Considering only 60 flight hours would result in about 70 more qualified Hispanic candidates, 47 more women and 26 more Black candidates over 12 years.
The recent Government Accountability Office update followed a 2019 report highlighting disparities in who gets investigated and charged in the military justice system.
The executive order signed by President Joe Biden instructs agencies to pursue far-reaching initiatives to improve diversity, equity and inclusion within the federal workforce.
Top Pentagon officials and key lawmakers are open to the sexual assault shift, but they say applying it more broadly requires far more study and debate.