Decommissioning Women: Tackling the Divisive Feminist Agenda in the Military Since Pete Hegseth began his tenure as the Secretary of Defense, he has pushed to remove all “progressive ideology” from the military. This latest push towards conservatism in military administration is not a new one, but it threatens to discard efforts over the last century to ensure that the military can effectively function in the 21st century. On September 23, 2025, Pentagon Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson announced that Hegseth had terminated the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services (DACOWITS). In her statement announcing the decision, Wilson criticized DACOWITS for “advancing a divisive feminist agenda that hurts combat readiness,” even though the organization has been crucial to meeting the military’s recruitment and retention goals since it was founded over seventy-five years ago. In 1948, Congress passed the Women’s Armed Services Integration Act (WASIA), which permitted women to serve permanent roles in the military during peacetime. It was subject to intense debate and ultimately passed not because of social concerns about a woman’s right to serve, but because of exponentially increasing demands on the American military after the United States emerged as a global superpower after World War II. Still, there were significant limitations on their service. The law included a two percent ceiling on the number of women making up the services for fear that too many women would join; there was a limit on promotions, where women could not be promoted to permanent ranks of captain and above to prevent the possibility of women from becoming top-level policy makers in the military; it defined a servicewomen’s husband as a dependent only if he relied on her for more than half of his income, effectively denying them spousal benefits; and women could be discharged from service for unspecified reasons without the safeguards that protected male soldiers, including for becoming pregnant or having minor children. Facing growing pressure from the public, resistance to the draft, and a desperate need for manpower in Cold War conflicts, the DoD became concerned about its inability to meet recruiting goals for female volunteers during the Korean War. Because of WASIA’s limitations, women only made up about one percent of armed forces by June 1951. To answer these concerns, then Secretary of Defense George Marshall formed a committee of fifty civilian women - DACOWITS - to advise on recruitment of women in the military. By 1953, the goal of the committee shifted to promote military service as an acceptable career for women. DACOWITS has continuously evolved, allowing members of the committee to submit recommendations to the Secretary of Defense via an annual report since 1967. The committee has made improvements to a number of social issues that negatively impacted servicewomen. WASIA’s discrimination against married women ensured that they could not live in on-post housing with their husbands, who were denied access to the Commissary and the Post Exchange and even medical care. DACOWITS warned that these policies were lowering rates of recruitment and retention, so DoD announced in 1971 that it would extend the same benefits to the military husbands that it did for wives. They’ve also recommended changes related to family support and childcare, including parental leave policies that benefit both women and men in the military. In recent years, their reports have included recommendations on addressing sexual harassment and assault and providing support for women’s healthcare, including mental health, pregnancy, and infant care. Improving social issues like these helps meet recruiting and retention goals because many people choose to join the military and stay in it because of benefits it offers, like housing, healthcare, and family support. When Hegseth took over as the Secretary of Defense, he ordered every advisory committee, including DACOWITS, to submit a report with a summary of how “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.” On September 8th, Hegseth announced a phased restoration of the committee after the internal review was completed. It’s unclear why Hegseth’s Department reversed its decision regarding DACOWITS and representatives from the Pentagon have not provided any clarification surrounding its decision to terminate the committee despite the overwhelming success of its recommendations. As of 2025, approximately 94% of their recommendations to DoD have been either fully or partially implemented. The dissolution of DACOWITS sets a dangerous precedent that threatens the future of the military. Despite the critical work the committee has accomplished, it isn’t finished with its work. At a time when technology is continuously advancing and international tensions remain high, the military must continue to adapt and women, who make up 17.7% of the active-duty force and 21.9% of the reserve force, are essential to that mission. By terminating their advocate, the DoD threatens to hurt recruitment and retention numbers. Alienating a fifth of the standing military will hurt combat readiness more than “a divisive feminist agenda”.
