The United States Army has formally eliminated the diversity requirement from the process of selecting candidates for the roles of top noncommissioned officers.

As reported by Daily Wire, the announcement was made by Sergeant Major of the Army Michael Weimer, the top enlisted official in the Army. The new guidance, intended for the process of choosing command sergeants major, removes a single line from the previous version: The line which dictated that candidates must “consider diversity to ensure leaders represent our formations.”

In addition, the new guidance added provisions such as once again considering physical fitness a top priority for any enlisted leaders seeking airborne roles.

The decision comes amid ongoing backlash from Republicans in Congress over the military’s efforts to become more overtly political, due to directives from the Biden-Harris Administration to increase diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts, as well as implementing the teachings of critical race theory (CRT) and transgenderism, among others.

The White House had previously paid third-party groups millions of dollars in taxpayer funding to lead the implementation of such far-left initiatives within the military, including race-based career advancement programs.

“The U.S. and its allies are facing challenges and threats all over the globe. Despite the increased concern for military preparedness, the DOD continues to prioritize DEI initiatives,” said Peter McGinnis, a spokesman for the watchdog group Functional Government Initiative (FGI). “Rather than maximizing readiness training to ensure a capable military, the DOD’s training seems calculated to foster sowing internal discord with aggressive efforts to promote controversial ideologies.”

“Americans join the military to serve their nation and protect the homeland, not to sit through sensitivity training,” McGinnis continued. “The DOD owes them better.”