Hegseth orders review of Pentagon's complaint process

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has directed a rehaul of the Defense Department (DOD) programs meant for service members and civilian employees to report harassment and discrimination, claiming individuals have “weaponized” such avenues.

Hegseth ordered each military department to review its military Equal Opportunity (EO) and civilian Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) programs, according to a memo dated Thursday and released Friday.

Titled “Restoring Good Order and Discipline Through Balanced Accountability,” the review is meant “to ensure prompt and impartial investigations, fair treatment of all involved, and timely and appropriate resolution of allegations of discrimination,” the memo states.

In a video posted to social media announcing the review, Hegseth said it’s “a good thing” that the DOD has equal opportunity programs for people to report discrimination and harassment. But he insisted that the programs are sometimes “weaponized,” with some individuals using them “in bad faith to retaliate” against superiors or peers.

“I hear it all the time. Say you receive a bad evaluation, well, file a military EO complaint. It's nonsense. We want to fix that,” Hegseth said, calling the directive his “no more walking on eggshells” policy. 

“You see too often at the Defense Department there are complaints made for certain reasons that can't be verified that end people's career, either through EO or the [Office of the Inspector General],” Hegseth added. “We need to reform that process completely so commanders can be commanders.”

He did not include specific examples of such abuses of the complaint system, and the Pentagon did not immediately respond to questions from The Hill pertaining to details of such “bad faith” uses of the EO process. 

Each service secretary must now “identify areas for reform, and provide plans to streamline the investigation process, timely address problematic behaviors, and mitigate undue mission impacts,” within 45 days, per Hegseth's memo. 

The plans must include specific actions to allow unsubstantiated claims to be dismissed quickly. 

Hegseth also wants officials to take into account the “favorable personnel actions” of alleged offenders — meaning any promotions, awards, reenlistment, reassignment, or attendance at military or civilian schools — should it seem like a complaint against them is not likely to be substantiated. 

In addition, he asked for administrative and/or disciplinary actions for personnel “who knowingly submit false complaints.” 

“Our personnel deserve fair treatment and a positive work environment free from unlawful discrimination and harassment,” Jules Hurst, the acting under secretary of Defense for personnel and readiness, said in a statement accompanying the memo. “They also deserve qualified leaders who are empowered to make tough decisions, enforce standards, and restore good order and discipline through balanced accountability.”