Overview
- The New York Times and other outlets reported Monday that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth personally struck at least seven to nine Navy captains from a board‑selected list of nominees for one‑star admiral, leaving a 22‑person slate with no women and very few nonwhite officers.
- Among those removed were multiple female officers and Black men, and internal records and officials say some were flagged after their names appeared on a public website that targets so‑called 'woke' military personnel or for past diversity‑related roles.
- Hegseth pressed Navy leaders to advance his special assistant, Navy SEAL Capt. William Francis Jr., despite his lacking required command experience, and Francis was not selected by the promotion board.
- The Pentagon defended the process and denied that race or gender played a role, while several current and former defense officials and some lawmakers say the strikes appear to conflict with Pentagon rules that allow removals only when new information raises fitness‑to‑lead concerns.
- Lawmakers have opened scrutiny and career officers warn the moves could hollow the senior talent pool and reshape military leadership, repeating a pattern of personnel interventions that included earlier Army promotion edits and high‑profile firings.