As new Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth begins an ambitious effort to slash 8% from the military’s budget, the committees that advise senior leaders on matters ranging from science to handling of sexual misconduct are once again being asked to justify their existence.
In an email sent Feb. 13 by Lekecia Gamble, a manpower and reserve affairs portfolio manager at the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, all active Defense Department advisory committees were given until Feb. 21 to send back a comprehensive response.
Among the details required were:
- Summary of the committee’s purpose, duties and objectives
- List of current members with term of service dates
- Projected operating costs for fiscal 2025 and total costs for the preceding eight fiscal years
- A one-page summary on how “advice of the committee benefited the Department, Federal Government, United States, warrior ethos, etc. and how it aligns to the President’s and Secretary of Defense’s objectives”
- A proposed recommendation for the committee’s retention by the Defense Department.
“There will be no opportunity for extensions,” Gamble’s email, reviewed by Military Times, stated. “Therefore, it is imperative that the requested information is provided by the suspense or sooner.”
A Defense Department spokesperson acknowledged receipt of a Military Times query but did not immediately confirm the memo’s authenticity or provide comment on it. It’s not clear what steps leaders plan to take after they receive justification documents from the committees.
It’s the second time in just five years that the Pentagon’s advisory committees are being required to justify their existence.
In February 2021, then-Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin moved to dissolve most Defense Department advisory committees — then numbering 42 — ordering currently serving members of 31 boards to resign amid a “zero-based review” of their operations.
Austin was then acting out of concern “with the pace and the extent of recent changes to memberships of the department advisory committees done with a bit of frenetic activity in the final two months of the previous administration,” a defense official speaking on background at the time said.
“I think it … gave him pause to consider the broad scope and purpose of these boards,” the official added, “and to think about how they can best be aligned and organized and composed to provide competent, technical professional advice.”
The move was broadly perceived to be a response to outgoing President Donald Trump’s last-minute appointment of allies to a number of advisory boards, including the Defense Business Board.
However, the dissolution of the highly regarded 70-year-old Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services (DACOWITS) as part of the review drew consternation. Austin restored the committee six months later following outcry.
As of fiscal 2024, there are now 41 Pentagon advisory boards, according to a database maintained by the Government Services Administration.
In addition to boards of visitors for the service academies and military universities, as well as policy boards focused on science, business, health and innovation, there are a handful of committees focused on matters of justice and equity for service members.
These include DACOWITS, the Defense Advisory Committee on Diversity and Inclusion, the Defense Advisory Committee for the Prevention of Sexual Misconduct and the Defense Advisory Committee on the Investigation, Prosecution, and Defense of Sexual Assault in the Armed Forces.
While advisory committee members are not permitted to speak to the press, statements by Hegseth since he assumed his role regarding the eradication of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, and moves by the services to comply with his intent by purging advocacy teams and affinity groups suggest these committees may be particularly vulnerable to dissolution.
In his first town hall meeting with troops, Hegseth called the quote “Our diversity is our strength” the “single dumbest phrase in military history,” saying the strength of the military was rather in unity and shared purpose.
Hegseth has established a task force aimed at rooting out DEI initiatives within the Department.
