Addressing Diversity, Army Will Remove Photos of Officer Candidates in Promotion Reviews

WASHINGTON — The Army will remove photographs of candidates in promotion board hearings, senior officials said on Thursday, as part of an effort to address why so many black officers are being passed over in favor of their white counterparts.

The move is part of an accounting on race that is underway at the Pentagon, as the Defense Department leadership grapples with the larger movement for change that has swept the country since George Floyd, a black man in Minneapolis, died in police custody.

People of color account for 43 percent of the active-duty military, but the top ranks are largely white and male.

Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy announced the change during a news conference on Thursday. ​The events over the last month have been “an extraordinary time,” Mr. McCarthy said. He pledged that the Army would examine unconscious bias and other issues that hinder minority service members from advancing.