Pete Hegseth is the right man to reform and sharpen America’s military as the new secretary of defense. Trump picking Hegseth over someone with more experience—that is, someone more entrenched in the military bureaucracy—might come to a surprise to some.
However, Pete Hegseth is the perfect choice: he is young, bold, served in multiple countries, and is not beholden to the current military industrial complex. More importantly, he has been loyal to Trump since the beginning. In a time when top generals have been discussing how to refuse the commander-in-chief’s orders, ensuring loyalty within the military is a top priority for the nation’s safety and for the president-elect.
Despite not being a four-star general, Pete Hegseth has a broad understanding and experience in the United States Army. He served as both a platoon leader in the infantry and a civil affairs officer while in Iraq, as well as a senior counterinsurgency instructor in Afghanistan. Additionally, Hegseth was awarded the Combat Infantry Badge (CIB) and the Expert Infantryman Badge (EIB) for his service.
Minnesota has been in the political limelight recently with Gov. Walz unsuccessfully running for Vice President under Kamala Harris, and now with Hegseth—who was born and raised in the Twin Cities—being chosen as the next Secretary of Defense. Kudos for our state for punching above its political weight!
Unlike Tim Walz, Hegseth’s awarding of the CIB and EIB meant that he actually saw combat on top of mastering the highest level of skill for the infantry.
As secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth will have several key priorities to tackle in order to reform the United States military into a well-oiled machine.
Accountability
Accountability in the military may be one of Hegseth’s first priorities, since accountability promotes competence in an institution where incompetence means death. In the past, Hegseth has called for senior military officers to be held accountable for their failures at home and abroad. This measure is both a fundamental and necessary criterion for his leadership of the Pentagon.
According to Hegseth, “[GI] Joe knows that if he loses his rifle, he’ll be demoted immediately, but if a general loses a war or billions of dollars of military equipment—nothing happens.” This last comment is in reference to the disastrous withdrawal of the U.S. out of Afghanistan, which left behind over 316,000 weapons and 73 aircraft worth over $7.1 billion. A shocking total of zero senior military officials were fired or held accountable after this embarrassment. Under Hegseth’s leadership, accountability for objective failures will promote a more efficient and competent fighting force for the United States.
Removal of entrenched interests and insubordinate military leaders
Trump has continually made a distinction between competent generals and “woke” generals, with the latter typically ending up further entrenched in the military industrial complex, obtaining lucrative gigs with Fortune 500 companies or defense contractors like Raytheon after retirement. This cycle of senior military leaders going along with agendas that harm the efficacy of the military only to end up in extremely well-paid positions after retirement delivers poor results for the military.
Asked in a podcast interview with the “Shawn Ryan Show” what he would do, Hegseth stated that he aims to end this cushy pipeline for incompetent senior Pentagon officials. As secretary of defense, this action by Hegseth would allow greater meritocracy in the key decision-making roles of our military.
Of far greater concern is the fact that top military officials in the Pentagon have been recently discussing how to counter potential orders from President-elect Donald Trump. Regardless of political orientation, military leaders openly discussing insubordination should be deeply disturbing to all Americans. This type of behavior from military officials is both worrying and odious to our democratic principles.
Once Trump is officially in office, acts like these against the commander-in-chief potentially open an officer up to violations of the main law governing military conduct, or the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ). Specifically, these are violations of Article 90 (10 U.S.C. § 890) and Article 92 (10 U.S.C. § 892) which cover willfully disobeying a lawful command of a superior officer, including the president in his role as commander-in-chief. Violations of Articles 90 and 92 are considered serious offenses and can result in court-martial and severe penalties, including dismissal from service, imprisonment, or other disciplinary actions.
Both officers and enlisted service members swear to support and defend the Constitution of the United States. However, in the Oath of Enlistment, service members who are not officers swear to “obey the orders of the President of the United States” while officers do not include this in their Oath of Office.
Instead, officers swear to support and defend the Constitution and “well and faithfully discharge the duties of [their] office.” To be clear, the refusal to obey an order—even from the president—does not qualify as treason unless it is done with the intent to assist an enemy or overthrow the government.
Treason requires an overt act that directly aids enemies of the United States, and merely refusing an order, even a significant one, does not meet this constitutional definition. However, an action like refusal of a president’s lawful orders could be charged as mutiny or sedition under UCMJ Article 94, which involves resistance to lawful authority or efforts to overthrow it, without reaching the constitutional standard of treason.
Inspiring patriotism to fix the military’s personnel problem
Finally, the last key priority for Secretary of Defense Hegseth to handle would be the perennial personnel problem in the military. Both recruitment of new soldiers and retention of veterans have been a thorn in the military’s side for years.
Currently, the United States has the smallest active duty force since 1940, though the numbers for 2025 look promising and are increasing.
The Department of Defense (DOD) said that military services missed recruiting goals by 41,000 during the 2023 fiscal year. The shortfall hits the Army, Navy, and Air Force the hardest, while the Marines—who are known for their rigorous standards and esprit de corps—suffered no setbacks with recruitment numbers.
According to the Army’s Recruitment Command, we are currently in the most challenging labor market since the inception of the all-volunteer force. Half of American youth admit they know little to nothing about military service, with nearly 3 out of 4 Americans failing to qualify for military service because of obesity, drugs, physical and mental health problems, misconduct, and aptitude. These are enormous problems facing the United States military.
Bolstered by RFK Jr.’s plan to Make America Healthy Again, Secretary of Defense Hegseth’s focus on promoting patriotism by disprivileging incompetence and elevating the military profession should be a top priority. President-elect Trump stated that he chose Hegseth because “Pete has spent his entire life as a Warrior for the Troops, and for the Country. Pete is tough, smart and a true believer in America First.”
With Hegseth’s background as a combat veteran and a fierce advocate of liberty, he is in a great role to promote patriotism and show that the American principles of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are worth—in Abraham Lincoln’s words—the solemn pride to lay so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom.
America is a land of freedom and opportunity, and it is worth fighting for. Pete Hegseth is the right man to reform and sharpen America’s military as secretary of defense.
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not represent an official position of Alpha News.
