DOD advisory committees must prove ‘warrior ethos’ in new directive
By Hope Hodge Seck
Feb 21, 2025, 10:44 AM
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The Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services is one of many Pentagon advisory committees being asked to justify their existence. (Chief Master Sgt. Jaimee Freeman/Air Force)
As new Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth begins an ambitious effort to slash 8% from the military’s budget, the committees that advise senior leaders on matters ranging from science to handling of sexual misconduct are once again being asked to justify their existence.
In an email sent Feb. 13 by Lekecia Gamble, a manpower and reserve affairs portfolio manager at the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, all active Defense Department advisory committees were given until Feb. 21 to send back a comprehensive response.
Among the details required were:
Summary of the committee’s purpose, duties and objectives
List of current members with term of service dates
Projected operating costs for fiscal 2025 and total costs for the preceding eight fiscal years
A one-page summary on how “advice of the committee benefited the Department, Federal Government, United States, warrior ethos, etc. and how it aligns to the President’s and Secretary of Defense’s objectives”
A proposed recommendation for the committee’s retention by the Defense Department.
https://www.militarytimes.com/news/pentagon-congress/2025/02/21/dod-advisory-committees-must-prove-warrior-ethos-in-new-directive/
