Hegseth announces new evaluation process for promotion of colonels and Navy captains

WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced on Tuesday the military this year will start evaluating colonels and Navy captains for one-star positions as part of a new process.

“While the backbone of our military is our NCOs (noncommissioned officers) and our petty officers, victory depends on the commanders who lead them. America needs warfighters who can master a chaotic battle space,” Hegseth said in a video posted on X.

The Joint Warfighter Evaluation (JWE) follows Hegseth’s May memo to begin assessing service members’ ability to wage joint warfare as part of promotion and advancement considerations for officers and senior noncommissioned officers.

Hegseth in the video acknowledged tasking Stuart Scheller, who currently serves as the secretary’s senior adviser of personnel and readiness, and his team a year ago to challenge “generations of promotion assumptions.”

Scheller is a former Marine lieutenant colonel who criticized senior military leaders for the Afghanistan withdrawal.

Since taking office, the secretary has repeatedly called for a focus on merit, physical fitness and combat effectiveness, arguing those traits should guide how the military develops and promotes leaders.

Hegseth, a 46-year-old Army National Guard veteran and former Fox News host, has previously said the U.S. military has promoted too many leaders for the wrong reasons based on race, gender quotas and “historic firsts.”

“Real toxic leadership is endangering subordinates with low standards. Real toxic leadership is promoting people based on immutable characteristics or quotas instead of based on merit,” Hegseth said during a sweeping address last year to top military leaders in Quantico, Va.

The video and memo do not specify how the Pentagon will define or measure “joint warfighting ability,” including how the concept would apply to service members in career fields that rarely participate in joint operations.

Joint military experience is not a new concept for advancement evaluation. In 2007, the Pentagon was required to establish different levels of joint qualification for officer development, according to the National Defense University. 

The Defense Department maintains a Joint Qualification System that recognizes officers for joint assignments, education and training completed throughout their careers.

Hegseth has blocked a number of Navy, Air Force and Army promotions to one-star admirals or generals. Some of the previously reported blocks included African Americans and women.

Each military branch typically convenes a board to review candidates for promotion.

The defense secretary can halt the promotions of officers if they have professional, physical, mental and moral failings that could jeopardize their ability to lead, according to Pentagon policy.