The Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegesh, says he believes that the US army has weakened by the initiatives of diversity, equity and inclusion, and has promised to restore “the warrior spirit” in the Armed Forces. In one of his first directives to Pentagon employees, Hegseth sent a brief note written by hand in his official letterhead making this priority clear.
In large black letters, he wrote: “Dod ≠ Dei*”.
The Asterisk, then added, denotes “without exceptions, name changes or delays. Those who do not meet will not work here. ” It was signed “SECDEF 29”.
On Sunday, Hegseth shared the note on social networks. It was distributed to the employees of the Pentagon during the weekend, according to a person familiar with the matter that spoke about anonymity because it was not authorized to be cited by name.
Hegseth provided oath as the twenty -ninth secretary of Defense on Saturday after the Senate confirmed it the night before with a vote of 51 to 50, the smallest margin for the confirmation of a Secretary of Defense since the position was created in 1947 , according to the records of the Senate. . Vice President JD Vance had to cast a tiebreaker vote after three Republicans joined all Democrats to vote against.
President Trump has promised a war against diversity programs that intend to reverse decades of systemic inequalities. Last week, the Trump administration threatened federal employees with “adverse consequences” if they did not report colleagues who challenged the orders to purge the EF -of their agencies.
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