Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth on Wednesday said he was creating a special internal agency to establish merit-based and color-blind policies throughout the Defense Department, including those dealing with military promotions and duty assignments.

The “Restoring America’s Fighting Force” task force is the latest move from the Trump administration to root out what it says are entrenched diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) offices and programs that have distracted the Defense Department from its mandate to protect the country. A memo for senior Pentagon leadership described the effort as “a national security imperative.”

“The Department of Defense has an obligation to the American public to ensure their sons and daughters serve under the best leadership we can provide them,” according to the memo from Mr. Hegseth. The Defense Department’s mission “is to win the nation’s wars. To do this, we must have a lethal fighting force that rewards individual initiative, excellence, and hard work based on merit.”

DEI policies are incompatible with the values of the Defense Department, Mr. Hegseth contended. While the Pentagon will strive to provide equal opportunities for all servicemembers, it won’t guarantee equal outcomes, he said.

“A foundational tenet of the [Defense Department] must always be that the most qualified individuals are placed in positions of responsibility in accordance with merit-based, color-blind policies,” he wrote in the memo.

The new task force will fall under the authority of the undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness. It will file an initial report on March 1, 2025, and a final report no later than June 1, 2025.

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The Defense Department won’t use sex, race or ethnicity when considering personnel for promotion, command or special duty. However, exceptions to the policy could be approved due to “clear operational need,” according to the memo.

All advisory boards, councils, and working groups within the Defense Department will cease any operations related to gender ideology. The order also prohibits the U.S. military from providing instructions on DEI, “critical race theory” or gender ideology as part of a curriculum or for workforce training.

“The U.S. service academies and other defense academic institutions shall teach that America and its founding documents remain the most powerful force for good in human history,” Mr. Hegseth wrote in the memo.

• Mike Glenn can be reached at mglenn@washingtontimes.com.