Hegseth Orders Military Chiefs To Review Equal Opportunity Programs
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has ordered a comprehensive review of the armed forces’ equal opportunity programs, according to a report earlier this week
On Wednesday, he signed a memorandum titled “Restoring Good Order and Discipline Through Balanced Accountability,” which is “a little wordy but over the target,” he admitted. The directive requires each military service to submit the status of its equal opportunity initiatives up the chain of command within 45 days, the Washington Times reported.
Hegseth affirmed the importance of systems that allow service members and civilian Defense Department employees to report discrimination and harassment. However, he warned that in today’s cancel-culture climate, some equal opportunity complaints 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.”
WATCH:
Introducing the “No More Walking On Eggshells” policy. pic.twitter.com/zOcAW2z2X7
— Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth (@SecDef) April 25, 2025
Protecting equal opportunity programs and processes is essential for advancing meritocracy and ensuring accountability within the military, stated 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,” said Hurst 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.”
Hurst said the services will propose potential reforms to their equal opportunity programs and submit plans to his office outlining how they will streamline processes, address “problematic” behaviors, and minimize any undue impact on the mission.
“The comprehensive review will make certain that these programs and processes are timely, efficient, and effective and that the tools designed to support them are applied in a manner consistent with our mission and values,” he added. “The strength of [military] comes from our unity and our shared purpose.”
Earlier this week, the Pentagon chief ripped the legacy media and “disgruntled former employees” over reports about the ongoing “Signalgate” incident.
At the annual White House Easter Egg Roll, Hegseth refuted recent reports of a second Signal app discussion in which he disclosed intelligence about Yemen attacks. He assured reporters that he and President Donald Trump are in complete agreement.
“What a big surprise that a few leakers get fired and suddenly a bunch of hit pieces come out from the same media that peddled the Russia hoax,” Hegseth said, responding to new reporting from The New York Times.
“This is what the media does. They take anonymous sources from disgruntled former employees, and then they try to slash and burn people and ruin their reputations,” Hegseth continued. “Not going to work with me, because we’re changing the Defense Department, putting the Pentagon back in the hands of war-fighters. And anonymous smears from disgruntled former employees on old news doesn’t matter. So I’m happy to be here at the Easter Egg Roll with my dad and my kids.”
When he was asked if he had spoken to the president about the alleged incident, the former Fox News host said that he had.
“And we are going to continue fighting. On the same page all the way,” Hegseth said.
Meanwhile, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt denied a previous report from NPR, citing unnamed sources, that said Trump was considering replacing Hegseth already. Also, Trump himself denied the report, saying that he had confidence in his defense secretary and that he was selected for a reason: To do a job that needed to be done and one that was sure to ruffle some feathers at the Pentagon.
