Exclusive: Army JAG Corps Fully Embraced DEI Through Identity Metrics, Bias and Privilege Training, and Recruiting

During his term in office President Biden’s administration enacted substantial policy changes fundamentally reshaping government institutions and processes, enmeshing the concepts and practices of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) across the federal government, including major changes in the Armed Forces. Beginning and 2021 and continuing into 2025 the Judge Advocate General Corps (JAGC) under the direction of three different Judge Advocate Generals (TJAG) LTG Charles N. Pede, LTG Stuart W. Risch, LTG Joseph B. Berger III, and senior leadership, developed and deeply embedded a Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) initiative. This initiative followed Executive Orders 13985 (JAN 2021) and 14035 (JUN 2021), issued by then-President Biden, and aligned with higher-level DEI initiatives at the Army and Department of Defense (DoD). 

Right Now Oregon obtained a trove of documents through a FOIA request filed by retired Army JAG Mason Weiss. The records show the initiative went far beyond a minor policy adjustment. It involved the highest levels of the JAG Corps and became a driving force in recruitment, hiring, training, advancement, and organizational culture. The details of these changes and their longer-term effects on JAG Corps operations and the Army remain largely unknown to the public. As a seasoned JAG Mason became concerned by the changes that came with this initiative, concerns that led him to take action to preserve important information.

Before my retirement, I witnessed a disturbing and rapid cultural shift within the JAG Corps. We were transitioning from a ‘Sane World’ grounded in objective legal standards and meritocracy to a paradigm where personnel were constantly categorized by identity and lectured on their inherent biases. The immediate catalyst for my FOIA request was learning that historical DEI training materials and data were quietly disappearing from JAGNet. I knew we had to act as ‘Speculators’ (scouts) to preserve the documentary evidence before it could be destroyed, ensuring transparency and accountability for how these ideological programs were being engineered across the force.

The Judge Advocate General’s Corps serves as the military’s legal officers. JAGs advise commanders on the law of armed conflict, rules of engagement, targeting decisions, detainee operations, and the treatment of civilians and prisoners of war. They oversee military justice under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, handling courts-martial to maintain good order and discipline. They provide counsel on administrative actions, ethics, fiscal law, claims, and contract law. Their guidance directly affects real operations including determining which targets can be struck, how detainees are handled, and how to avoid legal or ethical mistakes that could jeopardize missions or put troops at risk.

Right Now Oregon contacted the Army Communications and Outreach Office with questions about the implementation and impacts of the DEIA initiative in the JAG Corps but received no response.

Access the full in-depth report here: https://rightnoworegon.com/2026/08/04/in-depth-report-foia-documents-reveal-deis-deep-reach-into-army-jag-corps-from-privilege-training-to-personnel-decisions/

Federal Implementation of DEI

The DEIA initiative in the Army JAGC unfolded rapidly in response to broader federal directives. Executive Order 13985 directed a comprehensive, government-wide approach to advancing racial equity and support for underserved communities by addressing systemic barriers. It defined equity as consistent, fair, and impartial treatment, particularly for people of color, religious minorities, LGBTQ+ individuals, people with disabilities, rural residents, and those affected by poverty.

Executive Order 14035 made diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility a core management priority across federal agencies, embedding equity considerations into how agencies attract, assess, and select candidates.

Some efforts predated the Biden administration. In June 2020, then-Secretary of Defense Mark Esper ordered a redesign of military education to teach service members about “implicit bias” and established bureaucratic agencies dedicated to DEI.

Initiative Timeline Reconstructed

The documents reconstruct a clear sequence. In May 2020, then-TJAG stood up the JAGC Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Council in response to Defense Organizational Climate Survey data and listening sessions following George Floyd’s death. The council operated with co-chairs, an executive officer, roughly 16 members, and subordinate Field Boards at major commands. Its four lines of effort were recruiting and accessions, assignments, training and education, and culture to inclusion.

On December 11, 2020, an action memorandum sought approval for the LTC Phyllis Propp-Fowle Academic Chair on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at The Judge Advocate General’s Legal Center and School. The chair later expanded to honor MG (Ret.) Kenneth D. Gray, the Corps’ first Black general officer, and was designed to embed DEIA in doctrine, publications, and professional military education. MG Gray delivered the inaugural lecture in spring 2022.

By March 2021, TJAG formally established the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (ODEI, later ODEIA) inside the Office of The Judge Advocate General. A June 2021 public announcement named a civilian Director, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel and former State Department DEIA Program Specialist, and a CW3 Program Coordinator. The office began with two personnel. Its mission was “to provide leadership and direction in the formulation, execution, and management of policies and practices that foster a DEI environment consistent with the core values of the JALS.” Its vision was “to enable the transformation of policies, practices, programs, and systems that advance diversity, equity, and inclusion… across the breadth (functions) and depth (hierarchy) of the JALS.”

A full-scale training initiative launched with a September 2022 start date, reaching JAG officers, warrant officers, civilians, and paralegals. Topics included “Implicit Bias,” “Building Inclusive Teams,” “Recognizing & Mitigating Bias in Military Justice,” “Equity & Privilege,” “Generations in the Workplace,” and a full module defining LGBTQIA+ terminology from “lesbian” and “transgender” to “queer,” “intersex,” “asexual,” and the “plus,” complete with pronoun guidance.

The JAGC DEIA Council Standard Operating Procedures, published February 2024, codified membership, quorum rules, Field Board responsibilities, and knowledge management. By this point the program had shifted from formation to sustainment.

Structure, Metrics, and Affinity Groups

Access the full in-depth report here: https://rightnoworegon.com/2026/08/04/in-depth-report-foia-documents-reveal-deis-deep-reach-into-army-jag-corps-from-privilege-training-to-personnel-decisions/

ODEIA served as the operational core with a compact, headquarters-centric structure. Training slides describe it as a two-person team (Director and Program Manager/Chief Operations Officer), though some presentations list four roles including a vacant Deputy Director. Oversight rested with the JAG Corps Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Accessibility Council and its Field Boards.

A color-coded performance dashboard tracked increases in “demographic diverse talent” representation in promotions, accessions, senior and nominative positions, faculty assignments, and guest-speaker selections, alongside reductions in barriers and DEIA-related complaints. This explicit focus on demographic representation shows it was a factor influencing staffing decisions.

Affinity mentorship groups formed a central retention and development tool: Hispanic Mentorship Group, Asian-Pacific American Network, Buffalo JAGs (African American-focused), PRIDE (LGBTQ+ focused), and Athena’s Council (women-focused). They were described as open to allies and appear in performance-measurement slides under “Lasting Sustainment” and “Integration” goals. ODEIA coordinated with these groups for virtual panels and incorporated them into its FY24 strategic training plan.

A February 2022 email exchange between senior leaders treated their existence as evidence of mentorship gaps and cultural challenges. No released documents indicate termination of these structures as of the January 2025 FOIA response; 65 pages were withheld under Exemption 5 and referred to OSD.

In a TJAG and DJAG Questions and Answer Session, ODEI asked whether the private affinity groups should be incorporated as formal/official JAGC Diversity Mentorship Programs. The answer noted that the Army People Strategy: DEI Annex prioritizes recruiting, retention, and mentoring, and that ODEI was incorporating these initiatives into the JAGC DEI&A Strategic Plan while coordinating with the existing groups in compliance with the Joint Ethics Regulation.

DEI Training

Between September 28, 2022, and September 29, 2023, ODEIA delivered more than 50 documented sessions reaching thousands across every major command, including overseas. Core modules included Implicit Bias, Building Inclusive Teams, Recognizing & Mitigating Bias in Military Justice, Equity & Privilege, Generations in the Workplace, DEI in Mentorship, and DEIA Overview & Mitigating Microaggressions. Twelve hours of DEIA training were planned for calendar year 2023. Materials consistently opened with the ODEIA mission and vision and references to DoD and Army strategic plans. No released documents show alteration of this curriculum as of the January 2025 response.

One detailed module, “Let’s Talk LGBTQIA+,” defined terms including Lesbian, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, and Asexual. It covered pronouns as “one of the most basic ways to show your respect for their gender identity,” instructed that pronouns cannot be assumed by appearance, and presented purposeful misgendering as offensive and harmful. The session tied the material to the 2021 lifting of the transgender ban.

A June 8, 2023, “Equity & Privilege” session featured slides titled “Advantage v Privilege” and “Power & Privilege,” referencing Sylvia Duckworth’s “Wheel of Power/Privilege.” Categories included race, gender, sexuality, socioeconomic status, ability, religion, age, language, and beauty. The center represented maximum societal power (white, male, heterosexual, cisgender, able-bodied, wealthy, Christian, documented); the outer rim indicated increasing marginalization. Sources included Green River College Library DEI materials, itspronouncedmetrosexual.com, Everyday Feminism, and University of Michigan inclusive-teaching resources, frameworks drawn from critical academic traditions rather than peer-reviewed military or legal scholarship. This stands in contrast to the Army’s seven core values of Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Honor, Integrity, and Personal Courage, which center individual moral accountability and merit-based conduct without regard to group identity.

Training on microaggressions framed them as subtle, often unintentional verbal, behavioral, or environmental slights that communicate derogatory messages to marginalized groups. Examples included “Where are you really from?”, “You speak good English,” and “You don’t act/sound Black.” The conceptual foundation traces to Derald Wing Sue’s framework and related Critical Race Theory concepts.

Implicit-bias sessions formed a core component, delivered in warrant officer courses, officer basic and graduate courses, field OSJAs, senior civilians, paralegals, and selection boards. Presentations defined implicit bias as the brain’s automatic association of stereotypes operating without conscious awareness. A recurring citation was a 2018 Army study on officer promotion boards in which removing photographs altered selection outcomes. One slide stated: “Most Americans, regardless of race, demonstrate a pro-White and anti-Black bias, [e]ven 6-year-olds.” These sessions were also delivered as pre-board briefs for accession, selection, and promotion boards.

Recruitment and Accessions

Internal materials cited approximately 22 percent attrition among JA selectees between selection and accession. An Accessions Sponsorship Program directed that “selectees should be matched based on demographic information (race/ethnicity, sex/gender, and/or sexual orientation) and location of the sponsor and selectee if possible.” Selectees could state a preference for a demographically matched sponsor. Field Screening Officers were instructed to “competently answer questions about workplace diversity.” Outreach emphasized participation with demographically focused organizations such as HBCUs and the Hispanic National Bar Association. Performance metrics tracked the percentage of demographic diverse talent in the candidate pool, accessions, senior positions, and related categories.

In 2023, ODEIA instituted standardized “Bias Briefs”, formal pre-deliberation training on implicit bias delivered immediately before high-stakes personnel boards, including Intern Early Decision Accessions, 2L Summer Intern Selection, USAR Intern Accession, FLEP Selection, Warrant Officer Accession, Regular Army Accession, the General Officer Steering Committee, and the Army Clemency and Parole Board. All members of these boards received an implicit-bias brief from ODEIA immediately before convening.

Shutdown and Field Boards

On January 27, 2025, an email announced the termination of the DEI&A Executive Steering Committee and DEIA Council, citing the Ending Radical And Wasteful Government DEI Programs And Preferencing Executive Order and the SECARMY Memo on Immediate Actions to Implement Guidance on DEIA Executive Orders. The DEIA Council and DEIA Executive Steering Committee were dissolved.

DEI Field Boards were subordinate advisory boards that assisted the JAG Corps’ Council on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in taking a comprehensive look at the regiment. Their diverse voices were described as imperative to identifying problems and opportunities related to DE&I so TJAG could implement policy or organizational changes to maximize diversity, equity, and inclusion where necessary.

Access the full in-depth report here: https://rightnoworegon.com/2026/08/04/in-depth-report-foia-documents-reveal-deis-deep-reach-into-army-jag-corps-from-privilege-training-to-personnel-decisions/

JAG Corps Personnel Data

Right Now Oregon requested data on applications, accessions, retirements/exits, and demographics. The figures, provided by U.S. Army Spokesperson Christopher Surridge, show relative workforce stability in overall numbers alongside notable trends.

Applications declined steadily from 700 in 2015 to 320 in 2025, a more than 50 percent drop. The largest single-year declines were 2015–2016 (90) and 2022–2023 (80).

Accessions rose sharply from 66 in 2015 to 135 in 2016 and then stabilized, averaging approximately 131 per year from 2016 through 2025, with a peak of 156 in 2020.

Retirements fluctuated, peaking at 89 in 2015 and 73 in 2020 before dropping to a low of 31 in 2023 and rebounding to 54 in 2025. Discharges averaged approximately 96 per year, peaking at 113 in 2023.

Demographic data show average age remaining in the mid-to-late 30s. Male representation declined from 73.2 percent in 2015 to 69.5 percent in 2025. White officers held steady around 80–81.6 percent through 2023 before dropping to 70.6 percent in 2024 and 65.2 percent in 2025. Black, Asian, and Hispanic proportions remained relatively stable. The “Other Race” category rose sharply from around 4 percent to 13.5 percent in 2024 and 19.7 percent in 2025. Total JAG officer inventory remained relatively stable, ranging from 1,893 to 2,033.

Demographic breakdown of Army JAG officers from 2015-2025

Metric	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025
Average Age	37.782	37.686	37.674	37.737	37.576	37.549	37.57	37.703	38.422	38.114	38.048
Male	73.20%	72.10%	72.10%	72.00%	71.30%	70.40%	70.70%	70.30%	69.90%	70.10%	69.50%
White	81.50%	80.90%	81.50%	81.60%	81.00%	80.50%	80.20%	80.00%	79.10%	70.60%	65.20%
Black	6.20%	6.50%	6.10%	6.20%	7.00%	7.00%	7.50%	7.50%	7.70%	6.80%	6.30%
Asian	5.50%	5.60%	5.60%	5.70%	5.50%	5.90%	5.90%	5.90%	6.20%	5.60%	5.20%
Hispanic	2.90%	2.80%	2.60%	2.40%	2.40%	2.30%	2.20%	2.20%	2.20%	3.50%	3.50%
Other Race	3.90%	4.20%	4.20%	4.10%	4.00%	4.30%	4.10%	4.50%	4.80%	13.50%	19.70%
Total JAGs	2025	1970	1984	1976	2012	2033	2010	2015	1893	1971	1993

Linear regression analysis reveals statistically significant trends: a downward trend in the proportion of White officers accelerating after 2023, matched by a sharp increase in “Other Race.” These patterns coincide with the establishment and expansion of ODEIA and associated training and performance metrics, though the data alone cannot establish direct causation.

Shortcomings of Implicit Bias Theory

A landmark October 2024 report by the National Association of Scholars (NAS), Shifting Sands IV: Zombie Psychology, Implicit Bias Theory, and the Implicit Association Test, concludes that the theory rests on unsteady scientific foundations. The Implicit Association Test shows poor test-retest reliability, captures relative rather than absolute attitudes, and yields only weak correlations (r ≈ 0.15–0.25) with real-world discriminatory behavior, too modest for practical policy use. Meta-analyses and technical analyses find reported associations clustering around chance levels. Training programs rarely demonstrate lasting reductions in bias; some evidence suggests they can increase defensiveness or reinforce stereotypes. The JAGC’s dozens of mandatory sessions, integrated into hiring, development, and high-stakes board decisions, illustrate the real-world application of a framework whose predictive power has been heavily contested in scientific discourse.

Right Now Oregon contacted David Randall, NAS Director of Research, about the use of Implicit Bias, DEI, and other concepts by the JAG Corps, what he sees the implications to be and what recommendations NAS would have, he provided a written statement noting:

The Judge Advocate General Corps’ (JAGC) “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (DEI) initiative, instituted under the Biden administration, has inflicted substantial damage on JAGC’s ability to function properly. This report, and the document it cites, reveal that JAGC’s DEI initiative had an extraordinarily large scope and scale. These materials raise serious questions about how much of the JAGC’s DEI policies persist, even after the administrative structure formally charged with enacting DEI has been removed.

All these [training materials] should be removed from JAGC materials and procedures at once. The same recommendation applies to the Service Academies and War Colleges. The Department of War (DoW) should immediately audit the JAGC, the Service Academies, and the War Colleges for all materials, syllabi, and procedures that contain DEI procedures, including implicit bias theory, the Harvard Implicit Association Test, intersectionality frameworks, or identity-based epistemologies. DoW should follow up on this audit by requiring and enforcing the removal of all such materials. DoW should not allow the continued use of discriminatory and/or irreproducible materials.

DoW can and should distinguish between equality of opportunity, based upon individual merit, and equality of result, based on “equity” and identity-group membership. Indeed, all it needs to do is to implement fully Executive Order #14185 (Restoring America’s Fighting Force, January 27, 2025, https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/restoring-americas-fighting-force/), which already prohibits DEI. The removal of DEI materials from the JAGC, the Service Academies, and the War Colleges should follow naturally from that Executive Order. The DoW also should create a special task force to review poorly-founded social science concepts and ensure that no unfounded concepts such as Implicit Bias theory inform any DoW materials or regulations.

Formal abolition of DEI offices is a necessary but incomplete step. This report, and the documents the authors acquired via FOIA request, demonstrate that frameworks, vocabularies, and metrics can outlive the structures that introduced them. The DoW should follow up on Executive Order #14185 by a comprehensive campaign to remove all DEI materials, and all materials based on irreproducible social science, from JAGC, and from the Service Academies and War Colleges.

The Roots of DEI

Equity, drawn from social equity theory, refers to readjusting shares so that people are made equal along identified dimensions. As Professor Bernadette McSherry notes, it reflects subjective ideas of “fairness” and “justness” based on moral values. In practice, it means government using state power to adjust shares along a chosen dimension, such as racial groups, because of a claim of systemic bias.

A key concept often used in conjunction with DEI is intersectionality, coined by critical legal scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw. Diversity in the DEI framework determines how power and representation should be proportionally distributed based on an intersectional conceptualization of identity-based inequity. Critical Theory, rooted in the Western European Marxist tradition of the Frankfurt School, aims at critique and transformation of society by integrating normative perspectives with analysis of conflicts and power dynamics, with the express purpose of deconstructing the status quo to liberate groups designated as oppressed based on identity affiliation.

Conclusion

The JAGC’s DEI initiative represented a systematic effort to integrate specific identity-based frameworks into the Corps’ legal, personnel, and educational systems, driven by federal executive direction and operationalized through dedicated offices, training, metrics, and board interventions. Documents show deep embedding across recruitment, mentorship, military justice bias mitigation, and professional development.

Implicit Bias and related concepts have faced rigorous scholarly challenge for methodological weaknesses and limited real-world predictive power, raising serious questions about their suitability for high-stakes military legal decision-making where impartiality and evidence-based judgment are paramount.

The January 2025 executive actions marked a decisive shift away from these programs toward merit-based and non-discriminatory approaches. The scale and scope of the efforts, coupled with the data on JAG Corps demographics, suggest deeper questions about the impacts of this initiative, some of which cannot be clearly seen from this information.

The episode illustrates how rapidly federal policy changes can reshape institutional practices. While a change in leadership following an election can bring swift policy change, the effects of the initiative may carry on for years or decades. For an organization entrusted with upholding the rule of law in military operations, the long-term implications center on whether such initiatives enhanced or complicated the core mission of providing objective, mission-focused legal advice under fire. It is difficult to understate the necessity for competence and capability in military operations. Only time will tell what the results will be of an initiative that injected an ideological framework into the equation for the Army’s legal corps.

Access the full in-depth report here: https://rightnoworegon.com/2026/08/04/in-depth-report-foia-documents-reveal-deis-deep-reach-into-army-jag-corps-from-privilege-training-to-personnel-decisions/

This article was written by Shawnn Hartley, M.A.
Shawnn’s journalism and research with Right Now Oregon focuses on civic affairs, public policy, and community impact stories. With a background in social services, program management and evaluation, data analysis, and state government, he focuses on clear, evidence-based reporting addressing complex issues.

Note: Shawnn previously served as the President of the Oregon Association of Scholars, an affiliate of the National Association of Scholars, and is an active member of NAS.