Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth signs the restoring good order and discipline through balance of accountability memorandum at the Pentagon, Washington, D.C., April 23, 2025. (DoD photo by U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Madelyn Keech) The appearance of U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) visual information does not imply or constitute DoD endorsement. Image: DoD
By: FEDweek StaffDefense Secretary Pete Hegseth has called on the secretaries of each military department to carry out in depth reviews of their military equal opportunity and civilian equal employment opportunity programs to “ensure prompt and impartial investigations, fair treatment to all parties involved, and timely and appropriate resolution of allegations of discrimination.”
The memo – “Restoring Good Order and Discipline Through Balanced Accountability” – includes a template for proposing specific actions to ensure faster dismissal of “unsubstantiated” complaints, protections of promotions, awards and retirements of the accused, and punishment for personnel who “knowingly submit false complaints.”
Hegseth said programs to report discrimination and harassment are needed, but reforms are necessary to prevent them from being “weaponized” against superiors or peers.
“Your career is impacted. You can’t get promoted. You can’t take command. You can’t move to a new duty station until you’re cleared of the complaint,” Hegseth said, adding, “We need to reform [the EO] process completely so commanders can be commanders.”
Plans are due June 4, to the undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness.
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