Pentagon Orders Military Academies to End Affirmative Action in Admissions, Emphasizing Merit-Based Selection

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered U.S. military academies to stop considering race, gender, and ethnicity in admissions, effective May 9, 2025. The directive mandates merit-based selection, aligning with President Trump's executive order banning DEI initiatives in the Department of Defense. This policy change follows a 2023 Supreme Court decision against affirmative action in college admissions. The U.S. Naval Academy had already complied, and other academies must follow. The move has sparked mixed reactions from lawmakers and raises questions about future diversity in military leadership.

A New Standard for Admissions

The memo from Secretary Hegseth outlines a clear mandate: beginning with the 2026 admissions cycle, military academies must rank applicants using a merit-based scoring system. This system may consider factors such as athletic ability, prior military service, and performance at military preparatory schools, but explicitly prohibits any consideration of race, ethnicity, or sex.

“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. “Selecting anyone but the best erodes lethality, our warfighting readiness, and undercuts the culture of excellence in our Armed Forces.”

The secretaries of the military departments have been given 30 days to certify compliance with the new policy. Admissions offices are required to rank candidates by aggregate merit-based scores, and the highest-ranking individuals within each nomination category are expected to receive appointments.

Legal and Political Context

The policy follows a 2023 U.S. Supreme Court decision that struck down affirmative action in college admissions, ruling 6-3 against the use of race as a factor. However, the Court left open the possibility for military academies to continue such practices, citing their “potentially distinct interests” in maintaining a diverse officer corps. In 2024, the Court declined to hear a case specifically challenging race-conscious admissions at West Point, leaving the issue unresolved at the federal level.

Despite this legal ambiguity, the Trump administration has moved decisively to eliminate race-based considerations in military education. Hegseth’s memo brings the academies in line with a January 2025 executive order from President Trump that banned all DEI initiatives within the Department of Defense.

Institutional Reactions and Implementation

The U.S. Naval Academy had already ceased race-based admissions in March 2025, citing the Trump administration’s executive order. The other academies are now required to follow suit. A Pentagon spokesperson confirmed that Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness Jay Hurst will oversee compliance across all service branches.

In addition to the admissions overhaul, the Pentagon has launched a parallel initiative to remove educational materials related to race, gender ideology, and other “divisive concepts” from military libraries. A second memo, signed by Acting Under Secretary Timothy Dill, instructs all military academic institutions to identify and sequester such materials. A temporary Academic Libraries Committee has been established to guide the process, using search terms like “Diversity in the Workplace,” “Gender Expression,” and “White Privilege” to flag content for review.

Congressional and Public Response

The policy shift has drawn mixed reactions from lawmakers. During a March 2025 oversight hearing, Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) expressed concern about the removal of diversity programs, emphasizing the importance of preparing officers to lead diverse units. “You need to teach people how to deal with diverse groups that they will command,” he said.

Conversely, Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee’s personnel panel, praised the move. “Any effort to teach our future leaders to judge or sort people by immutable characteristics like race runs counter to the Constitution and is devastating to good order and discipline,” he stated.

Broader Cultural Shift in the Military

Since taking office, Secretary Hegseth has aggressively targeted DEI-related programs within the military. In January, he banned the teaching of what he termed “critical race theory” across the Department of Defense, including at the service academies. The latest memos are part of a broader campaign to establish what Hegseth calls a “colorblind, merit-based culture” within the armed forces.

“The Military Service Academies are elite warfighting institutions with long histories of producing world-class military officers,” Hegseth wrote. “The Department must remain steadfast in its pursuit of excellence and never compromise the high standards at our MSAs.”

The Pentagon’s actions also extend to extracurricular activities and leadership programs. Several social clubs and initiatives centered on race, gender, and ethnicity have been disbanded, and some senior military leaders—particularly women and people of color—have been removed from their posts for what the administration described as an overemphasis on DEI.

Implications for Future Cadets

While the full impact of the policy remains to be seen, the immediate effect is a fundamental change in how candidates are evaluated for admission to the nation’s top military academies. The emphasis on merit-based selection, as defined by athletic performance, prior service, and academic achievement, is intended to streamline the process and reinforce a culture of excellence.

However, questions remain about how the new criteria will affect the demographic composition of incoming classes and whether the academies will continue to reflect the diversity of the nation they serve. The Pentagon has not yet released data or projections on how the changes may influence future admissions outcomes.

Pentagon Orders Military Academies to End Affirmative Action in Admissions, Emphasizing Merit-Based Selection

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