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. 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 records show this was not 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 transformational changes, and their longer-term effects on JAG Corps operations and the Army, remain largely unknown to the public.
The Judge Advocate General’s Corps serves as the military’s legal officers. JAGs advise commanders at every level 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 also provide counsel on administrative actions, ethics, fiscal law, claims, and contract law. Their guidance directly affects real operations, 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 DEIA initiatives in the JAG Corps but did not receive a response.
Federal Implementation of DEI
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