Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth commanded the nation’s military academies Friday to stop considering “race, ethnicity, or sex” in their admissions process, the latest blow by the Trump administration against Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programs at the Pentagon.
“The Military Service Academies (MSA) are elite warfighting institutions with long histories of producing world class military officers,” Hegseth wrote in the memo to senior Defense Department leadership.
“The Department owes it to our Nation, our Service members, and the young Americans applying to the MSAs to ensure admissions to these prestigious institutions are based exclusively on merit,” he added. “This ensures only the most qualified candidates are admitted, trained, and ultimately commissioned to lead the finest fighting force in history.”
“Selecting anyone but the best erodes lethality, our warfighting readiness, and undercuts the culture of excellence in our Armed Forces.”
The directive – aligned with President Trump’s January executive order promoting “meritocracy and … the elimination of race-based and sex-based discrimination within the Armed Forces of the United States” – instructs military academies to “apply no consideration of race, ethnicity, or sex” and “offer admission based exclusively on merit” for the 2026 admissions cycle.
Hegseth notes that the five MSAs — such as the US Military Academy West Point, the US Naval Academy, the US Air Force Academy, the US Coast Guard Academy, and US Merchant Marine Academy — may give weight to applicants with “unique athletic talent or other experiences such as prior military service.” --->READ MORE HERE
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| Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images |
The defense secretary said race, ethnicity or sex cannot be considered in applications
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Friday sent a memo to West Point, the U.S. Naval Academy and the U.S. Air Force Academy, saying that all future admissions will be based solely on merit.
"The Department owes it to our nation, our Service Members, and our young Americans applying to the MSAs to ensure admissions to these prestigious institutions are based exclusively on merit," Hegseth wrote in a memo to the academies.
He added that this would ensure that only the "most qualified candidates" would be admitted.
"Selecting anyone but the best erodes lethality, our warfighting readiness, and undercuts the culture of excellence in our Armed Forces," he wrote.
He said the secretaries of the military departments would have 30 days to certify that there will be no consideration of race, ethnicity or sex in applications and that they will be based on merit only. --->READ MORE HERE
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