WHEN THE HOUSE RETURNS FROM RECESS, it will almost certainly vote on impeachment articles against Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.
asserted
it → return → Hegseth
In the aftermath of the midterm elections, President Trump is already reportedly canvassing allies on whether Hegseth should stay in his job.
uncertain
Hegseth → canvass → job
And Hegseth himself, just days after releasing a six-minute social media videoabout how he won’t back down from a fight, has scheduled a press conference for tomorrow morning.
asserted
he → release → morning
The secretary’s time in office might be coming to a close—which may not surprise many people.
uncertain
which → come → people
Even accomplished past leaders like Gen. George Marshall quickly discovered after taking up the role that the position demands knowledge, judgment, diplomatic skill, political acumen, and organizational leadership on a scale few can properly appreciate.
asserted
few → discover → scale
No one arrives knowing everything required, and every secretary must be willing to learn, adapt, and grow to effectively lead one of the most demanding positions in government.
asserted
secretary → arrive → government
I laid out just how steep Hegseth’s learning curve would be in January 2025, shortly before his confirmation hearing.
asserted
curve → lay → hearing
Having worked with several defense secretaries during my military career, I outlined five essential requirements of the position.
asserted
I → work → position
My concerns were that nominee Hegseth seemed unaware of the demands of the job, what he needed to learn, and that he might not possess the humility, curiosity, and temperament necessary to grow into the job.
uncertain
he → seem → job
Now, looking back nearly two years later, I consider those concerns justified.
asserted
concerns → look → ?
Rather than learning and demonstrating growing mastery of the responsibilities of secretary of defense, Hegseth has devoted extraordinary attention to ideological battles, personnel purges, public confrontations, and political messaging; he has shown more interest in demonstrating loyalty to the president and attacking the administration’s perceived enemies than mastering the challenges of running the Department of Defense.
asserted
he → learn → Defense
His confidence has far outrun his competence, and his hubris has frequently overwhelmed the judgment the position demands.
asserted
position → outrun → judgment
Whether Hegseth departs his post now or later, the harm he has done to our national security and alliances are increasingly obvious to members of Congress and the American people.
asserted
he → depart → Congress
LET’S REVIEW THE FIVE REQUIREMENTS of the job I outlined in January 2025.
asserted
I → let → January
The first was that the secretary must have a mind that can master both details and the big picture.
asserted
that → have → details
During my assignment on the Joint Staff, I observed Secretary Donald Rumsfeld question combatant commanders for hours about contingency plans, resources, risks, and operational assumptions.
asserted
Rumsfeld → observe → plans
I later watched Secretary Robert Gates engage soldiers on battlefields in Iraq to get a tactical feel, then transition to discussions with political leaders about the broader strategic implications of operations.
asserted
Gates → watch → operations
Neither man was perfect, and I disagreed with some of their decisions.
asserted
I → disagree → decisions
But both understood that military action must serve achievable political objectives, and tactical success does not automatically produce strategic victory.
Hegseth’s conduct during the Iran war raises questions about whether he understands that crucial principle.
asserted
he → understand → principle
The administration has struggled to make clear the political ends it has pursued through its military engagements, and it has offered shifting explanations of its objectives, timelines, and anticipated outcomes.
asserted
it → struggle → objectives
Tactical achievements have repeatedly been touted as strategic successes, even as the conflict continues and costs mount.
asserted
costs → tout → successes
A secretary must constantly ask what comes next, how the enemy will respond, what resources are required (plus how depleted resources will affect other contingencies), and how military operations contribute to a political outcome.
asserted
operations → ask → outcome
Those questions aren’t answered through declarations of victory.
asserted
questions → answer → victory
The second requirement is that the secretary must think strategically about both the short and the long term.
asserted
secretary → think → short
Military decisions made today shape national security for decades.
asserted
decisions → make → decades
Readiness, modernization, force structure, alliances, and personnel development demand sustained attention and difficult trade-offs.
asserted
Readiness → demand → attention
Hegseth has instead demonstrated a preference for sweeping announcements, dramatic organizational changes, and public displays of decisiveness.
asserted
Hegseth → demonstrate → decisiveness
His proposals on autonomous warfare, military institutions, and personnel policies may contain ideas worth considering, but announcements are not strategies.
uncertain
announcements → contain → ideas
Strategies require defined objectives, resources, plans, and measures of effectiveness.
asserted
Strategies → require → effectiveness
His ambitious initiatives generate more questions than answers about feasibility, strategic purpose, and consequences.
asserted
initiatives → generate → feasibility
The third requirement is the capability to lead an enormous, complex, and diverse organization.
asserted
requirement → lead → organization
The Department of Defense includes millions of uniformed personnel, civilians, and reservists, serving in organizations with almost unfathomable missions and responsibilities.
asserted
Department → include → missions
Leading such an institution requires more than issuing orders.
asserted
Leading → lead → orders
It demands an ability to prioritize listening over talking, a respect for expertise, and the sort of rapport with subordinates that encourages them to offer candid advice, even (perhaps especially) when that advice challenges those in authority.
asserted
advice → demand → authority
Instead, Hegseth has repeatedly removed experienced senior officers and civilians, attacked established institutional practices, and portrayed disagreement as resistance to his agenda if not disloyalty to the country.
asserted
Hegseth → remove → country
His supporters, including those secretly in his employ, celebrate these actions on social media as reform.
asserted
supporters → include → reform
Confidence is essential when making difficult decisions, but confidence without competence is dangerous, and confidence without humility is just as bad.
asserted
confidence → make → humility
The best leaders I’ve observed understood what they did not know, and they subsequently surrounded themselves with expertise, listened to dissenting opinions, and recognized that voicing disagreement was not an act of disloyalty.
asserted
voicing → observe → disloyalty
Hegseth arrived with limited experience in most functions of the Department of Defense and no experience in strategic leadership.
asserted
Hegseth → arrive → leadership
Theoretically, thatdeficiency might have been overcome through humility, hard work, and learning.
uncertain
thatdeficiency → overcome → humility
…and 48 more, not listed.
The Aporia
