It is no surprise that Trump’s pick for Defense Secretary wasn’t the usual National Security insider we’ve seen in recent times ⬇️
Pete Hegseth has been labeled as an unconventional pick given Defense Secretaries are usually Washington insiders or star rank generals in recent times. While he’s a US Army National Guard combat veteran, educated at Princeton and Harvard and author of several books including ‘The War on Warriors’ in 2024, he’s also most well known as a Fox News commentator with a colourful personal life.
As an aside most Australian Defence Ministers have little to no Defence experience prior to taking on the Ministry. Very few if any Australian politicians have experience in leading large organisations outside of politics.
The following is the key substance from Secretary Hegseth’s first message to troops:
“The President gave us a clear mission: achieve Peace through Strength. We will do this in three ways — by restoring the warrior ethos, rebuilding our military, and reestablishing deterrence.
▪️ We will revive the warrior ethos and restore trust in our military. We are American warriors. We will defend our country. Our standards will be high, uncompromising, and clear. The strength of our military is our unity and our shared purpose.
▪️ We will rebuild our military by matching threats to capabilities. This means reviving our defense industrial base, reforming our acquisition process, passing a financial audit, and rapidly fielding emerging technologies. We will remain the strongest and most lethal force in the world.
▪️ We will reestablish deterrence by defending our homeland — on the ground and in the sky. We will work with allies and partners to deter aggression in the Indo-Pacific by Communist China, as well as supporting the President’s priority to end wars responsibly and reorient to key threats. We will stand by our allies — and our enemies are on notice.
All of this will be done with a focus on lethality, meritocracy, accountability, standards, and readiness.”
Here is a link to the full statement and a story on Pete Hegseth from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) that provides some context on the controversy surrounding Trump’s unconventional pick.
The Trump Presidency and his cabinet picks are certainly pivoting away from perceived political correctness in the Military establishment in Washington. Given many of the same characteristics of the Pentagon are present in Russell Offices, it could be interesting to see how reform of the US Military influences how future Government(s) shape the Australian Defence Force.
Food for thought.