Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the creation of a task force to oversee the strengthening of a military based entirely on merit. The Department of Defense has a responsibility to ensure that the best leadership is provided to those serving in the military. The new task force, known as the “Restoring America’s Fighting Force” Task Force, will oversee efforts to eliminate non-merit factors such as sex, race, or ethnicity in decision-making processes related to hiring, promotion, and assignments within the military.
The goal of the task force is to ensure that decisions within the Department of Defense are based on merit, the needs of the department, and the desires of the individuals involved. This includes standing down Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion offices and ceasing actions related to ideologies such as systemic racism or gender fluidity. Secretary Hegseth has set deadlines for an initial and final report from the task force, outlining its activities and progress in eliminating non-merit factors from military decision-making processes.
The Defense Department will no longer consider an individual’s sex, race, or ethnicity when making decisions related to promotion, command, or special duty assignments. Additionally, goals based on sex, race, or ethnicity for organizational composition, academic admission, and career fields will be eliminated. Training within military service academies will no longer include instruction on concepts such as Critical Race Theory, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, or gender ideology. Advisory boards, councils, and working groups related to these ideologies will also stand down.
President Donald J. Trump released an executive order titled “Restoring America’s Fighting Force,” which prohibits any preference or disadvantage based on sex, race, or ethnicity within the armed forces. The task force established by Secretary Hegseth will ensure that the Department of Defense aligns with the goals set out by the president. The ultimate mission of the DOD is to have a lethal fighting force that rewards individual initiative, excellence, and hard work based on merit, in order to effectively win the nation’s wars.
