Task Force Validates Successful Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Elimination Throughout Department of Defense
A DOD task force has confirmed successful implementation of a department-wide directive from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to eliminate all DEI offices and initiatives.
By Matthew Olay
May 28, 2025
Having formed at the direction of Hegseth's Jan. 29, 2025, "Restoring America's Fighting Force" memorandum, the task force — led by senior civilian leaders from DOD's Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness — visited six military installations in April and early May.
During each visit, the RAFF task force validated the implementation of Hegseth's directive by meeting with personnel across a wide spectrum — from each installation's most senior military officials down to the most junior enlisted service members, according to Tim Dill, performing the duties of deputy undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness.
"The secretary's guidance to eradicate DEI in the department was faithfully implemented across all of our many installations," Dill said.
Where additional guidance was needed, the department was able to close the loop with each installation within days of visiting each site, he said.
Dill also stressed the task force's job was solely to validate the proper implementation of the RAFF memo's guidance.
"Each of the services had already implemented the policies and certified completion to the task force. This was our leadership's chance to go and validate the completion that had been reported to us," Dill said.
Between Dill and Jules W. Hurst III, who is performing the duties of undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, a senior DOD civilian participated in every installation visit.
Dill said it was important for senior leaders to represent Hegseth's guidance in person so they could clearly communicate the policy.
"The junior enlisted level is the most likely to lack a full understanding of the intent of the guidance because they're all the way down at the operator level with a maximum number of layers between them and Secretary Hegseth," Dill said, adding that's why he and Hurst took the opportunity to, "be the face of the policy and own the policy."
Along those lines, Dill said the task force spent a lot of time emphasizing to junior personnel that the RAFF guidance is not intended to deny their unique experiences and cultures.
Instead, he said the intent is to focus on warfighting, as the department's shared mission is what unifies the force.
"[DOD personnel] remain free to participate in any cultural observances in their free time, off installation and out of uniform — we're not prohibiting any of those activities," he said.
He further explained that the secretary's intent is to ensure units — during the workday, on installation — are focused on the tasks that prepare them to fight and win the nation's wars.
Dill also stressed that the task force worked to quell any misconceptions — particularly in the junior ranks — about the aforementioned intent of the RAFF memo.
As an example, Dill said his team clarified in multiple instances that the guidance in no way impacts DOD policies related to topics like equal opportunity or sexual harassment.
"None of the eradication of DEI in any way touches those other programs or states those programs are no longer important," he said.
On the contrary, he added that equal opportunity is essential to promoting a merit-based policy within DOD.
"The department wants to ensure that promotion and selection and evaluation are all based purely on merit," Dill said.
"And EO reinforces the value of the merit-based department that we are focused on building," he added.
Dill noted the RAFF task force's installation visits, which included an Army installation, a major naval station, two service academies and a large joint base, were just a small, final portion of the overall validation of the RAFF memo's implementation.
"Each of the services had already done a series of high-level leadership visits across their forces," Dill said, adding that dozens of those visits happened before the RAFF task force chose which installations to visit for DOD civilian leadership validation.
"This was the capstone ... the final validation," he said.
Reflecting on his overall experience co-leading the task force, Dill — himself an Army special forces veteran with 10 years of service — said he and other veterans on the task force connected with the service members they encountered during the visits.
"We had senior civilian leadership, as well as leaders that had walked in the shoes of the people we spoke to," Dill said.
"And that gave a lot of credibility to our message when we could talk personally about the value of the policies," he added.
With the validation of the RAFF memo's departmentwide implementation now complete, the task force will finish a final report on that validation for submission to Hegseth's office by June 1, 2025.
Following that, Dill said USD (P&R) would stand down the RAFF task force with the status of mission complete.
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