Goodbye to SecDef Austin – and in his place?

Hegseth has seemingly weathered the Senate committee hearings. More people are confident that the young commentator and combat veteran will be sustained by the entire Senate.

I suspect that few company-grade (O-1 to O-3 lieutenants and captains/ensigns and lieutenants) or field-grade (O-4 to O-6 majors and colonels/commanders and captains) officers will be disappointed to have Austin go away. And many (but far from all) flag officers (O-7 and up: generals and admirals). Too many political officers: brass hats of the worst kind). The enlisted personnel of the services will be more divided, due to the quality of training and experience, but I think a majority will be happy to see him gone. As will at least some civilian DoD employees. Even a few politically-appointed and Senior Executive Service (high-level bureaucrats) will welcome the change. If it really is a change.

The arrival of Hegseth is seen mostly as throwing the windows open wide to let the fresh air in and flush out the corrupt, poisonous air that has weakened and contaminated and demoralized the Department of Defense. Not only the Uniformed Services, but the civilian bureaucracy and workforce.

But as we here at TPOL constantly warn, there is absolutely no guarantee that Hegseth and the other, key political appointees by The Donald will actually be able to reform the military forces.

For one thing, there is still the clear misunderstanding that the National Defense is possible only if American forces garrison the entire planet – or as close to it as possible. After all, courtesy of the collapse of the Warsaw Pact and the Soviet Union, Americans (directly or through formal and informal allies) control more of the world than at any time since 1950 (when the Republic of China gave up the mainland).

But the real key is the entrenched nature of the military-industrial cabal and the Deep State permanent bureaucracy. Followed by the simple fact that tens of thousands of American officers who at least had some understanding of, and willingness to obey, the commitment that they made to defending the Constitution, have been retired, cashiered, or just driven out of the service. Leaving Woke, toadying, and boot-licking senior officers who care more about fat juicy jobs after retirement, and Woke policies, than their oath of office.

Of course, we shall see. But be prepared for the high expectations to be illusions in the coming months.

READ MORE