US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, in a recent memorandum to senior leadership of the US military, announced the setting up of a task force—Restoring America's Fighting Force Task Force—to oversee the strengthening of a military based entirely on merit.
Noting that the Department of Defense (DOD) has an obligation to the people of America "to ensure their sons and daughters serve under the best leadership", the memorandum said the foundational tenet of the DOD must always be that the most qualified individuals are placed in positions of responsibility in accordance with merit-based, colour-blind policies.
The US a must have a lethal fighting force that rewards individual initiative, excellence, and hard work based on merit to win wars, he wrote, adding, "To ensure DoD focuses on its core mission of providing the military forces needed to deter war and ensure our nation's security, the Department will ensure all decisions related to hiring, promotion, and selection of personnel for assignments are based on merit, the needs of the Department, and lastly, the individual' s desires."
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The task force will be responsible for overseeing the efforts of the Department of Defence to abolish Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEi) offices and anything connected to such offices that subvert meritocracy, perpetuate unconstitutional discrimination, and promote radical ideologies related to racism and gender fluidity.
It will oversee the elimination of any programme, element, or initiative that was established to promote divisive concepts.
According to the memorandum, the task force has the authority to task the Military Departments and DoD Components for necessary information for the report and establish deadlines for compliance.
The task force is expected to help DOD ensure that it will no longer regard an individual's sex, race, or ethnicity when considering that person for promotion, command or special duty.
"The strength of the DoD comes from our unity and our shared purpose. We will focus on lethality, meritocracy, accountability, standards, and readiness. Providing Service members an equal opportunity to excel will help us remain the strongest and most lethal fighting force the world has ever known."
