The U.S. military service academies will soon have to certify that they make no consideration of race, ethnicity, or sex in their admissions processes and instead decide appointments by merit alone.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, on May 9, issued a memorandum ordering the secretaries of the military departments to certify within 30 days that they will use a merit-based admission process for the 2026 admissions cycle and all subsequent cycles. This new memo is part of a broader effort Hegseth has led to implement merit-based and color-blind policies across the armed forces.
