Pete Hegseth has a very fine mind -- a mind strategically informed by a superb military combat record and some 20 years of active duty and reserve Army service. Dodging bullets and crawling through mud at 0200 hours are physically grueling and mentally sobering experiences. A soldier learns firsthand spinmeisters in Congress and the faculty lounge usually know zero to zip about real-world military challenges.

Based on what he's done in battle as well as said on the record, Hegseth understands the Pentagon's Job One is fielding an American military that is stronger, better prepared and deadlier than any other military on the planet. That means recruiting and training disciplined military personnel who can operate everything from submarines to space craft. That means buying and deploying weapons that not only work but outclass all adversaries, current and future.

Moreover, Hegseth strikes me as having reformist moxie, the confidence, focus and energy required to overhaul the bureaucrat-ossified, morale-degraded and recruit-starved Department of Defense the Biden administration has left the American people.

Hegseth's Bronze Star medals and moxie make him a natural enemy of the Beltway Clerks that infest Washington, the sallow political menials like Biden National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan who never had time to wear a military uniform but excel at looking serious while lying about the Afghanistan withdrawal.

So, yes, he's a fine choice for Donald Trump's secretary of defense.

I mentioned the recruitment shortfall. It's chronic. My column of Oct. 3 addressed in detail Pentagon recruiting issues and some bureaucrat tricks to hide it. Since 1973, the U.S. armed services have relied on volunteers. The Pentagon must recruit physically and mentally qualified personnel and retain them. Recruiting is expensive -- the Army annually spends $1.1 billion on recruitment marketing and advertising.

But the problem isn't simply money. Leftist media didn't want to address servicemembers' objections to divisive Diversity, Equity, Inclusion (DEI) programs mandated by the Biden administration. Those programs are based on "oppressor versus oppressed" narratives. They undermine what the military calls unit cohesion, the trust, bonding, mutual reliance, confidence and synchronization a war-winning military organization must possess.

There is anecdotal evidence DEI and transgender initiatives have discouraged recruits.

Hegseth says DEI goes away when Trump becomes president.

Then there's the problem of political generals and admirals -- another source of morale degradation and institutional rot.

Here's what I hope is the worst example of flag rank malfeasance. In their book "Peril," Bob Woodward and Robert Costa claimed shortly after the Jan. 6 Washington semi-riot Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley decided he simply had to take personal action outside the chain of command in order to prevent an out-of-control Trump from starting a nuclear war against Communist China.

Note the subject Milley addressed was potential U.S. military action against America's most potent adversary. Note he spoke to the Chinese officers without approval from Trump. Note Milley decided on his own Trump was out of control. Reflect for a moment -- was Milley writing his own self-serving Hollywood script? He apparently had no evidence Trump was preparing to start a war.

In a column written in late September 2021, I argued Milley's action weakened U.S. national security and put the U.S. constitutional system at risk. Why did he do it? My guess: to secure the largesse of Biden and the Beltway media.

Do I know for sure? No. But that's why Pete Hegseth needs to conduct an investigation, and perhaps convene a court martial. Insuring the integrity of the chain of command and constitutional order is absolutely essential.

DEI. Political generals. After dealing with these issues, SecDef Hegseth can turn to rebuilding the Navy. I say buy long-range fast attack craft and integrate them with unmanned drone vessels and drone aircraft (see my column of Feb 1). Then move on to manned light attack helicopters integrated with aerial drones, unmanned ground vehicles and highly mobile light armored infantry brigades.

Hegseth should also revitalize the Office of Net Assessments and bring it back to Dr. Andrew Marshall standards.

Pete, you'll be busy.

To find out more about Austin Bay and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.

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