Six Announcements. Where’s the Strategy?

When an organization’s leader describes himself as being at war with his own bureaucracy, you know you’re in for an unusual speech.

At Quantico on September 30, Pete Hegseth described a “war of attrition against the Pentagon bureaucracy.” Plenty of things at the Pentagon need fixing. But treating the institution you lead as an enemy is a strange starting point for a State of the Force address.

For me, one of the oddest moments was watching him invite applause from the men and women in uniform for a billionaire attending his remarks.

But beyond the stagecraft, what did he actually announce?

Here is my assessment of his six big initiatives…