Pete Hegseth slams military ‘diversity’ mantra, emphasizes merit and equality

Is “diversity” really America’s strength when it comes to the United States military?

No, says Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and polling suggests most Americans agree.

Hegseth, like President Donald Trump who appointed him, opposes diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives that discriminate against people based on race, gender, or sexual preference.

The military’s strength comes from its shared purpose, not diversity, Hegseth maintains.

“I think the single dumbest phrase in military history is ‘Our diversity is our strength,’” he said, according to Reuters. “I think our strength is our unity. Our strength is our shared purpose, regardless of our background, regardless of how we grew up, regardless of our gender, regardless of our race.

“In this department, we will treat everyone equally. We will treat everyone with fairness. We will treat everyone with respect, and we will judge you as an individual by your merit and by your commitment to the team and the mission. That’s how it has been, and that’s how it will be. Any inference otherwise is meant to divide or create complications that otherwise should not and do not exist.”

Hegseth added that the military wants to combat any global perception of weakness, especially after the botched Afghanistan withdrawal under former President Joe Biden.

“Chaos happens when the perception of American strength is not complete. And so we aim to reestablish that deterrence,” he said.

Following Trump’s federal executive order and Hegseth’s leadership, the military is eliminating its many DEI programs such as quotas, promoting gender ideology and critical race theory in instruction and ending identity-based month celebrations such as Pride Month and Black History Month, among other initiatives, the Daily Wire reports.

It’s also restricting access to books and materials about transgenderism and sex for the 67,000 students attending 161 Defense Department schools located across the globe, the Washington Post reports, pending a review by senior officials. 

Restricted materials include a lesson for 5th graders about how immigration affects the U.S., some materials about Black History Month and several books about transgender individuals. 

Senior staff are reviewing the items to see if they comply or conflict with Trump’s order to stop the “radical indoctrination” of children in schools, the Post reports. 

West Point, the U.S. elite military academy, recently shut down affinity groups such as an LGBTQ cadet club, a club for female cadets and one for black engineers, to comply with Trump’s directive, the Post also reported. 

These moves come at a time when support for openly transgender-identifying troops in the military is declining. President Trump has signed two executive actions aimed at transgenderism in the armed forces.  

The percentage of Americans who support letting trans-identifying individuals serve in the military has dropped 13 points from a high of 71% in 2019, according to a recent Gallup poll. 

“Republicans’ declining support for transgender military service has eroded overall support for it since 2021, though the latter remains above 50%,” Gallup said. “On the other hand, roughly the same share of Americans as in 2007 favor allowing women to serve in combat roles, with majorities of all party groups still supportive.” 

Hegseth has said he supports women serving in combat roles as long as they can meet the same physical fitness standards as men, according to ABC News.