Secrecy, paranoia and distrust are running rampant inside Pete Hegseth’s Pentagon, crippling decision-making and preparedness, according to a report.
The former Fox News host has fired more than two dozen senior officers, pushed out a Navy secretary and personally intervened in promotions across all four military branches, according to CNN.
Fifteen current and former Pentagon officials have revealed the current culture of distrust and paranoia that has plagued the Department of Defense ever since Hegseth took over, telling CNN that troops have to sign nondisclosure agreements and submit to polygraph tests to learn about operations.
A senior Pentagon official told CNN that every move staffers made was calculated. “Everything we did on a daily basis, we were calculating, ‘Is this going to keep the boss employed, or is this going to get him fired?’”
“Every single day, every decision that we made, that was a planning factor…It’s very unusual for that to be considered so heavily,” the official added.
Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George, the most recent firing, was one example shared with CNN about widespread secrecy within the department. George had requested an in-person meeting with Hegseth on April 1 and was told he was fired the next day over an abrupt phone call.
Moments after Hegseth hung up, having only given ‘little’ explanation of the firing, CBS News’ Jennifer Jacobs shared news of his dismissal on X, leaving George to confirm the news to his staff later.
“People had seen the tweet,” a Pentagon official told CNN. “It was awkward because everybody’s looking at him, like what is he going to say?”
The staffer noted that George delivered the news matter-of-factly and almost tried to make light of the situation to make it less awkward.
“The staff proceeded to, one by one, either go and give him a handshake or a hug,” the official said. “It was solemn — as if someone had died.”
The high turnover at the Pentagon, and especially George’s firing, has set alarm bells off for lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.
Army Secretary Dan Driscoll praised George during a House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee hearing last month, after his ouster, saying, “There is no person that has more respect for Gen. George and his 42 years of service, his Purple Heart, his wife Patty, their grandkids, their kids. I adore them.”
Hegseth, however, declined to explain the firing to lawmakers,only offering that it’s “very difficult to change the culture of a department that has been destroyed by the wrong perspectives with the same officers that were there.”
The defense secretary’s remarks show that George’s firing is “part of this undefinable culture war that Hegseth wants as his legacy,” the Pentagon official said.
In addition to the many firings, Hegseth has also kept military planners at arm’s length in the lead-up to the war with Iran, with his abrupt decision-making often causing issues for U.S. commanders, the sources said.
“A year-plus later, there is a lack of clear internal processes within the Pentagon…caused by mass paranoia,” the Pentagon official said of Hegseth’s time in the role. “Everything is a case-by-case basis because there’s no delegation, there’s no trust. And if there’s no delegation or trust, policy decisions can’t be made.”
Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said to CNN: “The anonymous sources cited by CNN are outsiders with a clear political agenda to smear the Department and undermine Secretary Hegseth’s leadership through partisan hit pieces.”
“Every successful organization goes through leadership changes, and we thank those who have departed for their service to the country,” he added. “Decisive steps were taken to align military leadership with the priorities of the President, the Secretary and our warfighters.” The Independent has contacted the Pentagon for comment.
Trump has stood by Hegseth, saying in a recent Cabinet meeting: “Secretary of War Pete Hegseth. He loves war.”
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