House Republicans Investigate Pentagon’s Upcoming Report on DEI in Military

The Pentagon in Arlington, Va., on Dec. 26, 2011. Staff/AFP via Getty Images

A House subcommittee has requested information from the Pentagon as part of an investigation into an upcoming report regarding the impact of the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) program in the U.S. military.

In a letter dated May 20 to Gen. Lester Lyles (ret.), chair of the Defense Advisory Committee on Diversity and Inclusion (DACODAI), the Subcommittee on National Security, Border, and Foreign Affairs raised concerns that the Department of Defense’s focus on DEI over mission effectiveness and capability is undermining the nation’s security and safety.

“The Subcommittee remains concerned that under the guise of DEI, promotions are being rewarded based on sex, gender, ethnicity, and race at the expense of merit,” the letter reads.

In 2022, the Department of Defense (DOD) founded DACODAI “to provide independent advice and recommendations on matters and policies” related to DEI in the armed forces. The panel includes civilian leaders appointed by the secretary of defense.

As DACODAI is now working on its final report, the subcommittee requested the panel to provide the methodology and documents that the report relies on, such as interviews, analysis material, and inputs from outside groups, to ensure the best information is included in the final report.

The signatories include Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-Wis.), chairman of the House Oversight Subcommittee on National Security, the Border, and Foreign Affairs; Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.), chairman of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Military Personnel; and 12 other House GOP lawmakers.

The letter follows a congressional hearing earlier this year titled “The Risks of Progressive Ideologies in the U.S. Military,” which addressed harmful DEI programs within the DOD.

The hearing found that “The DOD has infused progressive ideology into the curriculum and training of the U.S. military, which has no relevant purpose to warfighting. Despite recently failing its sixth consecutive audit, the DOD is requesting more funding to expand its unhelpful and non-essential DEI-based program.”

“The DEI agenda being forced into military procedure has opened the door for race and sex-based quotas superseding the merit-based system. This is a direct factor in the growing issue of the U.S. military missing recruiting targets.”

DEI Has ‘Huge, Negative Effect on Morale’

This is not the first time lawmakers have raised concerns about DEI initiatives that might pose national security risks. In April, Mr. Banks sent a letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, requesting information on the impact of DEI hiring in the military.

In March, Mr. Grothman condemned DEI initiatives in the military when discussing government funding bills. “Our military is grappling with the Biden administration’s social experiments of integrating principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion into their ranks to the detriment of our armed forces,” Mr. Grothman said.

Last month, retired Air Force Colonel Ron Scott, president and CEO of Stand Together Against Racism and Radicalism in the Services (STARRS), a veterans advocacy group opposing progressive ideology in the military, told The Epoch Times that DEI-based promotions have a “huge, negative effect on morale.”

Col. Scott said DEI is also affecting recruiting and retention. In March 2023, STARRS collected and published more than 1,000 comments by military servicemembers, veterans, and their families who agreed that “woke policies” harm recruiting and retention.

In a fall of 2023 survey conducted by the author, 229 participants who represented all branches of the military, including enlisted and officer ranks, said they would not recommend their children, family members, or friends to join the military. Nearly 35 percent of responses identified the No. 1 reason as the 2021 military vaccine mandate. More than 27 percent of the responses blamed the “infiltration of woke ideology.”

STARRS chairman Lt. Gen. Rod Bishop (ret.) told The Epoch Times that “Regardless of the person’s skin color, race, or ethnicity, America needs the very best leaders, and Americans deserve to have those leaders lead the military.” He noted that a person in a leadership position should “be capable of doing the very best job they are called to do. A bullet could not care less about the color of a person’s skin.”

J.M. Phelps contributed to this report.