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Pete Hegseth’s Unconventional Resume for Secretary of Defense
Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to be secretary of defense, has an unconventional resume for the position. While he served honorably in the US military, he retired as a major and most recently worked as a Fox News anchor. This raises questions about whether his understanding of the state of the American military, which is one of the most powerful in the world, is accurate.
Hegseth’s book, “The War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free,” published in June, is an odd mix of slogans and unsupported assertions about the purportedly “Marxist” and “woke” US military. The book is 228 pages long and lacks footnotes and facts to back up its claims, which are sometimes dubious.
In the book, Hegseth criticizes the presence of transgender troops in the US military, stating that it is a major contributor to the military’s decline in recruiting and readiness. However, a 2016 study by RAND estimated that there were between 1,320 and 6,630 transgender people on active duty and between 830 and 4,160 in the reserves, amounting to roughly 0.5% of the total US military. This is a small number, and it is unlikely that a large portion of service members will serve with someone who is transgender.
Hegseth also claims that the US military has been overtaken by “wokeness” and that many service members are not willing to serve due to this perceived change. However, the real factors driving recruiting issues are the declining number of qualified Americans of military age and the fact that young people have more job opportunities, as the United States has low unemployment and a strong economy.
Additionally, Hegseth calls for the firing of Pentagon officials, including the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Charles “CQ” Brown, who he portrays as being obsessed with diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). However, Hegseth’s claims about the military’s readiness arefalse. The readiness rates are higher now than in years, with 60% of the active force able to deploy to combat within 30 days.
Hegseth also expresses concerns about the role of women in combat, stating that women are less effective fighters. However, women play many key roles in the US military, just as they do in the Israeli army, and have done so for some time.
Despite Hegseth’s claims that the US military is in shambles, several examples suggest that his views are misguided. For instance, despite the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, it was the Biden administration that issued the order to withdraw troops, and the State Department was responsible for the lack of plan for an orderly evacuation. Hegseth also claims that “coastal elites” view military service negatively, when in fact 18% of the 118th Congress are veterans, and the Census Bureau estimates that 6% of the overall US population are veterans.
Hegseth’s book is a plea for the return to a perceived golden age of the military, but his proposals are likely to be met with resistance from top military leaders and others. As he becomes secretary of defense, he will need to address pressing issues such as the Chinese threat to Taiwan, but his book does not offer any insights on these matters.