09/25/2025
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth abolished the 74-year-old Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services (DACOWITS) this week over what he called a "divisive feminist agenda." The committee, which had survived through 13 presidential administrations and over seven decades of bipartisan military policy, had adapted its focus through conflicts from Korea to Afghanistan. It was summarily disbanded with Hegseth making the baseless assertion that it "hurts combat readiness" -- a claim unsupported by any evidence and refuted by decades of measurable military improvements.
DACOWITS's actual record tells a profoundly different story: approximately 94% of its over 1,100 recommendations were fully or partially adopted by the Department of Defense, including pivotal changes like opening Military Service Academies to women in 1976, expanding combat roles, and improving family support policies that benefited all service members. It has also persistently advocated for the needs of female service members such as for body armor that fits women. The committee that Hegseth accused of pushing a "divisive feminist agenda" was in fact instrumental in building the modern military where women now comprise 17% of active duty forces.
Founded in 1951 by Secretary of Defense George C. Marshall during the Korean War, DACOWITS was established with a clear national security purpose: advising on the recruitment and integration of women to strengthen America's armed forces. As General (Ret.) Janet Wolfenbarger, the Air Force's first female four-star general and DACOWITS's longest-serving chair, noted in the committee's 70-year retrospective: "I was the beneficiary throughout my career of the changes driven by DACOWITS, starting with my appointment into the first class of women to attend the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1976." For seven decades, DACOWITS fulfilled this vision through rigorous research, conducting approximately 750 installation visits and gathering data directly from service members to inform evidence-based recommendations that strengthened military readiness.
This historic institution's termination comes from arguably the least qualified Defense Secretary in modern history -- a former Fox News TV host with no senior military command experience, no experience managing large organizations, and no previous government service at any level. Hegseth's tenure has been marked by a systematic purge of women from military leadership positions: Vice Admiral Yvette Davids, the first woman to lead the U.S. Naval Academy; Admiral Linda Fagan, former Coast Guard Commandant; and Admiral Shoshana Chatfield, the only woman on NATO's military committee.
Hegseth previously dismantled the Pentagon's Women, Peace, and Security program -- ironically, a Trump first-term accomplishment -- calling it a priority for "feminists," told right-wing podcaster Ben Shapiro that women are "life-givers, not life-takers" and "shouldn't be in my infantry battalion," and has amplified videos featuring a pastor saying women shouldn't be allowed to vote, with a Pentagon spokesperson confirming Hegseth "very much appreciates many of Mr. Wilson's writings and teachings."
The demolition of DACOWITS represents more than just another advisory committee dissolution -- it signals an ideological war against the integration of half of America's talent pool for national defense. As Tom Nichols of The Atlantic observed after Hegseth's systematic removal of female military leaders: "At this point, women have been cleared out of all of the military's top jobs... Discerning this pattern does not exactly require Columbo-level sleuthing."
The committee that helped build a military where women like Senator Tammy Duckworth lost their legs in combat, where female engagement teams gathered critical intelligence in Iraq and Afghanistan, and that spent seven decades strengthening America's armed forces through evidence-based recommendations has been dismissed as "divisive" by a Defense Secretary whose primary qualification appears to be his willingness to dismantle seven decades of progress. This is not military strategy -- it's ideological extremism masquerading as readiness.
Like thousands of other government webpages focused on women in the military, the DACOWITS website - including the detailed report released for its 70th anniversary -- has already been deleted." You can, however, view it on the Internet Archive at https://tinyurl.com/2h29t8pe
For a children's book that gives groundbreaking women in the military, past and present, the respect they deserve, we highly recommend "Heroism Begins With Her: Inspiring Stories of Bold, Brave, and Gutsy Women in the U.S. Military" for ages 9 and up at https://www.amightygirl.com/heroism-begins-with-her
For several fascinating books for teen and adult readers about heroic women who served in the U.S. military, we recommend "Women Heroes of World War II"(https://www.amightygirl.com/women-heroes-of-world-war-ii), "Women Heroes of the US Army" (https://www.amightygirl.com/women-heroes-us-army), and "Courageous Women of the Vietnam War" (https://www.amightygirl.com/courageous-women-vietnam)
For more books for young readers that honor the service of women in the military, visit our blog post "The Price of Peace: A Mighty Girl Recognizes Veterans" at https://www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=12356
For books for children and teens about the importance of standing up for truth, decency, and justice, even in dark times, visit our blog post, "Dissent Is Patriotic: 50 Books About Women Who Fought for Change," at https://www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=14364
To see more stories from A Mighty Girl, you can sign-up for A Mighty Girl's free email newsletter at https://www.amightygirl.com/forms/newsletter
To read more about Hegseth's abolishing DACOWITS, visit https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/24/politics/hegseth-shuts-down-women-advisory-military
