Hegseth Announces New Pentagon Evaluation for General Promotions
The 'Joint Warfighter Evaluation' will screen colonels and Navy captains for one-star general positions.
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Hegseth Announces New Pentagon Evaluation for General Promotions
Photograph: Joe.My.God. (embedded from source)
What this story says
- War Secretary Pete Hegseth announced a new evaluation process for select general promotions called the 'Joint Warfighter Evaluation'.
- The evaluation is for eligible O-6s, colonels and Navy captains, who are screening for one-star general positions.
- This new metric will be added to Pentagon policies starting in fiscal year 2027.
- Hegseth described the policy as an 'objective equalizer' focused on operational decisions under pressure.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 19 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 2 of the 21 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .
Trust
50/100
Craft
45/100
Hype
41/100
21 sources · methodology
Thin on the left so far
Only 1 of the 19 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated left.
This story is still being watched, so it is a count and not yet a finding. Coverage keeps arriving for hours after an event, and a side that has published nothing this morning may publish by tonight. If it is still true when we stop checking, we will say so plainly.
War Secretary Pete Hegseth announced a new evaluation process for select general promotions on Tuesday. The 'Joint Warfighter Evaluation' is designed to assess eligible colonels and Navy captains, officers at the O-6 pay grade, who are screening for promotion to one-star general. This new metric will be incorporated into Pentagon policies beginning in fiscal year 2027.
Hegseth described the new policy as an 'objective equalizer' that prioritises operational decision-making under pressure. The evaluation aims to stratify candidates on their ability to fight, adapt, and win, particularly in chaotic battle spaces. Victory, he stated, depends on commanders who can lead effectively.
Disagreement on implementation timeline
The Washington Examiner, in a report carried by Joe.My.God., stated that the new metric will be added to Pentagon policies starting in fiscal year 2027. The Epoch Times and Patriot Journal also reported the new process would begin this year. Stars and Stripes noted that the latest guidance did not specify how the Pentagon will define or measure 'joint warfighting ability'.
What the coverage left out
None of the right-rated digests mention the specific date of the announcement, which was Tuesday. The left-rated report and the centre-rated reports also do not specify the exact date of the announcement, only that it was made on Tuesday.
Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 6 times, most recently on 23 Sept 2026, 04:15, and will add the sides that appear.
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
1 rated outlet
- The left-rated report from Joe.My.God. led with War Secretary Pete Hegseth announcing the 'Joint Warfighter Evaluation' for select general promotions. It quoted Hegseth describing the policy as an 'objective equalizer' focused on operational decisions under pressure. The report also noted the evaluation assesses abilities in combat-like scenarios and will be added to Pentagon policies starting in fiscal year 2027.
Centre
7 rated outlets
- The centre-rated reports from Military Times, Army Times, Marine Corps Times, UPI, The Hill, Stars and Stripes, and INTELLINEWS all led with the Pentagon announcing a new evaluation process for officers seeking promotion to general. They highlighted that Secretary Hegseth announced the 'Joint Warfighter Evaluation' on Tuesday. Several reports, including those from UPI and The Hill, mentioned the goal of cutting bureaucracy and demanding meritocracy. Stars and Stripes noted that the guidance did not specify how 'joint warfighting ability' would be measured.
Right
11 rated outlets
- The right-rated reports from [your]NEWS, The Epoch Times, Patriot Journal, Zero Hedge, Human Events, Washington Examiner, The National Pulse, wfmd.com, khbrknews, Fox News, and RedState focused on the Pentagon unveiling a new testing process for generals. Many headlines, such as those from The National Pulse and wfmd.com, framed the test as a way to find 'warfighters' rather than 'bureaucrats'. The Washington Examiner and Human Events highlighted Hegseth's description of the evaluation as an 'equalizer' for selecting generals. The Epoch Times and Patriot Journal mentioned the process would begin this year.
Questions about this coverage
- How did the left and right cover Hegseth Announces New Pentagon Evaluation for General Promotions?
- Of the 19 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 5% are rated left, 37% are rated centre, 58% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 21. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
- Is Hegseth Announces New Pentagon Evaluation for General Promotions left or right?
- Neither side dominates it. Of the 19 rated outlets on this story, 5% are rated left, 37% are rated centre, 58% are rated right, and no side holds the 70% this site would want before calling a field one-sided. A story is not left or right in any case; the outlets that carried it are what carry ratings.
- Is the coverage of Hegseth Announces New Pentagon Evaluation for General Promotions biased?
- Hegseth Announces New Pentagon Evaluation for General Promotions is one event reported by 21 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
- Which side is not reporting Hegseth Announces New Pentagon Evaluation for General Promotions?
- When we first saw this story, outlets rated left had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
- Which outlets covered Hegseth Announces New Pentagon Evaluation for General Promotions?
- 21 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
- What is the new evaluation process for general promotions?
- War Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the 'Joint Warfighter Evaluation,' a new process for select general promotions. This evaluation will screen eligible colonels and Navy captains, who are at the O-6 pay grade, for promotion to one-star general.
- When will the new evaluation process be implemented?
- The new 'Joint Warfighter Evaluation' metric is set to be added to Pentagon policies starting in fiscal year 2027. Some reports indicated the process would begin this year, while others specified the 2027 fiscal year.
- What is the purpose of the Joint Warfighter Evaluation?
- Pete Hegseth described the policy as an 'objective equalizer' focused on assessing operational decisions made under pressure. The evaluation aims to identify candidates who can fight, adapt, and win, particularly in chaotic battle spaces.
Read it at the source
21 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
1Centre
7- Pentagon adds new ‘warfighter’ evaluation for officers seeking first star (opens Marine Corps Times in a new tab)
Marine Corps Times — is Marine Corps Times biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Pentagon adds new ‘warfighter’ evaluation for officers seeking first star (opens Army Times in a new tab)
Army Times — is Army Times biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Pentagon adds new ‘warfighter’ evaluation for officers seeking first star (opens Military Times in a new tab)
Military Times — is Military Times biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Pentagon changing promotion process to ‘battlefield’ assessment (opens UPI in a new tab)
- Hegseth announces new Pentagon battlefield test for promotions to general (opens The Hill in a new tab)
- Hegseth announces new evaluation process for promotion of colonels and Navy captains (opens Stars and Stripes in a new tab)
Stars and Stripes — is Stars and Stripes biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Pentagon Unveils Battlefield Test to Ensure New Generals Are Warfighters – Not Washington Bureaucrats (opens INTELLINEWS in a new tab)
INTELLINEWS — is INTELLINEWS biased? Our profile of this outlet
Right
11- Pentagon Adds Warfighting Test to One-Star Promotion Process (opens [your]NEWS in a new tab)
[your]NEWS — is [your]NEWS biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Pentagon Unveils New Testing Process for US Generals (opens The Epoch Times in a new tab)
The Epoch Times — is The Epoch Times biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Pentagon Launches Joint Warfighting Evaluation to Promote Generals Based on Battlefield Skills (opens Patriot Journal in a new tab)
Patriot Journal — is Patriot Journal biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Pentagon Unveils New Testing Process For US Generals (opens Zero Hedge in a new tab)
Zero Hedge — is Zero Hedge biased? Our profile of this outlet
- BREAKING: Pentagon to require testing for generals before promotion (opens Human Events in a new tab)
Human Events — is Human Events biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Hegseth announces 'Joint Warfighter Evaluation' as 'equalizer' for selecting generals (opens Washington Examiner in a new tab)
Washington Examiner — is Washington Examiner biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Trump Pentagon Introduces Reforms to Find Generals Who Are Combat Ready, Not Career Bureaucrats. (opens The National Pulse in a new tab)
The National Pulse — is The National Pulse biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Pentagon unveils battlefield test to ensure new generals are warfighters – not Washington bureaucrats (opens wfmd.com in a new tab)
Show 3 more
- Pentagon unveils battlefield test to ensure new generals are warfighters (opens khbrknews in a new tab)
- Pentagon unveils battlefield test to ensure new generals are warfighters – not Washington bureaucrats (opens Fox News in a new tab)
- New Pentagon Test: Generals Chosen by Pressure, Not Credentials (opens RedState in a new tab)
Not rated
2How did this read?
About the coverage, not about the story. We do not ask whether you agree with what happened — we have no honest use for that answer.
