Criticism is mounting after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth intervened in the military’s regular military promotion process, removing four officers from the list of candidates recommended for promotion to one-star general rank. Critics say this breaks long-standing norms and raises concerns about bias.
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Decide first reported by new york timeshas drawn harsh criticism from former military officials and supporters who argue that changing the vetted promotion slots risks politicizing a system designed to reward merit and achievement.
Senior Army leaders said: times They supported officers selected by promotion committees and internally pushed back against efforts to remove them, stressing that candidates were qualified based on their backgrounds and that the process remained insulated from outside influence. The report describes unusual domestic friction, with military officials defending the integrity of the board’s recommendations even as civilian leaders moved to change the list.
One of the most powerful voices is Bree Frum, a retired Space Force colonel. He was forced to retire because he is transgender and is now running for the Virginia State Assembly. Frum called the move “another outrageous abuse of power.”
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“The hypocrisy of Mr. Hegseth’s emphasis on meritocracy is on full display in this dismissal,” Frum said in a statement. According to “If merit were the true standard, scrutiny would start at the top.” timesthe four police officers removed from the list include two women and two black men.
Department of Defense Spokesperson Sean Parnell said the hill The report is “filled with fake news from anonymous sources who have no idea what they’re talking about and are far from the actual decision-makers within the Pentagon.”
The Military Promotion Board operates through a formal process in which officers are evaluated based on their records, leadership, and performance. The resulting list is typically forwarded through the chain of command as is, and civilian leaders are expected to accept or reject the list as a whole, rather than compiling it individually.
For critics, the canon is not procedural trivia. It’s a safety net. Frum, who said he served on the Executive Promotions Committee, said members were sworn to evaluate candidates “without bias or bias” and emphasized that they often weighed the smallest performance differences to decide who should be promoted.
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“You accept the oath to serve without bias or bias,” Frum said. “That means considering the records of members seeking promotion.”
Deviating from that process, she argued, risks undermining trust in the system and sending appalling signals to service members about how promotion decisions are made. “I’m not surprised that of the four officers he fired, two happened to be women and the other two were African American,” Frum added.
The Pentagon has not fully explained its rationale for the removals, and it remains unclear whether the revised list will face further scrutiny as it moves through the White House and Senate confirmation processes.
“Hegseth has no right to beat people because they don’t fit his definition of a ‘proper American,'” Frum said. “It’s prejudice, plain and simple. These officers, men and women who dedicated their lives to our country deserve far better recognition. The American people deserve better recognition.”
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