Pentagon's DEI efforts under scrutiny as House investigators launch new oversight probe

By Elizabeth Elkind | Fox News

The House Oversight Committee is launching an investigation into the effects of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs on the U.S. military.

Reps. Glenn Grothman, R-Wis., and Jim Banks, R-Ind., chairs of the Oversight panel’s subcommittees on national security and military personnel respectively, sent a letter to the head of the Pentagon’s Defense Advisory Committee on Diversity and Inclusion (DACODAI) on Monday demanding to know what considerations and information sources are going into his annual DEI report to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.

The subcommittee chairs charged that “under the guise of DEI, promotions are being rewarded based on sex, gender, ethnicity, and race at the expense of merit.”

“In 2022, DoD established the Defense Advisory Committee on Diversity and Inclusion (DACODAI) to provide independent advice and recommendations on matters and policies related to DEI in the Armed Forces,” they wrote to the panel’s chair, retired Gen. Lester Lyles.

“The Subcommittee understands DACODAI is working to release a final report. Our warfighters deserve to be led by the best qualified leaders. Therefore, the Subcommittee is requesting information and an update regarding the publication of this report as soon as possible.”

The letter is signed by a dozen of Banks and Grothman’s fellow House Republicans.

“DoD’s emphasis on diversity and inclusion over mission effectiveness and capability concerns our nation’s national security and safety,” they wrote.

The letter also cited a November 2023 report by Stand Together Against Racism and Radicalism in the Services (STARRS), an anti-DEI nonprofit organization comprised of retired military members.

The 101-page document is largely a compilation of testimony from military recruits and their families expressing dismay at DEI training within the armed forces.

“The majority of cadets do not like this training and see it as divisive and bad for morale. But the academy continues to elevate the voices of cadets who agree with the training and want to spread leftist ideology further,” the report said.

“A minority cadet wrote to STARRS and said: ‘I see so many bright young Cadets here who know what is going on is wrong but at the same time are too scared to speak up. The fear we feel, not being able to address our concerns only makes the lack of courage issue worse.’… Why would this cadet say this if the extent of DEI training (indoctrination really) is only 16 out of 2400 hours?”

The Republican lawmakers wrote on Monday:

“Their findings showed that many did not feel comfortable recommending military service because of the DEI policies instituted throughout DoD.

Americans have the right to expect that their sons and daughters in uniform are led, trained, and equipped by the very best.”

They noted that the STARRS report was sent over to the military’s DEI panel but “it is unclear the extent to which DACODAI will incorporate that information into its final report.”

Fox News Digital reached out to the Pentagon for comment but did not hear back at press time.

LETTER: Chairman-Grothman-Letter-on-DACODAI (pdf)

May 20, 2024

General (Ret.) Lester Lyles
Chair
Defense Advisory Committee on Diversity and Inclusion
U.S. Department of Defense
1000 Defense Pentagon
Washington, D.C. 20301

Dear General Lyles:

On January 11, 2024, the Subcommittee on National Security, Border, and Foreign Affairs (Subcommittee) heard testimony regarding “The Risks of Progressive Ideologies in the U.S. Military.”

Witnesses at this hearing discussed the long-term, possibly negative ramifications of prioritizing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs at the Department of Defense (DoD).1

1 The Risks of Progressive Ideologies in the U.S. Military: Hearing Before H. Comm. on Oversight & Accountability, 118th Cong. 2 (statement of Will Thibeau, Dir. American Military Project & Matthew Lohmeier, Author).

The Subcommittee remains concerned that under the guise of DEI, promotions are being rewarded based on sex, gender, ethnicity, and race at the expense of merit.

In 2022, DoD established the Defense Advisory Committee on Diversity and Inclusion (DACODAI) to provide independent advice and recommendations on matters and policies related to DEI in the Armed Forces.2

2 Defense Advisory Committee on Diversity and Inclusion Overview, available at https://www.dhra.mil/DACODAI/ (last accessed Apr. 2, 2024).

The Subcommittee understands DACODAI is working to release a final report. Our warfighters deserve to be led by the best qualified leaders.

Therefore, the Subcommittee is requesting information and an update regarding the publication of this report as soon as possible.

Stand Together Against Racism and Radicalism in the Services (STARRS), an educational organization that includes retired military members, assembled a study of over one thousand unsolicited comments from military service members, veterans, and their respective families.

Their findings showed that many did not feel comfortable recommending military service because of the DEI policies instituted throughout DoD.3

3 What Military Service Members, Veterans and Parents are Saying, STARRS (Nov. 28, 2023), available at https://starrs.us/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/what-military-people-are-saying-1DEC23.pdf.

Americans have the right to expect that their sons and daughters in uniform are led, trained, and equipped by the very best.

The Subcommittee understands that the STARRS report was provided to DACODAI, but it is unclear the extent to which DACODAI will incorporate that information into its final report.

DoD’s emphasis on diversity and inclusion over mission effectiveness and capability concerns our nation’s national security and safety.

To assist the Subcommittee in its understanding of DACODAI’s role and how it will incorporate the best available information into its final report, please provide the following documents and information as soon as possible but no later than June 3, 2024:

1. All documents related to the methodology to be used to complete DACODAI’s final report to the Secretary of Defense;

2. All documents related to DACODAI’s final report, including material relied on in the report such as interviews, qualitative and quantitative analysis, and inputs from outside organizations such as STARRS; and

3. All documents containing any preliminary findings of DACODAI.

To arrange for the delivery of responsive information or to ask any related follow-up questions, please contact the Committee on Oversight and Accountability Majority staff at (202) 225-5074.

The Committee on Oversight and Accountability is the principal oversight committee of the U.S. House of Representatives and has broad authority to investigate “any matter” at “any time” under House Rule X.

Thank you in advance for cooperating with this inquiry.

Sincerely,