Hegseth shuts down NFLstyle 'crown jewel' of Army's meritbased talent programs Davis Winkie, USA TODAYSeptember 4, 2025 at 4:06 AM 0 The Army announced the cancellation of its flagship officer selection program Sept. 2 after officials in Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's office directed its review.
- - Hegseth shuts down NFL-style 'crown jewel' of Army's merit-based talent programs
Davis Winkie, USA TODAYSeptember 4, 2025 at 4:06 AM
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The Army announced the cancellation of its flagship officer selection program Sept. 2 after officials in Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's office directed its review.
A senior defense official familiar with CAP but not authorized to speak publicly told USA TODAY that Hegseth's office ordered the cancellation without meaningful consultation with the Army.
The Army's Command Assessment Program, an NFL Combine-style program, known as CAP, that put prospective battalion and brigade commanders through a series of physical and mental tests, was cancelled "effective immediately," Army spokesperson Maj. Travis Shaw confirmed.
Hegseth, in a Sept. 3 post on X, hailed the program's demise, saying, "Good riddance."
Grueling program started in Trump's first term
CAP was a trial for officers seeking to command battalions and brigades, demanding roles that make or break an officer's career.
The cancellation comes as part of a Pentagon review of officer personnel processes ranging from evaluations to promotions and command selection, among other career milestones.
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Stuart Scheller, an ex-Marine lieutenant colonel who was convicted by a court-martial and forced to resign for his public criticism of leaders during the disastrous 2022 Afghanistan evacuation, is leading the review. Scheller did not respond to an email from USA TODAY.
A senior defense official familiar with CAP but not authorized to speak publicly told USA TODAY that Hegseth's office ordered the cancellation without meaningful consultation with the Army.
A participant in a rehearsal for the 2024 Army Command Assessment Program carries kettlebells Oct. 6, 2024, at Fort Knox, Ky.
CAP, which was independent of the officer promotion system, began during President Donald Trump's first administration and became a permanent program in early 2025 after a more than five-year pilot period. The program was modeled after how military special operations units assess and select their members and leaders.
Participants would complete a physical fitness test, have their body fat measured, undergo a psychological evaluation, receive leadership evaluations from former peers and subordinates, and complete verbal and written communication assessments.
A 'crown jewel'
An interview panel would anonymously judge the candidate's communication skills based on their performance in an interview setting. Officers deemed "ready" by the panel would then be ranked for command opportunities based on their CAP performance and a review of their personnel file.
According to Michael Arnold, who helped lead CAP development during a nearly six-year term as deputy director of the Army Talent Management Task Force, the program was a "crown jewel" of the service's extensive talent management reforms. The program was designed to spot potentially overlooked talent while also preventing toxic and abusive leaders from assuming positions of power.
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"Political appointees have absolutely every right to re-look the (command selection) process," said Arnold, now a fellow at the conservative-leaning Hoover Institution think tank. "But to just cancel the best thing they've got going in terms of modernizing the way we ... select people? That seems a little short sighted."
Before CAP, the Army's battalion and brigade command selection process consisted merely of a paper file review: a "board" of officers would examine and score an officer's personnel file before ranking them for assignment to command roles. There was no in-person verification.
Kate Kuzminski, a military personnel expert at the Center for a New American Security, told USA TODAY that the old paper-based selection process "started in 1975."
Shaw, the Army spokesperson, said the service is returning to that "long-standing" process.
Arnold argued that the move to cancel CAP doesn't make sense. "Going back to the old system is counter to what I think the administration is trying to do − select people based on their merits," he said.
Contributing: Tom Vanden Brook, USA TODAY
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Hegseth kills make-or-break Army assessment program
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