Hegseth announced, “Today, I'm announcing the Joint Warfighter Evaluation. Starting this year, eligible O-6s—that's colonels and Navy captains—screening for one star will undergo this assessment to stratify their ability to fight, adapt, and win. While the backbone of our military is our NCOs and our petty officers, victory depends on the commanders who lead them. America needs warfighters who can master a chaotic battle space. This principle is proven.”
He later added, “This evaluation is an objective equalizer. The scenario only cares about operational decisions under pressure.” He said the evaluation will ensure “our flag is carried by our most lethal and most adaptable leaders.”
While the evaluations will differ based on branch, due to the differing fields of combat each branch focuses on, all evaluations focus on a central question of whether an officer can analyze the fight, communicate a plan, adapt against an enemy, and make necessary decisions to win.
The Joint Warfighting Evaluation is not replacing any existing promotion metric, but rather being added alongside existing promotion metrics. It will start being considered as part of promotions in the 2027 fiscal year cycle.
Six different versions have been developed by the Pentagon, per Fox News, one for each military branch and another for the Joint Staff. The versions range from online simulations to in-person wargames.
Stu Scheller, a senior Pentagon advisor, told the outlet, “People figure out they don't have to be the best at their job, they have to be the best at making sure their boss thinks they're the best. And those are actually two very different things.”
"Right now in our current system, we have people that are very good at navigating their careers," Scheller said. "We have very good, I want to be clear, very good military personnel and leaders across the military, but there isn't a stand-alone function that can truly assess the best military commanders on the battlefield."
