The U.S. Army recently canceled the Command Assessment Program, which was implemented by former President Joe Biden’s administration to consider biases and psychological assessments when selecting potential candidates for leadership promotions.
Sharing a news article on Wednesday that confirmed that the Army was ending the Biden administration’s Command Assessment Program, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth tweeted, “Good riddance. Promotions across [Department of Defense] will ONLY be based on merit & performance.”
Military Times reported that the Army’s Command Assessment program was launched as a pilot program in 2019 to determine battalion commanders. The program was later implemented throughout the Army in 2020 in an effort to select candidates for command posts by including peer assessments and psychology and to reduce conscious and unconscious biases among Army leaders.
According to Fox News, former Army Secretary Christine Wormuth established the Command Assessment Program as an official Army program in January under the Biden administration, just prior to the start of President Donald Trump’s administration.
Army documents explaining the “doctrinal foundation” of the Army’s Command Assessment Program state, “The battery of psychometric assessments employs several different instruments to measure cognitive capacity, emotional intelligence, conscientiousness, self-awareness, and other behavioral traits.”
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The documents also state, “Though not completely hidden, assessing intellect through casual observation is highly subjective and contextual.”
Fox News reported that roughly 2,000 candidates were assessed each year under the Command Assessment Program for potential leadership positions in the Army. The outlet noted that the program was paused and placed under review by Army Secretary Dan Driscoll last month before being terminated.
Following the Army’s decision to cancel the Biden administration’s Command Assessment Program, the Army will now use the Centralized Selection Board/List, which was previously used to determine the military branch’s commanding officers, according to Fox News. The Centralized Selection Board/List considers individuals on performance, prior assignments, and potential.
Military Times reported that the Biden administration’s Army promotion program did not lead to increased interest in leadership positions. The outlet noted that 54% of Army officers decided not to participate in the Command Assessment Program in 2024, while only 40% of Army officers chose not to participate in 2019 before the program was widely adopted across the military branch.
