Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is blocking the promotions of four Army officers selected for advancement to one‑star rank, an unusual step that appears aimed at officers who served under generals he disfavors, according to current and former defense officials.
So far this year Mr. Hegseth has removed at least 45 officers—chosen by peer‑review boards—from promotion lists. More than half of those officers are women or belong to racial minorities.
Mr. Hegseth’s actions seem to contravene the rules that govern a promotion system designed to be apolitical and merit‑based.
Several of the Army officers whose promotions were blocked had recently worked for Gen. Randy George, the former Army chief of staff whom Mr. Hegseth dismissed without explanation in April. The others are linked to Gen. Christopher T. Donahue, the top U.S. Army commander in Europe, who was forced to leave the Army this summer, officials said.
Typically, Army one‑star promotion lists contain about three dozen officers.
General George and General Donahue led the Army’s effort to adapt to a future battlefield dominated by drones and artificial intelligence, and the officers removed from the recent lists played key roles in shaping that modernization vision.
An officer whose promotion was blocked commanded one of the Army’s first “transformation in contact” brigades, officials said. These 3,000‑soldier units were encouraged to experiment with new drone and artificial‑intelligence technology while continuing war‑fighting training.
The officer devised a formation that integrates drones, electronic‑warfare systems and traditional scouts to detect and strike enemy forces deep behind the front lines. His concept has been adopted by every Army infantry brigade.
He was also targeted, in part, because of an essay he wrote during a graduate program on the implications of political polarization for the Army’s ability to recruit and retain talent, according to officials familiar with the list. It remains unclear why Mr. Hegseth or his staff found the essay objectionable.
“Military promotions are awarded to those who have earned them,” Sean Parnell, the Pentagon’s chief spokesman, said in a statement. “That has always been the case under Secretary Hegseth and will not change.”
In March, Mr. Hegseth removed four officers from an Army one‑star promotion list that originally included 34 names. Two of the officers singled out were Black men and two were women, prompting some senior military officials to wonder whether race or gender played a role in the selections.
Beyond blocking promotions for one‑star rank and firing General George, Mr. Hegseth has dismissed or forced out roughly a half‑dozen senior officers—a generation of the Army’s most combat‑hardened leaders—thinning the service’s top ranks for the coming years, officials said.
The personnel turmoil has also created a leadership vacuum at the Army’s highest level at a time when it must defend troops against the threat posed by inexpensive drones and missiles.
The Army has lacked a chief of staff—the service’s top officer—since Mr. Hegseth fired General George in April, and there are no indications he is close to filling the vacancy, said current and former officials. Mr. Hegseth’s nominee to become Army chief, Gen. Christopher LaNeve, currently lacks sufficient Senate support for confirmation, officials noted.
General LaNeve, who previously served as Mr. Hegseth’s senior military aide, has expressed frustration with the secretary’s decision to block qualified officers for promotion and worries that it will erode the Army’s pool of experienced leaders, defense officials said.
Army Secretary Daniel P. Driscoll, the service’s top civilian leader, could depart the administration as early as next week, officials said. Mr. Hegseth has indicated he would like to nominate Mr. Parnell to succeed Mr. Driscoll.
Mr. Parnell served as an officer in Afghanistan, but his tenure as the Pentagon’s chief spokesman has been marked by controversy. Recently he fired three journalists at Stars and Stripes, a federally funded but independent news outlet. The journalists sued the government on Thursday, alleging that the Pentagon terminated them in retaliation for reporting on deteriorating conditions aboard a Navy aircraft carrier deployed to the Middle East.
Mr. Parnell also spearheaded an effort to limit reporters’ access within the Pentagon. Those actions prompted The New York Times to sue the Pentagon, claiming the policy violates the First Amendment.
Mr. Parnell withdrew from a Senate race in November 2021 after a judge ruled that his estranged wife should have primary custody of their three children in a case where she accused him of spousal and child abuse. The order was later vacated, and Mr. Parnell now shares custody with his wife, a Pentagon official said.
Mr. Hegseth’s interest in nominating Mr. Parnell was first reported by The Hill.
White House officials worry that if Mr. Driscoll leaves, Mr. Parnell may be unable to secure enough Senate votes for confirmation, leaving both the Army’s top civilian and senior uniform positions vacant.
Many of the senior Army officers dismissed or forced out by Mr. Hegseth gathered Thursday at Fort Bragg, N.C., for General Donahue’s retirement ceremony. The atmosphere was somber—one former military official in attendance described it as a “state funeral.”
In what could be one of his final acts as Army secretary, Mr. Driscoll joined the fired officers, all combat‑tested leaders who had been groomed to lead the Army, to bid farewell to General Donahue.
