Pete Hegseth tells military leaders at Pentagon to review their equal opportunity programs

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has told senior Pentagon officials to launch a comprehensive review of the equal opportunity programs within the armed forces.

On Wednesday, he signed a memorandum titled “Restoring Good Order and Discipline Through Balanced Accountability, which the defense chief called “a little wordy but over the target.” It directs the military services to report the status of their equal opportunity programs up the chain of command within 45 days.

Mr. Hegseth said programs for service members and civilian Defense Department employees to report allegations of discrimination and harassment are necessary. But in some cases, he said equal opportunity complaints in today’s cancel culture environment are being “weaponized.”

“Some individuals use these programs in bad faith to retaliate against superiors or peers,” he said Friday in a video message posted to X. “Too often, at the Defense Department, there are complaints made for certain reasons that can’t be verified that end people’s careers.”

Protecting equal opportunity programs and processes is critical to advancing meritocracy and balancing accountability within the military, said Jules W. Hurst, the acting Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness.

“Our personnel deserve fair treatment and a positive work environment free from unlawful discrimination and harassment,” Mr. Hurst said Friday in a statement. “They also deserve qualified leaders who are empowered to make tough decisions, enforce standards, and restore good order and discipline through balanced accountability.”

Mr. Hurst said the services will identify potential reforms to their equality opportunity programs and report to his office plans to streamline the process, address “problematic” behaviors, and mitigate undue impact to the mission.