美国全国有色人种协进会（NAACP）、全国妇女法律中心（National Women’s Law Center）以及数十个其他组织，都在谴责国防部长皮特·赫格塞斯（Pete Hegseth）个人干预军队中黑人和女性的晋升进程。
The NAACP, the National Women’s Law Center and dozens of other organizations are calling out Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s personal intervention to block the promotions of Black people and women in the military.
这些组织在本月早些时候致赫格塞斯的信中指出，有关赫格塞斯“前所未有干预行为”的报道与女性被提名担任高级职务的比例下降之间存在关联——目前这一比例已降至二十年来的最低水平；许多符合条件的黑人候选人也因此失去了晋升机会。赫格塞斯多年来一直反对“多元化招聘政策”，并对女性在战斗中的表现发表过贬低性言论。尽管国会民主党人士多次要求他解释自己在晋升决策中的角色（而他的前任们基本上都没有干预这一过程），但他始终拒绝配合调查。
In a letter sent to Hegseth earlier this month and released to MS NOW on Monday, the 33 groups noted that reporting on Hegseth’s “unprecedented interference corresponds with a drop in the percentage of women nominated for high-ranking promotions, which is now at its lowest level in over two decades, and many qualified Black candidates have seen their opportunities blocked.” Hegseth, who for years has derided “diversity hires” and made disparaging comments about women in combat, has ignored demands from congressional Democrats that he explain his involvement in the promotions process, which his predecessors have largely left alone.
这些组织在信中写道：“我们敦促您遵守国会的监督要求。美国公众有权知道：国防部长在做出决策时，是否真正遵循了相关法律，是否基于军人的能力和经验；还是这些决策受到了种族和性别刻板印象的影响。”
“We call on you to comply with congressional requests for oversight,” the organizations wrote in their letter. “The American public deserves to know whether their Secretary of Defense is making decisions in compliance with our laws and based on the skills and experiences of our service members or if his decisions are driven by racial and gender stereotypes.” Pentagon spokeswoman Kingsley Wilson disputed that assertion in a statement to MS NOW.
五角大楼发言人金斯利·威尔逊（Kingsley Wilson）在给MS NOW的声明中反驳了这一指控。她表示：“MSNOW（该媒体因收视率低迷和信誉问题最近更名为MSNBC）如今与其他虚假新闻媒体一样，正在散布‘赫格塞斯在晋升决策中考虑种族和性别因素’的谎言。我们早已多次澄清这一点。”
“We call on you to comply with congressional requests for oversight,” the organizations wrote in their letter. “The American public deserves to know whether their Secretary of Defense is making decisions in compliance with our laws and based on the skills and experiences of our service members or if his decisions are driven by racial and gender stereotypes.” Pentagon spokeswoman Kingsley Wilson disputed that assertion in a statement to MS NOW.
此外，9月16日致赫格塞斯的联名信中还包括美国公民自由联盟（ACLU）以及由阿尔·夏普顿（Al Sharpton）牧师领导的全国行动网络（National Action Network）——夏普顿同时也是MS NOW的撰稿人之一。
“MSNOW (who recently changed their name from MSNBC due to lack of viewership and credibility) is now joining other fake news outlets in pushing the hoax that Secretary Hegseth is basing promotion decisions on race and sex,” Wilson said. “This is a lie, and we have said so repeatedly.” Other groupsg on to the letter sent to Hegseth on Sept. 16 include the ACLU and the National Action Network, which is led by the Rev. Al Sharpton, an MS NOW contributor.
这些组织指出，赫格塞斯（Hegseth）干预了至少40名高级军官的晋升进程——其中约有一半是女性或有色人种。
The groups cited reporting that Hegseth has intervened to block promotions for “at least 40 senior officers — approximately half of whom were women or people of color.”
该信件详细分析了这些数据（按军种分类），强调了这些行为属于“对女性及有色人种军官的严重权力滥用”。在最高级别的职位（如三星或四星海军上将及陆军上将的任命）方面，这些组织承认赫格塞斯拥有更大的决策权。
The letter breaks down that figure branch by military branch to underscore what the groups call “a grave abuse of power at the expense of women and officers of color.” When it comes to the highest ranks — appointing three- and four-star admirals and generals — the groups conceded Hegseth has more discretion.
但他们指责赫格塞斯故意针对这些级别的女性及黑人军官；例如，他未能提拔萨拉·乔伊纳（Sara Joyner）海军上将和斯蒂芬·D·巴内特（Stephen D. Barnett）海军少将——尽管两人都获得了出色的推荐评价，但他们分别积极招募女性和有色人种成员加入军队。
But they accused him of targeting women and Black leaders at those levels, “including failing to advance the promotions of Admiral Sara Joyner and Rear Admiral Stephen D. Barnett, both of whom received exemplary recommendations but who had actively recruited women and people of color, respectively, to serve.”