Hegseth directs ‘joint warfighting ability’ be considered for officer, NCO promotions

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has mandated that “joint warfighting ability” be one of the criteria considered when officers and noncommissioned officers are evaluated for promotions, according to a recent memo.

“To that end, I am directing the creation of an additional metric for our officer and non-commissioned officer evaluation processes,” Hegseth wrote in the May 20 memo, which was shared on Reddit. “The effort to create objective, data-driven metrics for measuring and identifying warfighting ability is not a bureaucratic exercise; it is a warfighting imperative.” 

Task & Purpose has confirmed the memo is authentic. The document does not specify how Hegseth defines “joint warfighting ability” or how it will be considered as part of the promotions process.

Hegseth has designated Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness Anthony Tata to lead the effort and “delegated the authority to provide additional policy and implementation guidance as required,” the memo says.

When asked about the memo, a Pentagon official told Task & Purpose that the move is part of an ongoing review to ensure that promotion standards are “objective, data-driven, and focused on warfighter capability.”

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Source: Task & Purpose
Website: taskandpurpose.com