In a memo to senior Pentagon leadership explaining the review, Mr. Austin sought to quickly put his stamp on the Defense Department by ordering a first-of-its-kind restructuring.
“I am aware of and appreciate earlier review efforts to reshape how we use advisory committees and consider the tangible benefits they bring to the department. Nevertheless, I am directing a zero-based review of all DoD advisory committees, to include any advisory committee that is not subject to the Federal Advisory Committee Act,” he wrote in the Jan. 30 memo made public Tuesday.
To reform and streamline the board system, Mr. Austin believes it best to essentially start from scratch, Pentagon officials told reporters Tuesday. The operations of all 42 advisory boards will be temporarily suspended as the review process unfolds, and all members with the exception of individuals who were directly appointed by the president must resign by Feb. 16 or face termination.
The four members of the board appointed by former Acting Secretary of Defense Chris Miller were Sean McLean, Joshua Whitehouse, Ann G. Johnston and Earl Matthews.
The signers of the letter accused Mr. Trump of inciting the crowds of his supporters who stormed the U.S. Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2020.
“The Confederacy was a shameful reminder of the danger that racism poses to our democracy,” they wrote. “Given the context of this attack on our democracy, the work of removing Confederate names from the Department of Defense cannot be trusted to appointees of a President who gave aid and comfort to the ideological heirs of the Confederacy.”
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