting force that promotes and assigns based on merit. Thus, individual initiative, excellence, etc., must be rewarded. Hegseth intends to stand up a task force that will be focused on merit based, color-blind policies.
From Military Times:
That work will include changes to the promotion and job selection process, with a mandate that “the department will not consider sex, race or ethnicity when considering individuals for promotion, command or special duty.” Exceptions can be made for assignments with specific operational requirements.
Hegseth also said officials will ban quotas and goals for career fields, and prohibit instruction of gender ideology and DEI initiatives. And all defense academic institutions, including service academies, will be ordered to “teach that America and its founding documents remain the most powerful force for good in human history.”
The task force is an extension of President Donald Trump’s previous orders to eliminate diversity and inclusion programs across a range of federal departments. In his confirmation hearing earlier this month, Hegseth said Trump charged him with ensuring the military is “laser focused on warfighting, lethality, meritocracy, standards, and readiness.”
But those comments have drawn questions and criticism from advocates who say diversity is critical to military readiness. Advocates have already sued to stop Trump’s executive order mandating changes in the ability of transgender individuals to serve in the ranks, something which Trump has argued hurts morale and readiness.
In past books and media appearances, Hegseth has criticized decisions to allow women to serve in combat roles and overturning the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. During his confirmation hearing, he suggested that standards for many military jobs have been lowered to meet diversity quotas, another allegation that past defense officials have denied.
Additional Reading:
Shane III, L. (2025, January 29). Hegseth moves to ban race, sex consideration from military promotions. Military Times. Link.
Category: Military issues, Pentagon
