Hegseth Strikes Female and Black Navy Officers From Promotion List; The New York Times, June 1, 2026

Greg Jaffe and Kate Kelly, The New York Times; Hegseth Strikes Female and Black Navy Officers From Promotion List

"In a move that disproportionately targets women and minority officers, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth recently blocked the promotions of at least seven Navy officers who had been selected by a board of senior Navy admirals.

The net result of Mr. Hegseth’s intervention is a slate of 22 nominees to be one-star admirals that bears little resemblance to the broader force these officers will help lead.

At least two of the officers removed by Mr. Hegseth from the promotion list are women and two are Black men. An additional three are white men.

Mr. Hegseth’s actions, which appear to violate the rules governing a promotion system that is supposed to be apolitical and merit-based, were described by four current and former defense officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive personnel matters.

No female officers were included on the new one-star list, which was released publicly in late May, despite the fact that women make up about 21 percent of the active-duty Navy. The list appears to include only two nonwhite officers, even though sailors who identify as racial minorities make up about 38 percent of the active-duty Navy.

Mr. Hegseth’s removal of the officers from the one-star list is highly unusual, said the current and former defense officials. According to Pentagon rules, the defense secretary is only supposed to pull officers from the list for moral, mental, physical or professional failings that raise questions about the officers’ fitness to lead.

Mr. Hegseth’s actions are the latest in a series of firings and personnel interventions that seem 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."

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth Addresses General and Flag Officers at Quantico, Virginia; U.S. Department of War, September 30, 2025

[Transcript] U.S. Department of War, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth Addresses General and Flag Officers at Quantico, Virginia

[Kip Currier: Pete Hegseth repeatedly denigrated our brave military enlisted members and officers with shameful insults, and then invoked the language of God, Jesus, and the Biblical Gospels to try to legitimize his statements and actions by intentionally situating his derogatory rhetoric within the framework of the Golden Rule. It's a transparent attempt to use scripture as a shield for reprehensible conduct.

It's also wholly inappropriate, disrespectful, and unnecessary to talk to and about our military members in this way.

Moreover, the actions and teachings of the Jesus of the New Testament are in direct opposition to the kinds of derisive and divisive put-downs and slurs that Hegseth utters in this speech.

Thank you to all those serving and who have served in our military branches.]

[Excerpt]

"This administration has done a great deal from day one to remove the social justice, politically correct, and toxic ideological garbage that had infected our department, to rip out the politics. No more identity months, DEI offices, dudes in dresses. No more climate change worship. No more division, distraction or gender delusions. No more debris.

As I've said before and will say again, we are done with that shit. I've made it my mission to uproot the obvious distractions that made us less capable and less lethal. That said, the War Department requires the next step.

Underneath the woke garbage is a deeper problem and a more important problem that we are fixing and fixing fast. Common sense is back at the White House, so making the necessary changes is actually pretty straightforward. President Trump expects it. And the litmus test for these changes is pretty simple.

Would I want my eldest son, who is 15 years old, eventually joining the types of formations that we are currently wielding? If in any way the answer to that is no, or even yes but, then we're doing something wrong, because my son is no more important than any other American citizen who dons the cloth of our nation. He is no more important than your son, all precious souls made in the image and likeness of God.

Every parent deserves to know that their son or their daughter that joins our ranks is entering exactly the kind of unit that the secretary of war would want his son to join. Think of it as the Golden Rule test. Jesus said do unto others that which you would have done unto yourself. It's the ultimate simplifying test of truth.

The new War Department golden rule is this: do unto your unit as you would have done unto your own child's unit. Would you want him serving with fat or unfit or under trained troops or alongside people who can't meet basic standards, or in a unit where standards were lowered so certain types of troops could make it in, in a unit where leaders were promoted for reasons other than merit, performance and warfighting? The answer is not just no, it's hell no."

The Military May Find Itself in an Impossible Situation; The New York Times, June 11, 2025

Joshua Braver. 

Dr. Braver is an assistant professor of law at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who studies civil military relations. , The New York Times; The Military May Find Itself in an Impossible Situation

"Would a military officer disobey a lawful but unethical order — unethical in the sense that it violates the officer’s professional code? We may be on the verge of finding out."