If the names of white men were stricken from a promotion list to one-star general because they were white men, it would constitute unlawful discrimination. The same is true if the names were of black or female officers. They shouldn’t get the promotion because of their race or sex, and they shouldn’t be denied the promotion either. That’s the part the eludes Hegseth. Or maybe it doesn’t elude Hegseth at all and he’s just racist and sexist, using the Trump-demanded war against woke to cleanse the military of those he deems unworthy of being in this white man’s army?

Two of the officers targeted by Mr. Hegseth are Black and two are women on a promotion list that consists of about three dozen officers, most of whom are white men, senior military officials said.

That the ranks of the general staff are overwhelmingly white and male does not, in itself, prove much of anything. Maybe that’s just how it worked out? Maybe they deserved their posts based on merit?  While it might be pleasant to believe that merit should be distributed equitably by race and sex, there are other forces at work that could legitimately skew the promotions and produce a senior military staff that consists of mostly white men. But that wasn’t the case here.

Mr. Hegseth had been pressing senior Army leaders, including Army Secretary Daniel P. Driscoll, for months to remove the officers’ names, military officials said. But Mr. Driscoll, citing the officers’ decades-long records of exemplary service, had repeatedly refused.

Army Secretary Driscoll is hardly some radical left lunatic, as our president likes to characterize people who aren’t in complete agreement with his ever changing whims. If Driscoll says the men and women on the promotions list have earned their place through decades of “exemplary” service, who is Hegseth to question him? The answer, of course, is that Hegseth, in his position as Secretary of Lethal War and Not Legal Niceties, is the protector of the military against black people and women, merit be damned.

Mr. Hegseth has said repeatedly that he is determined to change a culture corrupted by “foolish,” “reckless” and “woke” leaders from previous administrations. But his heavy scrutiny, especially of female and minority officers, is eroding confidence in a promotion system that is supposed to be apolitical and merit based, his critics have said.

And fatties too, as he told the men and women who accomplished things he never could or will. After all, who cares about their decades of experience, skill at strategy or weapons. So what if a 60-year-old isn’t in the same physical condition as a 25-year-old? So what if Hegseth can’t actually do a decent push up, but nobody will call him out on it?

Was the military “corrupted” by these woke generals? The answer lies largely in how one defines corrupted and woke. If a person on the promotion list has earned their place, should their race or sex matter? If a person on the Joint Chiefs has earned their place, should their race or sex matter? If they have earned their place, but there are also white men of the same caliber who have also earned the same place, what then?

Earlier this month, Mr. Hegseth broke the logjam by unilaterally striking the officers’ names from the list, though it is not clear he has the legal authority to do so. The list is currently being reviewed by the White House, which is expected to send it to the Senate for final approval. A few female and Black officers remain on the list, military officials said.

The problem appears to be one of optics, in particular, which is a primary concern for the White House.

The frustrations with Mr. Hegseth’s approach came to a boil last summer during a heated exchange between Ricky Buria, Mr. Hegseth’s chief of staff, and Mr. Driscoll about a separate promotion.

Mr. Buria chastised the Army secretary for selecting Maj. Gen. Antoinette R. Gant, a combat engineer who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, to take command of the Military District of Washington, said three current and former defense and administration officials familiar with the exchange. The command provides security and performs ceremonial duties in the nation’s capital, and its commander often appears alongside the president at Arlington National Cemetery.

Mr. Buria told Mr. Driscoll that President Trump would not want to stand next to a Black female officer at military events, the officials said.

Buria denies this ever happened, the eleven military and administration sources notwithstanding. There is a reason why this matters, beyond Hegseth’s (and Trump’s) compulsion to put on the anti-woke show.

Today, about 43 percent of the 1.3 million troops on active duty are people of color. But those leading the military are overwhelmingly white and male. Mr. Austin pressed promotion boards to look deeper into the ranks to ensure qualified women and minorities were considered for senior positions.

Black and female troops need to believe that if they work hard and do well, they too will be promoted and be rewarded for their merit. If you need an explanation for why this is critical, you probably shouldn’t be here. Hegseth shouldn’t be here.

“The Left captured the military quickly, and we must reclaim it at a faster pace,” he wrote. “We must wage a frontal assault. A swift counterattack, in broad daylight.”

Since taking office, Mr. Hegseth has fired or sidelined at least two-dozen generals and admirals, including General Brown and Admiral Franchetti. Currently, the chairman and vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, all five service chiefs and nine of the military’s 10 combatant commanders are white men, a return to the status quo that existed for decades.

No one rises to the position of general or admiral without having put in many years of exemplary service.

The officers on the Army’s list were selected by a board of generals that met in November 2024. Only about 5 percent of eligible colonels become generals, making it the most competitive promotion in the Army.

That a president, and his secretary of defense, seek particular qualities in their general staff is one thing. If what they seek is to remake the staff to be white and male, then they are no less discriminatory than the dreaded “woke.” Either it’s merit or not, and if it is, then the race and sex of the people on the promotion list is irrelevant. Even to someone as simpleminded as Hegseth, incapable of distinguishing between merit and woke.