The "Values" of Pete Hegseth's DOD
Two stories tell wildly different tales of what the real values of the Department of Defense have become under Hegseth's woefully incompetent and malignant leadership
Lethality
Pete Hegseth is obsessed with “lethality.” In his mind, and the incompetent and bigoted leaders he has hired in his inner circle, the term means that anything that isn’t directly related to killing people are superfluous and a waste of time and money.
Mental healthcare for children stationed overseas? Nah!
Horse teams part of Army historical and heritage pride efforts for morale? Nope!
Programs to help educate active duty service members? WOKE!
Luckily, there is plenty of money for performative stupidity like this idiotic video Hegseth shot at the Pentagon last week with a squad of soldiers and at least two cameras.
It is almost two minutes long to…sign a memo. Talk about something that could have been an email but in Hegseth’s DoD these are the priorities and values.
He has leaked classified information and then lied about it. He has smeared honorable service members. He has banned books from the schools. Fired senior leaders simply for the color of their skin, gender, or programs they supported under a previous Commander-in-Chief.
He has turned the building where “politics ends” into a swamp of MAGA bullshit.
Let me illustrate it for you just from today.
Two stories
I woke up this morning two different news stories about the United States military under Hegseth’s incompetent leadership that truly paint a picture of what his values are.
An old friend in the Army was a child of Greek immigrants. When we served in a unit with a truly incompetent commander he told me a parable I hadn’t heard before at the time but have many times since, “A fish rots from the head down.”
The Department of Defense is beginning to rot under Hegseth.
The first story that hit my radar was that just the day before it was to begin the DOD pulled all of its speakers from the renowned Aspen Security Forum. The completely unqualified chief of communications for the DOD, Sean Parnell, stated that they did it because it doesn’t “align with the values of DoD.”
“Senior Department of Defense officials will no longer be participating at the Aspen Security Forum because their values do not align with the values of the DoD,” Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement. “The Department will remain strong in its focus to increase the lethality of our warfighters, revitalize the warrior ethos, and project Peace Through Strength on the world stage. It is clear the ASF is not in alignment with these goals.”
That’s a bold statement since senior leaders of both parties in office have participated in ASF for at least a decade and a half including when Trump was President the first time as then-Chairman Gen. Joe Dunford and former Secretary of Defense Mark Esper were both speakers.
Obviously, it must be something serious that they saw being presented there that undermined their doctrine, policies, and plans.
I’m kidding…it’s petty bullshit.
News of the Pentagon’s withdrawal from the conference was first reported by the right-leaning website Just the News, which stated that department leaders were pulled from the event because former officials from the Biden administration who have been critical of President Donald Trump were also slated to speak.
“The Department of Defense has no interest in legitimizing an organization that has invited former officials who have been the architects of chaos abroad and failure at home,” Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson told Just the News. “They are antithetical to the America First values of this administration. Senior representatives of the Department of Defense will no longer be participating in an event that promotes the evil of globalism, disdain for our great country, and hatred for the President of the United States.”
Yes, the great sin is that people from former Administrations and the Democratic Party will be speaking as well during the course of the multi-day conference. Clearly the forum is a hotbed of Anti-American sentiment.
Keep in mind that the spokesperson quoted in the article to the “right-leaning website” is Kingsley Wilson. She is the 26-year old press secretary who has never served in the military in any way and spent years spreading anti-semitic lies and praising Vladimir Putin.
That tells you about their “American First values” in the top office of the Department of Defense.
But far down does the fish rot? It’s only been barely six months since Trump took office. Surely, things can’t be too bad far from the “flagpole,” right?
Wrong.
Far from the flagpole it stinks too
The second story I woke up to today comes from Military.com, which is a great source for stories from the ranks by the way. Reporter Steve Beynon has been absolutely killing it this year.
This story should make anyone who served even a day in uniform pissed.
I mean….
The Army has launched an investigation after a drill sergeant posted a video showing soldiers being hazed beneath a MAGA flag, which runs afoul of multiple military regulations prohibiting partisan political activity in uniform and on federal property.
Staff Sgt. Thomas Mitchell on Friday uploaded the video to TikTok, showing a group of trainees performing push-ups and burpees in full body armor under a banner that read, "This Is Ultra MAGA Country." The video was later deleted. But shortly after, Mitchell posted a second video showing the same exercising in the same location, this time with the flag removed. The caption: "Cry about it."
Mistakes happen. People get carried away.
That’s not what happened here. He is proud of it. He is sure he is untouchable. Hence that second video and the caption, “Cry about it.”
That’s the rot at the very end of the fish. Literally basic training when soldiers first enter the Army and are supposed to get their first taste of the Army’s Values and code of honor.
They are taught the Soldier’s Creed.
“I serve the people of the United States.”
All of them. Do you wonder if this Drill Sergeant serves all of the American people? What about the soldiers he is training? Will they serve ALL of the American people or just the ones that agree with them politically. When they are given an illegal order to fire on peaceful protestors will they have the moral courage to say, “no?”
For the first time in my long association with the United States Army, I worry they may not.
We have a problem and it starts at the top.
It’s well past time for Pete Hegseth to go.
Thank you. Vital stuff.
Spreading it far and wide.
Too bad there are so many more than just 2 stories that prove this toxic leadership is putting military people—service members, veterans, and their families—at risk.