Newly confirmed Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth issued a message to the military on Saturday that expressed his intent to quickly field emerging capabilities to deter China and others.
Hegseth narrowly won confirmation Friday night and was officially sworn in Saturday morning.
“It is the privilege of a lifetime to lead the warriors of the Department of Defense, under the leadership of our Commander in Chief Donald J. Trump. We will put America First, and we will never back down,” the SecDef said in his first “Message to the Force.
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The Senate voted 51-50 to confirm Pete Hegseth as the next Secretary of Defense, following days of questioning by legislators. The narrow confirmation came after three Republicans voted against Hegseth, leading to Vice President JD Vance casting the tiebreaking vote to secure Hegseth’s new job.
RespStatecraft
The big test is whether he can face down the service chiefs, or will he merely be ‘absorbed’
The Cadet
For what may be the first time since the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) Board of Visitors (BOV) was established in 1876, a Virginia Senate committee declined to approve two…
Easley, DefenseScoop
The acting defense chief unveiled the Pentagon’s immediate plans for the expedited implementation of the president’s executive orders.
Providence
JEDDA, SAUDI ARABIA. Sitting on a rooftop overlooking the Red Sea, I’m more aware than ever that water controls the world.
SN
All three variants of the relatively new F-35 Joint Strike Fighter have failed to hit readiness targets entirely.
Public Domain
24 January 2025 was not a good day for COL (Ret) Mark Bieger. The president and CEO of the West Point Association of Graduates (WPAOG) was likely forced to respond to the Executive Order of 21 JAN 2025 to close all federal DEI entities. While not a government entity directly, AOG has some agreements with West Point for fund raising, office space, and organizational functions held on the military reservation at West Point, NY (government property). Today, the WPAOG website removed its long planned April 2025 Diversity Conference page.
Public Domain
By STARRS Chairman Lt Gen. Rod Bishop, USAF ret, USAFA ’74
Dear Friends and especially Parents and Cadets,
If you haven’t seen–the new administration is calling DEI “illegal discrimination.” Pretty sweeping actions outlined in the Executive Orders of the last two days.
Hearty thanks to all BCCd on this email whose hard work to eliminate discrimination of this type have made this day a reality! Unity and not divisiveness is in our future!
I have linked in the specific OPM memo here for reference if you haven’t seen.
https://chcoc.
There is a proposal to shake up the management of Benson and Odiham airbases, delegating authority from the Army to the RAF.