US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has mandated that admission be based strictly on merit US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has issued a directive ordering all military service academies to stop considering diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) criteria in admissions decisions. The memo, signed on Friday, states that MSA admission offices will no longer be able to apply any “considerations of race, ethnicity or sex” when considering applicants and must base their decisions “exclusively on merit.”