Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s rampant racism and sexism extends farther than we previously knew. Hegseth has made efforts to block or delay the promotion of more than one dozen female and Black officers across the Army, Air Force, Navy, and the Marines, according to nine U.S. officials familiar with the process who spoke with NBC News. “There is not a single service that has been immune to this level of involvement by Hegseth,” one of the U.S. officials told NBC News.These leaks come just hours after Hegseth removed General Randy George, the Army’s chief of staff, in the midst of Donald Trump’s reckless war in Iran. George had recently asked to meet Hegseth to discuss his decision to thwart promotions for female and Black service members, but Hegseth refused, two of the U.S. officials told NBC News. Clearly, military officials aren’t pleased with Hegseth’s decisions. The apparent reasons to block these promotions varied, but seemed to have nothing to do with conduct—more with the identities of the officers and what they represented to Hegseth. Two officials told NBC News that the officers whose advancement were blocked had been supportive of mask mandates or were Black or female, and therefore attached to the DEI programs Hegseth has spent months railing against. Another officer was denied a promotion due to their affiliation with former Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mark Milley, the officials said. Hegseth blocked the promotions of three Marines, including two women and one Black man. He held up a list of naval officers who’d been selected to become one-star admirals, sparking concern that some could be removed over race or gender. In the Air Force, female officers and members of racial minority groups were pulled off a list for promotion, among others.Hegseth’s moves could also prove dangerous, considering the U.S. is in the middle of a war. Preventing senior officers from taking over their new posts could hurt military readiness.