Hegseth says that the Pentagon has “walked on shells”. Women in uniform say that it looks like a “slap in the face”.

• Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered an examination of equal opportunities.

• Some members of the service fear that the examination will undermine the progress of the problems of harassment and discrimination.

• But many agree that programs reforms are necessary.

A wave of Pentagon changes has aroused concern among certain members of the female service. Now, a new memo to potentially bring more change causes an additional alarm.

From the defense secretary, Pete Hegseth has taken over the Pentagon, above Officers were dismissedSome women Service stories have been erasedThe women's leadership programs were crushed and an advisory advice focused on women in the army has been rejected.

Last Friday, Hegseth Signed a memo that directed an examination of equal opportunities and processes of reporting and investigating harassment allegations. Hegseth said that the movements that he nicknamed the policy of “more walking on egg shells”, would ensure faster and more impartial investigations.

“Too often at the Ministry of Defense, complaints are filed for certain reasons which cannot be verified which have ended the careers of people”, ” He said In a video that accompanies him, calling “absurd” complaints.

But the current and former members of women's services told Business Insider that they worried potential changes could reveal recent progress in problem solving such as hazing, sexual harassment, racism and social media.

Lieutenant-Colonel Kate Germano, Lieutenant-Colonel Kate Germano, author of the book “Fight Like a Girl”, said that “it seems that those at the bottom of the hierarchical order are the most affected by the (last) change-in particular women and people of color.”

A marine officer who conducted investigations told Bi that the new note seems “an integral part of their efforts to weaken the participation of under-represented groups”.

“It does not seem to be a bad thing to prevent parasitic complaints,” she said, speaking anonymously to avoid reprisals. She previously investigated dubious affirmations, but said that she hates “the idea that you could be punished if your order does not agree with you.”

“Avoid the program”

THE New memoEntitled “Restore a good prescription and discipline thanks to a balanced responsibility”, orders the rejection of complaints not supported by “creatable and credible evidence”. Such a change could discredit the anonymous complaints or harassment that occur in private, said Rachel Vanlandingham, professor of law at the Southwestern Law School and former Air Force Jag.

The changes to the policies of the Ministry of Defense could also have an oversized impact on the lowest rows enlisted, which constitute a large part of the historical relationships Prejudices and complaints of sex -based discrimination.

The military works' programs are responsible for ensuring that the staff is authorized “a complete and fair opportunity for employment, career advancement and access to programs without regard to breed, color, religion, national origin, disability, sex, age, sexual orientation, genetic information or parental status.”

“Programs allow staff to report discrimination and harassment, and that's a good thing,” said Hegseth in a Dod press release. “But what is not good is when these programs are armed. Some people use these bad faith programs to retaliate against superiors or peers.”

Hegseth did not provide data on the scope of the false allegations made through the EO process of the army, saying only in a video on X that it understands it “all the time”.

The secretary personally faced what he said to be false allegations of sexual assault. In 2020, Hegseth has settled a dispute With a woman who said that the former television host had sexually assaulted her. No accusation has never been filed. During his confirmation hearing, he declared that the situation had been “fully investigated” and that he was “completely erased”.

EO programs have already been examined. Some criticisms said policies were doing “Character assassination” Easy for dissatisfied staff.

“There are things he could be worked on,” said Vanlandingham. But with this note, she said, it seems that “they simply empty the program”.

An investigation in 2020 by Reuters find That the troops file complaints at much lower rates than the civilians of the DOD, suggesting a fear of reprisals among the staff in active service.

Vanlandham said that the manufacture of a false allegation is an offense which is already covered by the Code of Military Justice in Uniform, which criminalizes the false official declarations.

Changes in the EO program could create a scary effect on the victims who may fear reporting harassment, she added, stressing that some troops can avoid submitting complaints for fear of reprisals or ostracized.

“I would never tell anyone to file an EO complaint, especially now,” said a former veteran who had previously submitted a complaint alleging sexual harassment and said that she had then faced reprisals. She spoke under the guise of anonymity because she is looking for a federal job. Bi examined the related documentation between her and her command.

“If they don't like you, it's now a way to get rid of you and harm your career,” she said.

Another woman, who is in active service, told Bi that she feared that the changes discouraged the troops from lodging complaints.

“It looks like a slap in the face,” she said.

Unanswered questions

“I suppose that the biggest question is who decides what is or is not credible information or what is right,” said Germano. She said that the military process for internal investigations was already thorny – such surveys are often carried out by troops with little or no significant investigation experience, often awarded according to secondary.

Drawing a greater doubt about the legitimacy of the affirmations could make things even more difficult, said Germano, explaining that decisions can be influenced by the perspectives of the upper members of the command, according to their own experiences.

Such biases have probably contributed to models of sexual assault surveys that ended favorably for the alleged perpetrators who were considered positively with their leaders, said Germano.

Bi asked the office of the Secretary of Defense if the testimony of the eyewitnesses would be considered as credible evidence, and which could occur if harassment occurs in private. The Office referred to a Décécrétaire Defense's interim Subsecretaire on Friday declaration for staff and the JULES W. HURST III preparation.

“Protection of Meo and EEO programs and processes is essential to advance meritocracy and balance responsibility,” said the press release. “The complete journal will ensure that these programs and processes are appropriate, effective and effective, and that the tools designed to support them are applied in a way of conforming to our mission and our values.”

The Defense Defense Group of the Protection of our defenders said that the new note “sends an austere and scary message: reporting a fault at your own risk”.

“By creating new obstacles to justice and threatening reprisals against those who are expressed, the Ministry of Defense is trying to undo the legal protections mandated by the Congress – and to tip the scales against the survivors – with a memo,” said the group.

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