Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s targeted blocks on the promotions of officers in the Navy and Air Force have intensified scrutiny from former military leaders, who call the moves unprecedented and a corrosive abuse of his power.
A disproportionate number of the nine stalled promotions in the Navy were reportedly women or minorities, coming a few months after Hegseth and Army Secretary Dan Driscoll feuded over demands to remove certain names from that branch’s promotions list, including some Black and female officers.
While Hegseth’s allies contended that the Pentagon does not consider the color of a service member’s skin or their gender as a factor, perceptions of bias have been fueled by the Pentagon chief’s parallel war against diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies within the military.
Several former defense officials also expressed worries about the impact on officers deciding to stay in the military when their career progress is throttled.
“There seems to be an assumption that if you were a minority or a woman and you were promoted, that it was because of your identity and not because you’re good at what you do,” said Frank Kendall, the former Air Force secretary during the Biden administration.
