Hegseth strikes female and Black Navy officers from promotion list
5 hours ago
- #Defense Secretary interventions
- #Diversity in military
- #Military promotions
- Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth blocked promotions of at least seven Navy officers, disproportionately affecting women and minorities, altering a one-star admiral nominee list.
- Hegseth's actions violate promotion system rules meant to be apolitical and merit-based, with removals based on anti-diversity politics rather than performance.
- The new one-star list includes no female officers and only two nonwhite officers, despite women making up 21% and racial minorities 38% of the active-duty Navy.
- Hegseth has fired or sidelined nearly three dozen senior officers, targeting those he labels 'woke,' with nearly 60% being female or Black.
- Promotions to one-star rank are highly competitive, selected by boards, but Hegseth's interventions create anxiety and mistrust, with lawmakers pressing for transparency.
- Officers were removed for past diversity-related roles, such as a 'diversity liaison officer' from decades ago, as part of Hegseth's opposition to 'gender and demographic engineering.'