Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Saturday released his priorities for the Pentagon soon after Vice President J.D. Vance cast the tiebreaking vote in the Senate and swore him into office.
In a message to the Defense Department — including about 1.3 million active-duty troops in uniform — Mr. Hegseth said President Trump has given them a mission: achieve peace through strength.
“We will do this in three ways — by restoring the warrior ethos, rebuilding our military and reestablishing deterrence,” he wrote. “All this will be done with a focus on lethality, meritocracy, accountability, standards and readiness.”
Mr. Hegseth said he wants to revive the “warrior ethos” within the armed forces and restore the nation’s trust in the military, saying standards will be “high, uncompromising and clear.”
“The strength of our military is our unity and shared purpose,” Mr. Hegseth wrote, echoing a call he made during the sometimes heated confirmation process.
He said reviving the defense industrial base, reforming the Pentagon’s acquisition process, passing a financial audit and rapidly fielding emerging technologies are crucial to ensuring that the U.S. military is the “strongest and most lethal force in the world.”
“We will rebuild our military by matching threats to capabilities,” Mr. Hegseth wrote.
He said the Defense Department will support Mr. Trump’s campaign promise to “end wars responsibly and reorient to key threats.” Just as Lloyd Austin, his predecessor in the Pentagon, identified China as the nation’s “pacing threat,” Mr. Hegseth said the U.S. will work with allies and partners to deter aggression from the communist giant in the Indo-Pacific region.
“We will reestablish deterrence by defending our homeland — on the ground and in the sky,” he wrote.
Mr. Hegseth served as an Army officer in Iraq and Afghanistan and said he’s committed to supporting the troops and their families.
“Just as my fellow soldiers had my back on the battlefield, know that I will always have your back,” he wrote. “We serve together at a dangerous time. Our enemies will never rest nor relent, and neither will we.”
• Mike Glenn can be reached at mglenn@washingtontimes.com.