Published Sep 10, 2026, 7:00 AM EDT
NDAA language "would require timely written notification within seven days" so officers aren't blindsided, as put forward by Sen. Tammy Duckworth.
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Published Sep 10, 2026, 7:00 AM EDT
A new letter written to the heads of the Senate and House Armed Services Committees calls for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to provide more thorough explanations for promotions and demotions. Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), a former U.S. Army helicopter pilot who lost both her legs in the Iraq War, sent the letter Thursday morning to SASC Chair Roger Wicker, a Republican, and Ranking Member Jack Reed; as well as HASC Chair Mike Rogers, a Republican, and Ranking Member Adam Smith. It urges the committee leaders to retain Sections 501 and 502 of the Fiscal Year 2027 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) in the final bill, to "strengthen those sections by adding language that would require timely written notification within seven days, including a clear justification and basis for the decision, to the affected individual officer when said officer is subject of a promotion withhold, delay or removal." The letter notes how, since January 2025, Hegseth has removed at least 40 officers from one- and two-star promotion lists after a promotion board reviewed these officers’ records and independently determined that they demonstrated exemplary service that warranted promotion to the general or flag officer ranks.
