Pete Hegseth walks into the room. pentagon For the first time, he will pass one of the most famous works of art in the building. I think this resonates with the 29th Secretary of Defense.

This painting hangs between the third and fourth floors of the E-Ring outside the Pentagon. arnold friberg It depicts an Air Force officer and his family kneeling in prayer under a stained glass window.

The origin of the word is Isaiah 6:8: “Here I am. Send it to me.”

What a small miracle that such a work of art, emblazoned with messages of faith, family, and sacrifice, survived the Biden administration’s DEI Mandarin unit. Perhaps they dismiss it as a patriarchal, xenophobic, anachronistic symbol of white Christian nationalism.

But the pious officer depicted in Friberg’s work is exactly the kind of person Hegseth writes about in his bestseller.Fighting the Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Freed Us”

In Washington, D.C., many non-military politicians are pushing for “military men and women” with more benefits, including pay raises, an increase in the GI Bill, increased health care costs, and more free Veterans Day lunches at Chili’s. talks about the honor of

But if you ask a veteran why they joined a company, the answer you’ll probably get isn’t about merit.

Military service is a calling.

Faith, family, and sacrifice are at the heart of why most people raise their right hand and pledge their lives to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. The best military men I have served with have a quiet, purposeful understanding of old emotions. duty, honor, country.

Those values ​​have come under full-scale attack. After a generation spent in fear and loathing of men and their “toxic masculinity,” the left now recognizes that those same men commit suicide More people want to be women or vote for President Donald Trump huge profits.

In order to push back against this, the next Secretary of Defense faces three battles.

The first is a dangerous decline in military recruitment. For the first time in U.S. history, the Biden administration failed to meet military recruitment goals. And it didn’t miss at all – the US Army fell short by two entire divisions.

The Army covered up this shortfall by creating fat camps (euphemistically named “Future Soldier Preparation Courses”) for recruits. The existence of a shabby Secretary of Defense, who are women? faint X (“I’m already a war criminal,” the red-haired libertarian tweeted) should help set an example for future recruits. Mr. Hegseth probably has no problem recruiting young men with effective advertising that extols traditional American patriotism and toughness.

Second, DEI culture is deeply rooted; Currently running For the cover. Career managers will likely dig deep and remove the most obvious signs of awakening. They end up hiding behind complex multi-matrix and cross-functional organizational charts. To eradicate them, Hegses needs to put real warriors back in charge. Thousands of keyboard warriors fill the five-sided building every day, but what our military needs is less support staff and more door kickers and trigger pullers.

Finally, Hegseth will need to return civilian control to the military. That long American tradition is under attack, especially with the expansion of the role of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Chairman. Although the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is an advisor to the President and therefore outside the formal chain of command, the Joint Chiefs of Staff has grown to an astonishing size of several thousand people. budget Approximately $500 million. With 44 four-star generals running around and a navy with more admirals than ships, Hegseth must consider the right size of his flag officer to regain control of his forces.

This will all be a monumental undertaking, but thank God some brave souls are still praying: send me. “

Morgan Murphy is a military thought leader.Former Secretary of Defense Spokesperson, U.S. Senate National Security Advisor.

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