Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth declares “DEI is dead” in the military as he implements President Trump’s vision of a fighting force focused solely on merit and combat readiness.
Key Takeaways
- Secretary Hegseth is eliminating all Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives from the Department of Defense, replacing them with colorblind, merit-based policies.
- The Pentagon has ordered military libraries to remove books addressing diversity, anti-racism, and gender issues by May 21, with nearly 400 books already removed from the U.S. Naval Academy.
- Military academies must now admit students based solely on merit, without consideration of race, ethnicity, or sex.
- The Defense Department’s new focus on warfighting and the “Warrior Ethos” has reportedly led to record recruitment numbers.
- Traditional military values are being reinstated, with Hegseth emphasizing that “men are men and women are women” in Trump’s Defense Department.
Dismantling DEI in America’s Fighting Force
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is swiftly implementing President Trump’s vision for America’s military by systematically eliminating Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives throughout the Department of Defense. In what officials describe as the “broadest and most detailed” directive of its kind, the Pentagon has ordered military libraries to review and remove books addressing diversity, anti-racism, or gender issues. The directive, signed by Pentagon official Timothy Dill, mandates compliance by May 21 and targets materials using terms like affirmative action, critical race theory, and various gender-related concepts.
The U.S. Naval Academy has already removed nearly 400 books under this directive, including works about the Holocaust and civil rights. Military academies have been instructed to admit students based “solely on merit” with “no consideration of race, ethnicity or sex,” according to Hegseth. This represents a fundamental shift in military personnel policy that aligns with President Trump’s campaign promises to eliminate what conservatives have described as “woke” policies that distract from military readiness.
Restoring the Warrior Ethos
Secretary Hegseth has made it clear that the military’s primary focus is returning to core capabilities. “DEI is dead,” Hegseth declared emphatically during recent testimony, outlining that the Trump administration’s Defense Department is now centered on “war-fighting, lethality, meritocracy, standards, and readiness.” This realignment emphasizes the Warrior Ethos, which includes commitments such as placing the mission first and never leaving a fallen comrade behind. The shift away from social initiatives appears to be resonating with potential recruits, with Hegseth reporting record recruitment numbers.
“Promoting divisive concepts and gender ideology are incompatible with the Department’s core mission,” stated Timothy Dill, Pentagon official.
When questioned about pronoun preferences in military correspondence during a recent congressional hearing, Hegseth dismissed the concern outright. The Secretary made it clear that such considerations have no place in a military focused on basic warfighting capabilities. “In Trump’s Defense Department, men are men and women are women,” Hegseth stated unequivocally, reinforcing the administration’s position that biological realities take precedence over social theories when it comes to maintaining combat effectiveness.
Colorblind and Merit-Based Approach
The Defense Department’s new direction centers on a colorblind, gender-neutral, merit-based approach that evaluates individuals solely on their abilities to contribute to military readiness. Hegseth has been systematically implementing this vision across all branches of service, including changes to curriculum at military academies to refocus on traditional military education. These actions represent a clean break from the previous administration’s emphasis on representation and inclusion as strategic priorities in themselves.
“No consideration of race, ethnicity, or sex,” emphasized Pete Hegseth, Secretary of Defense.
Critics have raised concerns about some aspects of the implementation, noting that Hegseth canceled a program for women’s participation in the military despite its bipartisan support, and that some historical revisions have removed mentions of minority veterans from official records. However, supporters of the administration’s approach argue that these changes are necessary to eliminate distractions and politicization from the military’s ranks, allowing service members to focus exclusively on their primary mission: defending the nation through superior combat readiness and lethality.
