Hegseth is accused of torpedoing trailblazing female SEAL Team Six officer in anti-DEI purge – just weeks before she was to take top post

Pete Hegseth is accused of pushing out a Navy officer who would have been the first woman to serve as a troop commander for SEAL Team Six as he attempts to purge the service of ‘wokeness.’

The unnamed servicemember – who has served for over two decades – was just two weeks away from being named to the post when the Pentagon revoked her orders, CNN reported. 

With the Navy having what’s known as an ‘up or out’ policy, there is no other job for the Naval captain to take and her military career will be effectively over.

A defense official has said that the job is currently being reconsidered for whether or not it remains necessary, while a Pentagon official said Hegseth wasn’t involved and the decision was made because the captain is not a SEAL.  

However, many within the Naval Special Warfare community have said that the firing was undeserved and due to the officer’s gender, saying that elite SEAL leaders had chosen her for the job. 

An anonymous, retired senior enlisted Navy SEAL who voted for Donald Trump slammed the move after having served with the female officer, calling it ‘f***in’ bulls***.’ 

The defense secretary said in September that there would be a male standard of fitness for all troops and has said of the military: ‘No more DEI, dudes in dresses, or gender delusion… prepare for war.’

However, the unnamed servicemember said this officer – who runs Ironman events in her spare time – does not fit such a bill: ‘She was the best man for the job. There is absolutely no DEI.’ 

‘They want to keep it the brotherhood and don’t like that she’s coming in and challenging the status quo,’ another source within Navy special operations said.

The retired SEAL said Hegseth’s Pentagon would ‘repeal the whole women in combat thing [if they could], but this is what they can do.’

A female Army soldier said that after Hegseth’s September speech, a male officer told her: ‘All you women are getting out now.’

She added that: ‘I want nothing to do with the military after this.’ 

‘Our standards for combat arms positions will be elite, uniform, and sex neutral because the weight of a rucksack or a human being doesn’t care if you’re a man or a woman,’ a Pentagon spokesperson has said of whether women were being pushed out. 

The Daily Mail has reached out to the Pentagon for further comment. 

Mikie Sherrill, the governor-elect of New Jersey and herself a Navy pilot, trashed Hegseth in a post to social media. 

‘If Pete Hegseth believed in prioritizing merit in the military, he would have stepped down a long time ago,’ she said.

‘I’m proud to stand in a long line of bada** women who have served or are currently serving their country, even when people like Pete Hegseth refuse to give us equal opportunity to lead.’

Speaking in September at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia, Hegseth said that America’s enemies would ‘FAFO’, which stands for ‘f*** around and find out,’ if they chose to challenge its military might.

‘From this moment forward the only mission of the newly restored Department of War is this: war fighting, preparing for war and preparing to win,’ Hegseth continued, saying, however, that they do not wish for war, touting their ‘strength through peace’ motto.

What started as a pep talk turned into a list of new directives.

The Secretary of War said that there would be a male standard of fitness for all troops, stating that he was ‘tired of seeing fat troops.’ Hegseth also said these new rules are ‘not about preventing women from serving.’

But he added that the physical standards needed to be gender neutral.

‘If women can make it, excellent, if they cannot — then so be it … it will also mean that weak men won’t qualify. This is combat.’ 

Hegseth said standard training guidelines will be restored ‘to what it should be — scary, tough disciplined,’ and one where drill sergeants ‘can put their hands on recruits.’ 

He criticized the political softening of the armed forces, including concerns over bullying and hazing, and wokeness. 

‘No more identity months, DEI offices, dudes in dresses, no more climate change worship, no more division, distraction or gender delusion, no more debris. I’ve said before and will say again, we are done with that s***,’ the Secretary of War said. 

Hegseth continued to lay out other directives. Notably, that each service will require high-level physical requirements, adding a combat arms field test. 

The secretary also issued new policies that would overhaul the Inspector General and the department’s equal employment opportunity office, overhauling a process that he says has been ‘weaponized.’

‘No more anonymous complaints, no more repeat complaints, smearing reputations, no more endless waiting or side-tracking careers,’ Hegseth said.

Hegseth harped that the media has been obsessed over the number of firings the Secretary of War has made since taking over, adding that even more leadership changes will be made.

‘My approach has been simple. When in doubt, assess the situation, follow your gut, and if it’s best for the military, do it,’ Hegseth said.

Hegseth asked his fellow officers to resign if they do not agree with his new military rules laid out during today’s speech.

As Hegseth neared the conclusion of his speech, he pointed to the Gulf War as an ideal blueprint for U.S. military engagement — a conflict where American forces, alongside coalition partners, swiftly repelled Iraq’s occupation of Kuwait in a matter of months. 

The speech happened after Hegseth’s Pentagon staff reported plans to slash the US military’s senior ranks, cutting jobs held by about 100 admirals and generals.

Hegseth called that move necessary to cut ‘redundant force structure’ and continue streamlining the Pentagon’s ‘red-tape jungle.’

Roughly 800 generals and admirals are stationed across the US and around the world, spanning numerous countries and time-zones.

The new directive comes after several significant changes Hegseth implemented, as he attempts to restructure the department.

This includes removing top-level officials, renaming the Defense Department as the Department of War and slashing the number of generals by about about a quarter.

The recent dismissals are part of a continuing sweep through the upper echelons of the country’s top defense leadership.

Hegseth has frequently slammed high-ranking military officials, expressing his views in podcasts last year. He has said that about one-third of the top brass are deliberately trying to turning the military into a political tool.

Sources tell Daily Mail that Hegseth reportedly fears for his safety after the Charlie Kirk assassination. Two insiders in the defense secretary’s department say their boss has been raging at staffers and obsessing over issues relating to his security.

Both sources spoke to Daily Mail on the condition of anonymity, saying they were worried they could lose their jobs at a time when Hegseth has been slashing the department roles, and firing Pentagon officials.