Can Pete Hegseth Remake The Pentagon?

ANALYSIS – Let’s pray he can. But he will need a solid team to do it. President-elect Donald Trump has made no secret of his desire to remake our woke defense establishment and revamp our military into a more lethal force.

He has talked of firing woke generals and eliminating far-left ideological indoctrination from our forces. Now he needs the people to do it.

First among them is his pick to be secretary of defense (SECDEF) Pete Hegseth, a charismatic and super sharp Army National Guard combat veteran, with two Bronze Stars, degrees from Princeton and Harvard, and a recent Fox News host.

He is a phenomenal communicator and also a prolific writer, having authored several books.

Some Trump supporters, including me, are slightly concerned he may not have the management experience to battle the defense bureaucracy, or could get “eaten alive,” as one MAGA ally said.

Hegseth would also lead the world’s largest and most powerful military as major conflicts are brewing on multiple fronts, including in Ukraine, the ongoing attacks in the Middle East by Iranian proxies, Israel’s war against Hamas and Hezbollah and the growing concerns about the alliance between Russia and North Korea.

A daunting task.

Then there is the biggest danger of them all, a war with China over Taiwan or the South China Sea. An even more daunting task.

A major drawback—he lacks leadership experience in the defense or foreign policy sector, prompting questions about how he will lead a recalcitrant and entrenched bureaucracy with a global footprint and an $800 billion annual budget.

Those are valid questions and are certain to come up during his Senate confirmation hearing.

But let’s assume he is confirmed, as I hope he is, and recruits a solid competent Pentagon crew, including deputy secretary, undersecretaries and assistant secretaries of defense, to assist him, as I hope he does, what will he do first?

One great idea is his call to change the Defense Department back to its original “War Department,” name to remind everyone the real business we are in. That would certainly set the right tone.

But that would just be a start.

Recently, while promoting his new book The War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free, on the The Shawn Ryan Show podcast, he offered some other hints at what his priorities would be in the Pentagon’s top civilian post.

Breaking Defense reports that his first priority, like Trump’s, is firing top generals over “woke shit.”

The outlet adds:

One of Hegseth’s chief bones of contention, spread throughout the interview and seemingly the focus of his book, revolves around military “woke shit” like diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. One solution? A firing spree that starts with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Air Force Gen. CQ Brown, who still has three years remaining in his term.

“First of all, you got to fire the chairman [of the] Joint Chiefs, and…obviously you’re going to bring in a new Secretary of Defense. But, any general that was involved – general, admiral, whatever –… in any of the DEI woke shit has got to go,” he said. “Either you’re in for warfighting, and that’s it, that’s the only litmus test we care about.”

As part of that effort is Trump’s call for a “warrior board” of retired senior military leaders will have the power to review three-and four-star officers and to recommend removals of any deemed unfit for leadership. If enacted, it could fast-track removal of admirals found to be “lacking in requisite leadership qualities.”

Those identified for removal would be retired at their current rank within 30 days.

If confirmed, Hegseth would play a major role in such a board.

Hegseth also would implement a 10-year ban on generals working for defense contractors after retiring from the military. Everyone should support that.

Meanwhile, he rightly adds that the military has moved too far away from its traditional recruitment base.

“America’s white sons and daughters are walking away, and who can blame them,” he writes in his book.

“There aren’t enough lesbians in San Francisco to man the 82nd airborne,” he said.

“And in trying to cater to that, they lost the boys from Tennessee and Kentucky and Oklahoma, the traditional dudes who did it because they wanted, they loved their country, or they wanted the adventure, or they, you know, wanted to try tough things, or they need an up and out of their community, whatever it is they’re like, if I want to do the woke crap, I could go to the local community college or local college.”

When it comes to women in the military, he said “I love women service members who contribute amazingly.” However, like Trump, he espouses a traditional view of masculinity, writing that men are innately drawn to fight, compete and prove their strength.

About women in combat, Hegseth has been very clear—he is against it, mostly.

When asked if he liked women in combat, Hegseth quickly said “No.” However, his position appeared to become more nuanced as the interview went on. Women pilots? They have his support. But women in more “labor intensive” jobs, they do not.

He added that women in combat roles hasn’t made us more effective, hasn’t made us more lethal: “Because everything about men and women serving together makes the situation more complicated, and complication in combat means casualties are worse.”

Finally, also like Trump, he is sharply critical of weak NATO allies that are not spending enough on their own defense, calling them “self-righteous and impotent nations asking us to honor outdated and one-sided defense arrangements they no longer live up to.”

Hegseth is solid on all these key issues. And many others. Let’s hope he is confirmed and can hit the ground running with a solid team. After four years of Biden-Harris weakness and fecklessness, America’s national security truly is at stake.

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.

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