How far have we fallen that this is now a radical, almost unimaginable, innovation? Who coulda thunk it? Officers—warfighters—being promoted primarily on their ability to fight wars?
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Pete Hegseth makes it clear that he wants a “Department of War, not merely a rebranding, but a military led by warriors who can command effectively in combat.
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The U.S. Secretary of War recently announced that colonels and Navy captains seeking promotion to one-star rank will face a new Joint Warfighter Evaluation to assess their ability to wage war across services.
See what I mean? Our military has deteriorated to the point that many high- ranking officers are doubtless outraged and afraid, just as they were when Hegseth laid down the law to them in a meeting with more brass than a symphonic band.
The initiative puts battlefield leadership at the center of his promotion agenda.
And why should anyone argue that it shouldn’t be?
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced on Tuesday the military this year will start evaluating colonels and Navy captains for one-star positions as part of a new process.
“While the backbone of our military is our NCOs (noncommissioned officers) and our petty officers, victory depends on the commanders who lead them. America needs warfighters who can master a chaotic battle space,” Hegseth said in a video posted on X.
The Joint Warfighter Evaluation (JWE) follows Hegseth’s May memo to begin assessing service members’ ability to wage joint warfare as part of promotion and advancement considerations for officers and senior noncommissioned officers.
Hegseth in the video acknowledged tasking Stuart Scheller, who currently serves as the secretary’s senior adviser of personnel and readiness, and his team a year ago to challenge “generations of promotion assumptions.”
Real warfighters will be delighted and anxious to get trained and prove their worth. There’s great pride in wearing medals honestly earned.
Hegseth said he envisioned something like the Louisiana Maneuvers. The U.S. Army held these large-scale war games in 1940–1941, culminating in massive mock battles in Louisiana in September 1941 to prepare the rapidly expanding Army for World War II.
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The exercises tested commanders, battlefield tactics, tanks, communications, and logistics while giving inexperienced officers practical experience directing large formations. They helped shape the Army’s wartime approach to mechanized and combined-arms warfare and showcased leaders such as Dwight D. Eisenhower and George S. Patton.
Say what you will about Patton, but he scared the hell out of our adversaries in WWII. That’s what we need. If our contemporary enemies are sufficiently afraid of us, that may deter conflicts before they begin. As the saying goes, the more you bleed in training, the less you bleed in combat.
One move indicates Hegseth and his subordinates have the right idea: six separate evaluations, one for each service branch and one for the joint staff. Each will be realistic and reflect the enemy capabilities and challenges they face, including AI components. As always, the devil is in the details, but the intent to make the evaluations relevant and meaningful is there, and unlike many past Secretaries of War, Hegseth isn’t going along to get along.
Plenty of up-to-speed service members and veterans are all in:
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That’s an important point. A venerable military axiom is that amateurs study tactics while professionals study logistics. If commanders don’t get their troops to the point of contact well prepared, well-armed, well fed and ready in every respect, and if they can’t keep them fed, armed and otherwise supplied, the rest really doesn’t matter. This is important too:
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He’s speaking of officers who have only fought the Global War on Terror, using counter-insurgency tactics, but can’t adapt to other modes of warfare. They’ll have to be proficient in all, even at the same time, and some lessons can’t be learned over conference tables or in classrooms, nor can effective tactics be understood and taught. Democrats will hate it. It will cost money they want to spend on illegals and entitlements to the unentitled.
A Secretary of War’s worth can be at least partially known by his domestic enemies. If they hate him, and Democrats hate Hegseth nearly as much as Donald Trump, he’s doing the right thing. Unlike our last SecWar, Hegseth can pass a physical fitness test and doesn’t go AWOL. Think back to Lloyd Austin. Did he do anything even remotely like this? Expect our warfighters to be warfighters? Or was his focus on DEI, drag queens, and trans?
I’ll bet Hegseth will even demand we change our formations and tactics when enemy satellites are overhead.
More of the same, please, only faster.
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Mike McDaniel is a USAF veteran, classically trained musician, Japanese and European fencer, lifelong athlete, firearm instructor, retired police officer, and high school and college English teacher. He is a published author and blogger. His home blog is Stately McDaniel Manor.
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