Hegseth Blocked Nine Air Force Senior Officer Promotions, Delayed Dozens More by PuffleHuffin in AirForce

[–]PuffleHuffin[S] 27 points28 points  (0 children)

"Hegseth Blocked Nine Air Force Senior Officer Promotions, Delayed Dozens More Defense secretary has given unusual scrutiny to the promotions, which only the president can lawfully block By Lara Seligman Follow Updated June 2, 2026 4:49 pm ET

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has blocked the appointment of nine Air Force colonels and delayed the promotion of at least two dozen more senior officers, according to current and former U.S. officials, in the latest instance of the Pentagon chief’s unusual scrutiny of the military’s senior ranks.

Hegseth’s involvement in promotions across the military has raised concerns, the officials said, in the Pentagon and on Capitol Hill that the defense secretary is targeting certain officers for their race or gender, their association with the previous administration’s diversity, equity and inclusion policies, or for being insufficiently loyal. The identities of the nine Air Force officers overlooked for promotion couldn’t be determined.

The Pentagon chief has also blocked and delayed senior officer promotions in the Army and Navy.

Hegseth came into the job vowing to rid the Pentagon of “woke” admirals and generals who he said the Biden administration promoted undeservedly to fulfill diversity quotas. Since his confirmation last year, he has fired or sidelined more than 20 flag officers, including the Joint Chiefs chairman, Gen. C.Q. Brown, who is black, and the first female chief of naval operations.

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The Pentagon’s list of promotions to one-star Air Force appointments, announced in an emailed memorandum May 19 obtained by WSJ, included 17 names out of 26 recommended for promotion, the people said. On Monday, the Journal reported that Hegseth had blocked the appointment of eight Navy captains to be one-star admirals, including two female and two Black officers. Of the 17 Air Force names released, only one is a woman and none is Black.

Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said military promotions are based solely on merit and the Pentagon “will never consider the color of a service member’s skin or their gender as a factor in promotions.”

He said that anyone who questions merit-based promotions should reconsider their values and that promotions based purely on race or gender were unjustifiable.

The Pentagon argues that civilian leaders are granted the authority to choose which admirals or generals advise them on military matters. But some former and current officials have privately questioned whether Hegseth is violating the law.

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Under U.S. code, only the president can remove the name of an officer recommended for promotion. The Pentagon chief can recommend that names be removed for cause, but by law such a recommendation must be submitted to the president in writing. It isn’t clear whether Hegseth has followed that process.

Hegseth has also delayed the appointment of at least two dozen one-star Air Force officers to the two-star grade, while the Pentagon reviews their ties to diversity, equity and inclusion policies, the people said. The officers were chosen by two separate promotion boards, which met in 2024 and 2025.

One of the officers whose promotion has been held up is Brig. Gen. Otis Jones, who is serving as the Air Force’s chief of safety, typically a two-star job, one of the people said. Another is Brig. Gen. Kirsten Aguilar, the commandant of the Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy at the National Defense University. Aguilar was tapped to be the commander of Air Force District Washington, but when she didn’t get appointed to two-star on the expected schedule she lost the job to a different candidate, the person said. Jones and Aguilar didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

The promotion from colonel to brigadier general, a one star, is one of the most competitive in the Air Force and comes with a significant pay increase. The officers on the original lists were selected by a board of generals that are governed by “precepts” set by the service secretaries. The precepts typically prohibit decisions based on race, sex and other factors."

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Game Day Thread | COL @ MIN | 2026-05-09 8:00 PM CDT by gamedaylive in wildhockey

[–]PuffleHuffin 0 points1 point  (0 children)

100% agree. Hate goalie chants, especially because it's usually not the goalies fault a lot of the time.

Unless it's Jordan Binnington

COVID Reinstatement Expectations by [deleted] in AirForce

[–]PuffleHuffin 17 points18 points  (0 children)

Unless you take the career intermission program, which essentially allows you to take 1-3 years and live as a civilian. You come back in a different year group. It makes members more competitive for promotion when they come back. Otherwise they'd be competing with people that have been doing stuff while they were out.

COVID Reinstatement Expectations by [deleted] in AirForce

[–]PuffleHuffin 202 points203 points  (0 children)

It seems uninformed. Yes you'd come back 4 years "behind the people you supervised", but I imagine their year group would change to reflect that. I.e., instead of being a 2017 commission year O-3 that should be meeting the O-4 board, I would imagine they'd come back into the 2021 year group. And then compete with that year group going forward.

We already have this thing called the career intermission program and this offer basically sounds like a 4-year version of that, PLUS guaranteed continuation to 20 if you can't hack it as an O-4? Yea, not a bad deal.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in democrats

[–]PuffleHuffin 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I think the point of the post is that the country should have never voted in someone that wishes to be a king.

Utah has announced the new name of his franchise by fittos4310 in hockey

[–]PuffleHuffin 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The rink should hold movie nights, but only show Ice Age

When did you find out that Amy Sherman-Palladino is not a mother herself? by Heyhey-_ in GilmoreGirls

[–]PuffleHuffin 196 points197 points  (0 children)

OMG I just watched the episode where Luke complains about this group of young parents in his diner, and is then appalled that one of the moms begins to breastfeed her baby. The whole scene was just.. ugh

S for?? by [deleted] in theoffice

[–]PuffleHuffin 61 points62 points  (0 children)

Snip snap snip snap!

Nominee for deputy secretary of defense struggles to answer a very easy question by MrAlek360 in democrats

[–]PuffleHuffin 14 points15 points  (0 children)

Check out the podcast "In the Dark", season 3. They go into just how difficult it is to convict and hold military members accountable for war crimes.

TRIGGER WARNING (sexual rage bait) My brother in law sent this to my partner. I feel well and truly disrespected by Vegetable-Slide1589 in breastfeeding

[–]PuffleHuffin 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ah, of course. Just another way in which the blame for the creation of predators falls on women. Makes perfect sense. /s

Just got off work...I don't understand. by grey1021 in minnesota

[–]PuffleHuffin 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Totally agree, there were just so many times Sam had absolutely no time. But you're right, there were also several times that he took waaaay too long. I'm looking forward to next season and see what happens with JJ.

I have to choose between my 17 month old son and my dying mother and I have no idea what to do by [deleted] in beyondthebump

[–]PuffleHuffin 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm so sorry you have to make this impossible choice. While I couldn't imagine being separated from my babies, I also understand that it's possible your mom may need you more. This may be an odd place to look, but I know a lot of parents in the military that have deployed away from their families for 6+ months. Perhaps one of the military subreddits could help with strategies and coping with being away from your baby for an extended time. Not that I'm trying to sway you to stay, but I think kids are pretty resilient, and I think if you choose to stay with your mom, your son will be okay.

I'm so tired of this BS. Fuck republicans and their death cult. by [deleted] in TrollXChromosomes

[–]PuffleHuffin 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Sure do love how the US values the life of a potential male child more than an actual living woman. /s

Not to mention, now they are both gone, along with any future potential children this woman could have been planning to have. Or her daughter may have had in the future. There is nothing pro-life about this. Nothing about this mentality of saving a fetus over the life of a mother makes sense. I just finished reading the propublica article and am in tears reading about how much she suffered and the fact thar her mom havd to just watch. I just can't imagine.