Hegseth Orders Color-Blind Military Admissions [WATCH]

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a formal directive Friday instructing all U.S. military academies to eliminate the use of race, sex, or ethnicity as factors in their admissions processes.

The memo, addressed to the secretaries of all military departments, mandates a shift to exclusively merit-based admissions beginning with the 2026 admissions cycle.

The move aligns with President Donald Trump’s January 27 executive order, which banned all Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives throughout the Department of Defense and the broader military structure.

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Hegseth’s directive tasks Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness Jay Hurst with overseeing compliance at each service academy.

“The Military Service Academies (MSA) are elite warfighting institutions with long histories of producing world class military officers,” Hegseth wrote in the memo.

“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.”

MEMO to: @WestPoint_USMA @NavalAcademy & @af_academy

ALL FUTURE ADMISSIONS will be “exclusively on merit.”

“Race, ethnicity, or sex” can NO LONGER BE CONSIDERED.

Our officers will be the best of the best—full stop. pic.twitter.com/XAE0QzxLHP

— Pete Hegseth (@PeteHegseth) May 9, 2025

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According to the Department of Defense, the policy applies to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, and the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs.

The U.S. Naval Academy had already moved in March to end race-based admissions, referencing Trump’s order as part of its legal response to litigation brought by Students for Fair Admissions.

In February, President Trump dismissed the boards of visitors for the service academies, stating that the decision was part of a broader effort to remove “Woke Leftist Ideologues” from senior advisory positions in the institutions.

That step followed a broader review of DEI policies across the military, spearheaded by Secretary Hegseth shortly after his confirmation.

The memo emphasized that the Department must “remain steadfast in its pursuit of excellence and never compromise the high standards at our MSAs.”

It further stated, “A strong officer corps is essential to ensuring the United States military remains the most lethal the world has ever known.”

JUST IN: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has directed all military leaders and academies to review and eliminate books related to DEI, gender ideology, Critical Race Theory, and similar topics. In a separate memo, he stated there would be “no consideration for race, ethnicity, or… pic.twitter.com/02IrnxgBjo

— RedWave Press (@RedWave_Press) May 10, 2025

Nicole Kiprilov, executive director of DOD Watch, said in a statement to the Daily Caller News Foundation that Secretary Hegseth is acting decisively in line with the administration’s priorities.

“Secretary Hegseth understands that restoring the warrior ethos among current and future service members is a matter of national security, which is why he is taking swift action to ensure we get our service academies back on track,”

Kiprilov said. “The fact that DEI was intentionally infused into these institutions of higher learning in the first place is absolute lunacy that has harmed our country in every way, and the Trump administration is making it clear that we are putting a definitive end to this.”

The changes at the military academies are part of a broader shift in federal policy. The Trump administration has also announced a rollback of DEI-related programs across federal agencies, which officials estimate will eliminate billions of dollars in government spending tied to Biden-era initiatives.

Officials indicated that further guidance on implementation across other defense institutions may be issued in the coming months.

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