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By Hope Hodge Seck<\/strong><\/p>\n The Pentagon has announced plans to terminate a 75-year-old advisory committee serving female service members, citing a \u201cdivisive\u201d and harmful agenda \u2014 days after a previous memo established plans for reactivating it.<\/p>\n A Sept. 17 memo signed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and reviewed by Military Times directs the \u201cformal disestablishment\u201d of the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services.<\/p>\n \u201cAfter further review, I have determined that the reinstatement of the Defense Advisory Committee for Women in the Services (DACOWITS) should not proceed,\u201d Hegseth wrote in the memo, addressed to the undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness and the director of administration and management. \u201cThe Department\u2019s Advisory Committee Management Officer will terminate the DACOWITS in accordance with the requirements of [the Federal Advisory Committee Act]. In addition, the DACOWITS Sponsor will take appropriate action to realign resources associated with the DACOWITS, such as the reassignment of personnel, conclusion of contracts, and the archiving of DACOWITS\u2019 records.\u201d
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\n\u201cAfter further review, Secretary Hegseth has decided to terminate the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services,\u201d Pentagon Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson said in the statement. \u201cThe Committee is focused on advancing a divisive feminist agenda that hurts combat readiness, while Secretary Hegseth has focused on advancing uniform, sex-neutral standards across the Department.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n