Secretary of War Pete Hegseth disrupted the established process for promoting senior military officers and imposed new criteria that disproportionately blocked women and people of color, according to three military officials. Officers already approved through a rigorous selection process were withheld from advancement after Hegseth’s office reviewed internet search results.

A senior official with extensive knowledge of flag and general officer selection told MS NOW that four areas drew scrutiny. They included perceived support for DEI initiatives, involvement with the Pentagon’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate, participation in the Afghanistan evacuation, and connections to former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Mark A. Milley.

The official, who received anonymity because of fears of retaliation, described a deliberate review conducted by Hegseth’s executive office. Staff created paper only folders containing printed internet search results that were separate from the official files and inaccessible to the officers being considered.

Instructions about the additional criteria were delivered by telephone rather than in writing, the official said. Officers were later told by Pentagon officials over the phone that their promotions had been withheld, but they were not given an opportunity to respond.

“I was like ‘you gotta be kidding me’, but of course we need people to get confirmed. We need nominations to go through. We need decisions made,” the senior official said. Two officers whose promotions were withheld confirmed the official’s description of the new criteria.

The internet findings included participation in official events or activities involving Pride Month, International Women’s Day, National Hispanic American Heritage Month, diversity initiatives and COVID-19 vaccination. Other cited activities included speaking about inclusion, writing about diversity, participating in a Minority Aviation Panel and encouraging sailors to receive vaccines.

Some officers had allowed celebrations involving rainbow flags or helped establish a diversity committee and task force aboard the USS Kearsarge to combat discrimination. One officer had disciplined someone under their command who refused the COVID-19 vaccine, while another appeared in a photograph after receiving a second vaccination aboard the USS Carl Vinson.

Those findings were weighed against records that included decades of military service, leadership of carrier strike groups and thousands of flight hours on dozens of aircraft. Some officers held advanced degrees from institutions including MIT and Johns Hopkins, while others served in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars or Operation Inherent Resolve against ISIS.

Military attorney and former Army judge advocate general Cody Harnish said removing individual officers after they had been selected “is illegal.” He said a Secretary of War may delay or withhold a promotion for specified reasons, including professional disqualification, pending charges, substantiated adverse information or failure to meet exemplary conduct standards.

The Department of War Officer Personnel Management Act requires written notice and an opportunity to respond when a promotion is delayed, according to Harnish. “If ‘professionally unqualified’ can mean ‘executed a lawful program the current Secretary opposes,’ the promotion system and law has no function left,” he said.

The senior official said 31 officers were selected by one board, approximately 15 received reports based on the searches and nine were withheld. All but one of the women and people of color initially selected by that board were removed by Hegseth’s office, according to the official.

A board considering promotions to two star rank produced similar results, the official said. Seven selected officers were withheld, including the only woman chosen and every person of color selected by the board.

The traditional process uses boards of at least five more senior officers from the same military branch. Members score eligible candidates using criteria established by a service branch secretary, including assignments, education, evaluations, expertise and experience in priority geographic regions.

The board sends its selections to the service branch secretary, followed by the Secretary of War and the president, before the Senate Armed Services Committee votes. The senior official said the president alone can remove individual names from a list of selected one and two star officers, while the Secretary of War can approve or reject an entire list.

Chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said Hegseth was reviving the warrior ethos and seeking senior officers committed to combat. He did not answer questions about allegations that the intervention violated military promotion law, but said Hegseth had acted within his authority.

Hegseth announced in September that he wanted to eliminate 20% of the most senior military ranks. The senior official warned that blocked promotions and firings had left military jobs vacant for months, strained less experienced deputies and created damage that could take a decade or longer to reverse.