Hegseth to be Grilled

For John, BLUF:  A question for the US Senate is if Nominee Pete Hegseth is the person to lead the Department of Defense into a new future.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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The U.S. is unprepared for a major war.  Can Pete Hegseth fix that?

Here is the sub-headline:

Trump's defense secretary pick would face a staggering challenge in readying America for war.

From The Wash Post, by Reporter Max Boot, 13 January 2025.

Here is the lede plus three:

Tuesday's confirmation hearings for defense secretary are sure to focus on all the troubling allegations of misconduct swirling around intended nominee Pete Hegseth (which he has denied).  But let's not lose sight of the big picture.  The essential question that senators must ask is whether Hegseth, a Fox News host and former National Guardsman, has the capacity and experience to prepare the armed forces to fight a major war — and, if so, how he would go about it.  Because right now, the U.S. military simply is not ready to defeat an adversary such as China or Russia in a protracted conflict.

Don't take my word for it:  That's the judgment of the congressionally chartered, bipartisan Commission on the National Defense Strategy, which issued its final report in July.  The commission, chaired by former California congresswoman Jane Harman, came to a sobering conclusion that did not get the attention it deserved:  "The threats the United States faces are the most serious and most challenging the nation has encountered since 1945 and include the potential for near-term major war. ...  The nation was last prepared for such a fight during the Cold War, which ended 35 years ago. It is not prepared today."

The commission went on to warn that "China is outpacing the United States and has largely negated the U.S. military advantage in the Western Pacific" and that "the U.S. military lacks both the capabilities and the capacity required to be confident it can deter and prevail in combat."

The problem isn't that the U.S. military has gone "woke," as MAGA partisans such as Hegseth allege.  The problem is that America became complacent after the Cold War when it downsized its armed forces and its defense-industrial base.  Since then, the United States has prepared a military suitable for fighting insurgents in Afghanistan or Iraq — but utterly inadequate for an extended fight against a major power.

Yes, the question is how to navigate the Department of Defense toward a new readiness goal, while garnering support in Congress for the needed funding. : As Author Boot points out, to meet President Trump's demand that NATO nations spend 5% on Defense, it would be an increase of $600 billion a year, to more than $1.4 trillion a year.

People can say that Mr Hegseth lacks the managem3ent experience to guide the Defense behemouth.  On the other hand, we have had a number of successful managers from industry who have not been up to the task of turning out a winning military force  Secretasry of Defense Robert S McNamara comes to mind.

But, success at the Pentagon is more than efficient spending of money.  It is also about building a cohesive fighting force, united and innovative.  I would think that Nominee Hegseth could be that person.

Regards  —  Cliff