Rolling Back Progress: Why Hegseth’s Vision Risks Weakening the Military

A veteran explains how inclusivity strengthens our armed forces — and why we must protect it

1st Lt. Anna Zaccaria poses with mentor SSG Jeremy Dornbusch and Cpt. Ignacio Naudon celebrating after her Army Ranger school graduation at Fort Benning GA in 2023. Photo by SFC Jerimiah Richardson. Public domain.

When I first heard a coworker in the Army recruiting office casually mention his husband, it filled me with relief and hope. Decades ago, my LGBTQ+ friends had to live in constant fear, hiding who they were. Today, they serve openly— but that hard-won progress is now under threat.

Project 2025 (now the Presidential Transition Project), Agenda 47, and current Secretary of Defense nominee Pete Hegseth all promise to end Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion (DEI) in the military as soon as they can.

Most people who voted for Trump probably don’t know that our military’s DEI protects and serves members of all underrepresented communities—including the neurodiverse population, members of religious minorities, and persons who live in rural areas.

Let’s take a minute to think about what we may be losing.

I’m a veteran who returned as a civilian to write for the U.S. Army Recruiting Command (USAREC). When I was in uniform, my LGBTQ+ friends had to hide who they were to keep the jobs they loved, while straight malingerers claimed to be gay just so they’d be cashiered out, taking their expensive Army training with them to lucrative civilian careers. 

In fact, they’d make their claims as soon as they graduated from whatever training academy the Army had just sent them through, at taxpayers’ expense. Meanwhile my two closest LGBTQ+ friends — one an accomplished Russian translator, and the other an intercept analyst — kept working away in silence.

It wasn’t just LGBTQ+ service members who faced barriers. Women were also kept out of roles they were more than capable of performing. I had wanted to join the Navy or Air Force and become a fighter pilot, but it wasn’t allowed while I was serving — despite the fact that my scores on the aptitude tests, as the towering Sergeant First Class at the MES station explained to me were, “great for a man, frankly amazing for a woman.” 

My best friend’s dream was to become an Army paratrooper, but instead, she was assigned to be a truck mechanic. The daughter of a supermax prison guard, she was mentally sound, built like a tank, and tough as steel. She would have ruled in Airborne training, but instead spent her enlistment repairing transmissions. 

Both of us were determined, disciplined, and ready to serve in those roles — but the regs didn’t allow for exceptions.

That was then. Now, the military landscape has evolved

Twenty years later I accepted a job as a social media manager within the Army’s recruitment command. Gone were the old rules that held my friends and I back.

LGBTQ+ service persons were serving openly; their same-sex spouses lived with them in base housing, and received all the benefits of being a military dependent, including comprehensive free healthcare. 

I remember the first time I became aware of this — one of my new civilian coworkers was talking about his military spouse in the office one day. 

“What’s your wife’s name?” someone said. 

“Oh, no. He’s my husband,” he said. 

I felt a wave of wonder and relief wash over me, and mentally sent a hug to my old friends, who had to hide who they loved back in the day. 

An opportunity missed

In the U.S. Army’s article, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion: Pillars for Empowerment, Lt. Col. TC Kenneth French explains that DEI is actually about “creating equal opportunity, building inclusive climates and culture.” He counters right-wing propaganda by saying military DEI is not about critical race theory or “wokeness,” nor is it solely about demographic representation/quotas and it’s certainly not about lowering standards. 

I wanted to talk about this on our social media, but my supervisor wouldn’t allow it. She was concerned about blow-back from right wing readers. She wasn’t just nervous; she was terrified — convinced that one misstep could lead to a PR nightmare.

I felt strongly, however, that this was something people needed to know about the military; so many LGBTQ+ people didn’t realize they could live authentically and with dignity, alongside their partners, wherever they were assigned. I created memes and posts letting potential recruits and their parents know the Army was now a tolerant, affirming institution, but she shot them down every time, despite the Army’s severe recruiting deficit at the time of -25%.

Her fear of the right-wing was a red flag for what was coming in the future. Perhaps her failure to address the issue — and a similar reticence across the military’s social media enterprise— was in some small way responsible for where we are now. 

That is, facing a roll-back of military inclusion to the bad old days I remember so well. 

Here’s what I learned in uniform — Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion is essential to military strength. Research consistently shows that inclusive teams perform better under pressure, adapt more quickly to changing conditions, and maintain higher morale. This is not just a theory; it’s a proven cornerstone of military effectiveness.

The strain of never being able to acknowledge your identity or who you love impacts retention. Equal opportunity helps keep trained, skilled personnel on the job. Inclusivity also keeps a range of different voices, skillsets and experiences in each unit, which makes for broad based decision-making, flexible thinking, and cohesive units. 

Example A: After several decades, my Army friends and I are still tight — male and female, LGTBQ+ and straight — much closer than our college or work friends.

Here’s what I learned as a civilian recruiter — a military reflecting the nation’s diversity fosters broader public support. Plus, if we keep excluding Americans from service, then soon we’ll have to hire a mercenary army do to defend our national interests. Blackwater, anyone? That’s not been a good road thus far.

 Another option is to reinstate the draft — that’s an open secret around the4 recruiting offices these days.

Why?

According to USAREC, a startling 71% of them don’t qualify for military service because of obesity, drugs, physical and mental health problems, misconduct, or aptitude. 

Then there’s the culture aspect; 50% of America’s youth know little to nothing about military service, which is means they have no role model for service. The corollary is that 79% of recruits have a relative who served. 

Consider too that only 1% of the U.S. population currently serves; the declining veteran population means that the pool of likely recruits in the future will be even smaller than it is now. 

Why turn away qualified applicants who are able, and eager to serve their country? It would be a mistake in both the short and long term to follow that path. 

And yet, we may be poised to undo decades of progress 

Pete Hegseth, Trump’s pick for Secretary of Defense, has openly stated his intention to purge the Army of what he derisively calls “woke s**t,” starting with the removal of General C.Q. Brown, the current head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

After the roll back the rights of both LGBTQ+ and women in the military, subsequent attacks on DEI will likely target race and ethnicity…again. And the first Black chief of a U.S. military service may be its first casualty. And let’s look at the other groups that are included in DEI. 

The Defense Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility Strategic Plan states that its goal is to mitigate barriers for underserved populations of the workforce beyond just race, ethnicity, and gender, including those for:

parental or caregiver status; gender identity or sexual identity, to include… (LGBTQIA+); pregnancy; disability, including people with hidden disabilities and the neurodiverse population; members of religious minorities; persons who live in rural areas; and persons otherwise adversely affected by persistent poverty or inequality.

That covers a wide swath of the U.S. population; I bet a lot of potential recruits from rural areas don’t even realize that DEI is there to support them. 

As someone who has seen the military at its most inclusive and most restrictive, I know which path leads to a stronger, more resilient force. 

The choice before us is clear: Will we build a stronger, more inclusive military, or will we revert to outdated practices that weaken our national defense? The future of our armed forces — and our nation — depends on the answer.

---

Hello, Enthusiasts! I’m a writer who specializes in world religions & contemplative practice…but feel compelled to talk about history, culture, and politics. More of my stuff’s here.

If you’re feeling flush, please consider tossing a coin into the tip jar. Many thanks, my friend!

Please drop me a note on BlueSky, Threads, and Medium if you find yourself over there!

---

Links & resources:

Experts Raise Project 2025 Warnings About Veteran Care

RAND Research on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the U.S. Military

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion: Pillars for Empowerment

Resources to Promote Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Military

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion Are Necessities in U.S. Military

Republican Project 2025 Takes Dead Aim at Veterans' Health and Disability Benefits