Sept. 22 — The Pentagon will introduce the Joint Warfighter Evaluation, a 'battlefield-style' assessment to help select officers for promotion to general and flag ranks, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced. Targeted at eligible colonels and Navy captains, the test is intended to reduce bureaucracy and emphasize operational decision-making under pressure. Hegseth named Stuart Scheller to lead the implementation, but the department has not detailed how it will measure 'joint warfighting ability.'
Pentagon Rolls Out 'Joint Warfighter Evaluation' — 'Battlefield-Style' Promotion Tests for Colonels and Captains
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is shown September 11 at the Pentagon in Arlington, Va. Hegseth announced Tuesday that the Pentagon will change the process by which new generals are promoted to a "battlefield-style" assessment called the Joint Warfighter Evaluation. Photo by Annabelle Gordon/UPI.
Sept. 22 — The Pentagon announced a significant change Tuesday to how senior officers are considered for promotion to general and flag ranks. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the department will replace parts of the traditional selection-board process with a 'battlefield-style' assessment called the Joint Warfighter Evaluation.
In a social media post, Hegseth said the new evaluation, aimed at eligible colonels and Navy captains, will 'cut bureaucracy and demand true meritocracy' by screening officers on 'their ability to fight, adapt and win.' He emphasized the need for leaders who can operate effectively in chaotic, multi-domain battle spaces.
'This evaluation is an objective equalizer. The scenario only cares about operational decisions under pressure,' Hegseth said in the announcement video, adding that the approach brings 'that standard to the modern multi-domain fight.'
Hegseth did not explain how the Pentagon will quantify or measure 'joint warfighting ability.' The change will phase out elements of the current promotion system, which relied heavily on selection boards that reviewed written evaluations from senior officers across a candidate's career.
The defense secretary has previously criticized promotion practices he views as rewarding the wrong criteria and has at times blocked promotions to one-star rank in the Navy, Air Force and Army — actions that included cases involving some Black service members and women. Hegseth named Stuart Scheller, deputy chief of staff to the undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, to lead the effort to design and implement the new evaluation.
In his remarks, Hegseth compared the initiative to the pre-World War II Louisiana Maneuvers, a series of large-scale exercises and wargames that helped shape wartime leadership. The Pentagon has not provided a timeline for rollout or published the evaluation's specific criteria, leaving key questions about implementation and metrics unresolved.
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