In March, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth blocked the promotions of two women and two Black Army officers, and now, he's at it again. Hegseth has intervened to deny promotions to nine Navy officers who a panel of senior admirals had already chosen, The New York Times reports. This decision falls hardest on women and minority officers.
The resulting list of 22 candidates for the one-star admiral rank looks very little like the diverse force they would be leading. Among those Hegseth removed were three women, two Black men, and four white men. According to five current and former defense officials who requested anonymity given the sensitivity of the matter, his actions appear to violate the rules of a promotion process designed to be free of political influence and based solely on merit.
Hegseth's repeated meddling is producing a military leadership that looks nothing like the people it commands. Women make up roughly a fifth of active-duty Navy officers, and minorities nearly two-fifths — yet together they hold fewer than one in five general and admiral positions across the entire U.S. military.
What makes this especially troubling is that Pentagon regulations only allow the secretary to block a promotion when there are legitimate concerns about a service member's ability to lead — not because of who they are. Hegseth appears to be ignoring that rule entirely.
Via The Times:
Mr. Hegseth’s actions are the latest in a series of firings and personnel interventions that appear to be driven by his anti-diversity politics rather than the officers’ performance. Taken together, they could reshape the military’s top ranks for years to come.
Sean Parnell, the Pentagon’s chief spokesman, declined to say why Mr. Hegseth pulled the officers off the Navy one-star list. “Military promotions are given to those who have earned them,” Mr. Parnell said. “The department will never consider the color of a service member’s skin or their gender as a factor in promotions.” The Navy declined to comment.
Since taking office, Mr. Hegseth has fired or sidelined nearly three dozen senior military officers as part of a broader campaign designed to purge the Pentagon of leaders he has disparaged as “foolish,” “reckless,” and “woke.” He has consistently refused to explain why he has chosen to fire officers or pull them from promotion lists.
Women and minority officers have been hit hardest by Hegseth's actions. According to Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), the ranking Democrat on the Armed Services Committee, nearly six in ten of the senior officers Hegseth has fired are women or Black — a striking figure given that these groups make up fewer than one in five generals and admirals overall.
Reed didn't mince words in a recent hearing, telling Hegseth directly that his actions are gutting the military's most experienced and highest-performing senior leaders, while sending a chilling message to younger officers who may now be questioning whether a military career is even worth pursuing.
And somehow Hegseth did all of this presumably after doing 100 manly push-ups and his little tippy-toe dance.
Hey, has anyone done a wellness check on Blacks for Trump and Women for Trump? I'm worried about them.
